Columns, pieces and posts
The other night in New York, the Council on Foreign Relations hosted a fascinating debate between the always interesting Richard Perle, an assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration who now serves as an adviser to the administration on the Defense Science Policy Board, and Leon Fuerth, whose career in foreign affairs has taken […]
A small band of former aides and friends of Ronald Reagan were all over TV this week talking about the former president on his 91st birthday. Our memories and reflections were treated with thoughtfulness and respect by the media. It wasn’t always this way but I’m glad it is now, and I think there are […]
State of the Union addresses are usually reviewed in terms of “eloquence,” or “drama,” or how the overnight polls register the public’s reaction. But for sheer seriousness, for the depth and scope of the information imparted, the president’s State of the Union the other night was, simply, staggering. I’m not sure everyone fully noticed, but […]
I know a man who once ran a big international company, who had done very well in life and was happily retired. Years after he left the company, it went public in an IPO that would make all the company’s officers even richer than they were, which was already pretty rich. The company’s retired executives […]
Someone once said the White House is the only sieve that leaks from the top, but the Bush White House is, so far, famously leak-proof. Or rather almost leak-free. And that is amazing. How could it be? How did it happen? And is there any chance it will continue? The Bush White House doesn’t leak […]
There’s a small but telling scene in Ridley Scott’s “Black Hawk Down” that contains some dialogue that reverberates, at least for me. In the spirit of Samuel Johnson, who said man needs more often to be reminded than instructed, I offer it to all, including myself, who might benefit from its message. The movie, as […]
One year ago he stood before us, right hand raised, a new president chosen by a shade less than half the American adults who are responsible enough to bother to vote. He had been certain of victory and shocked by the closeness and the Florida aftermath. The weekend before the polls opened, Al Gore strained […]
I have not read a newspaper in seven days, nor heard a news report, gone online, or called the States in four. Apparently you’re all well, or I would have heard about it on the beach. I find it very easy, for the first time in three months, not to know what is going on. […]
We wind up the year. It has been full of drama. We now prepare for fun. Christmas is coming, very soon, and whatever religious holiday you celebrate, you’ve probably got some cheer and downtime coming. And this is good. Shall we have some fun? One thing we could do, together, is sit down for a […]
Some presidents have come from families of property and high renown—or notoriety. Think only of the Roosevelts and Kennedys. And other presidents come from humble circumstances, sometimes very humble. Ronald Reagan belongs to the second group. His family moved from one rented apartment to another as his alcoholic, shoe-salesman father struggled to hold a job. […]