AdvertisementAdvertisementWithin last week’s story of how , there was a second story—a parable, effectively: a small point that contained a much larger point. It had nothing, or almost nothing, to do with Ronald Reagan’s own character; it happened after Reagan had finished fuming to Nixon about how African leaders who’d thwarted American foreign policy at the United Nations were “monkeys,” and the two men had gotten off the phone.AdvertisementNixon then called Secretary of State William Rogers, to relay Reagan’s message and to warn Rogers that the White House should not express too much...…AdvertisementAdvertisementWithin last week’s story of how , there was a second story—a parable, effectively: a small point that contained a much larger point. It had nothing, or almost nothing, to do with Ronald Reagan’s own character; it happened after Reagan had finished fuming to Nixon about how African leaders who’d thwarted American foreign policy at the United Nations were “monkeys,” and the two men had gotten off the phone.AdvertisementNixon then called Secretary of State William Rogers, to relay Reagan’s message and to warn Rogers that the White House should not express too much...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementOf all the footage that played in the video-intensive impeachment of the screen-addicted president, the clip that truly mattered was the one in which a group of rioters, ransacking the Senate chamber on Jan. 6, finds a document in Sen. Ted Cruz’s desk about his objection to the electoral college certification. At first they are furious, until one of them explains that the objection means that, like them, Cruz is fighting against the election result. “He’s with us, he’s with us,” this one rioter tells the other rioters.AdvertisementThat rioter was more honest, and...…AdvertisementAdvertisementOf all the footage that played in the video-intensive impeachment of the screen-addicted president, the clip that truly mattered was the one in which a group of rioters, ransacking the Senate chamber on Jan. 6, finds a document in Sen. Ted Cruz’s desk about his objection to the electoral college certification. At first they are furious, until one of them explains that the objection means that, like them, Cruz is fighting against the election result. “He’s with us, he’s with us,” this one rioter tells the other rioters.AdvertisementThat rioter was more honest, and...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementNo one thinks that Donald Trump will win a majority of the votes in the 2020 election. In the country that considers itself the world’s leading democracy, the political coverage and predictions start from this: The current president lost the popular vote by a margin of more than 3 million in 2016, and all the polling says that the 2016 margin is the absolute floor from which Joe Biden will build an even greater popular advantage. Whether Trump serves one term or two terms, there will never be more people who voted for him than voted against him.AdvertisementStill,...…AdvertisementAdvertisementNo one thinks that Donald Trump will win a majority of the votes in the 2020 election. In the country that considers itself the world’s leading democracy, the political coverage and predictions start from this: The current president lost the popular vote by a margin of more than 3 million in 2016, and all the polling says that the 2016 margin is the absolute floor from which Joe Biden will build an even greater popular advantage. Whether Trump serves one term or two terms, there will never be more people who voted for him than voted against him.AdvertisementStill,...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisement“We were very prepared,” the president said Thursday, during the daily coronavirus press briefing. He was replying to—if not responding to—a question about why the United States had been completely unprepared to test for the disease, even as other countries launched large-scale programs to track it and to try to control its spread. “The only thing we were not prepared for was the media,” he added. “The media has not treated it fairly.”The president was, fitting the seriousness of the occasion, so far opposite the truth that he accidentally came around to accuracy...…AdvertisementAdvertisement“We were very prepared,” the president said Thursday, during the daily coronavirus press briefing. He was replying to—if not responding to—a question about why the United States had been completely unprepared to test for the disease, even as other countries launched large-scale programs to track it and to try to control its spread. “The only thing we were not prepared for was the media,” he added. “The media has not treated it fairly.”The president was, fitting the seriousness of the occasion, so far opposite the truth that he accidentally came around to accuracy...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementI’m not raising this subject because I think it’s a good idea. The point here is simply to try to describe the situation. The situation is this: The country needs Barack Obama to run for president against Donald Trump.I am not speaking practically. We all know it would be unconstitutional for a two-term president to seek a third term. Admittedly, the country is not much bound by the strict terms of its Constitution at the moment, and inasmuch as the 22nd Amendment was meant to make sure the presidency could never fall into the grasp of some elderly and declining...…AdvertisementAdvertisementI’m not raising this subject because I think it’s a good idea. The point here is simply to try to describe the situation. The situation is this: The country needs Barack Obama to run for president against Donald Trump.I am not speaking practically. We all know it would be unconstitutional for a two-term president to seek a third term. Admittedly, the country is not much bound by the strict terms of its Constitution at the moment, and inasmuch as the 22nd Amendment was meant to make sure the presidency could never fall into the grasp of some elderly and declining...WW…