History Doesn't Turn On A Dime; It

If Obama's Vision Of The Public Sector Is Socialism, Then So Too Were The Visions Of Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, And Richard Nixon.

As A Personal Matter, I Stopped Voting More Than A Decade Ago, On The Grounds That It Helped Me As An Analyst Not To Think About Making A Choice In The Voting Booth.

By Every Measure, John Kennedy's Sex Life Was Compulsive And Reckless. At One Level, It Had Clear Public Consequences. Knowledge Of Kennedy's Behavior Gave Fbi Director J. Edgar Hoover Absolute Job Security, As Well As The Potential Power To Derail Kennedy's Re-election Had He Survived Assassination.

As A General Proposition, Campaigns Do Not Linger On The Vice Presidential Nominee. When They Have, It's Always Meant Very Bad News For The Ticket. Think Of Spiro Agnew's Foot-in-mouth Disease; Tom Eagleton's Medical History; The Real Estate Holdings Of Geraldine Ferraro's Husband; The Unbearable Lightness Of Dan Quayle; Sarah Palin's Reading List.

If The Court Strikes Down The Defense Of Marriage Act, Is That A 'liberal' Result Enabling Gay Couples Married In States Where Gay Marriage Is Legal To Enjoy The Same Economic Advantages That Federal Laws Now Grant To Straight Couples? Or Is It A 'conservative' Ruling, Limiting The Federal Government's Ability To Override State Power?