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What Comey Did Wrong
As mentioned last week, I’m nostalgically trying to piece together some elements of the olden-days blogging culture in the current…
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Big, Ambitious Plans From Smaller-Town Leaders
In a few days, the May issue of the magazine will arrive for subscribers ( ! ) and appear on newsstands. It includes…
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The Future of Elite Schools in the Trump Era (and the Future of Blogging)
A few days ago, for no intended reason, I came across this remarkable off-the-cuff essay from back in 2011 by…
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'Learning From History': A Goal? A Delusion? A Trap?
Last week, as part of The Atlantic’s discussion of the 15th anniversary of the disastrous invasion of Iraq, I wrote…
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Gun Safety: The Importance of Technology, the Legacy of Slavery
For an index of the two-dozen previous items in the post-Parkland gun-safety series, please see the bottom of this post…
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As Students 'March for Our Lives,' What Are the Feasible Aims for Gun Control?
The gun massacre in Parkland, Florida, was nearly six weeks ago. In those weeks, thousands more Americans have died from…
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From Donald Trump, a New Low
The purpose of my 152-installment Trump Time Capsule series during the 2016 campaign was to record, in real time, things…
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Two Additions to the Political Reading List: Unbelievable and Thanks, Obama
The relationship between the drama of a presidential campaign, and the literature and reportage that come from it, is shaky…
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Readers on Trump, Kaepernick, and the NFL
Over the weekend I wrote about Donald Trump’s attacks on protesting NFL players, at a raucous rally in Alabama, and…
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Xavier Becerra on the California ‘Resistance’
Last month, at the Aspen Ideas Festival, I emceed an hour-long discussion with Xavier Becerra, the new Attorney General of…
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Trump’s Oval Office: ‘But What About the Chairs?’
On Friday—a few hours before Donald Trump pardoned ex-sheriff Joe Arpaio, and before Hurricane Harvey made its devastating landfall on…
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Trump and the Chickenhawk Chronicles
Late last night I did an item arguing that Donald Trump represented a classic “chickenhawk” figure from the Vietnam era—someone…
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Follow-Up on the Health-Care Vote: On the Media, Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Pentimenti
After these recent items about the Senate’s failure to repeal Barack Obama’s health-care law—installments #1 (drawing a parallel with 1960s-era…
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Collins, Murkowski—and McCain
The rushed, secretive, reckless effort to get a “win,” any win, by undoing the Obama health care plan is…
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The Perils of Prediction in the Age of Trump
More than two years ago, soon after Donald Trump entered the presidential race, I noted online that no one like…
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A Longtime Senate Staffer, on John McCain
I’ve had my say about John McCain’s decision to support the rushed consideration of the Republican drive to repeal Obamacare…
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Responding to Trump: What about the State AGs? What about the Democrats? And the Germans?
In response to three recent pieces—one discussing the public and private parts of the U.S. system of self-governance…
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Jonathan Ernst / Reuters The Projection President
Months into his tenure, Trump still responds to controversies by lobbing the same charges at his opponents.
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Stories From Another Time, for Our Times: ‘We Do Our Part’
To the extent I spent any time studying in college, it was to learn about American history. The main impression…
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Books to Read (or Buy), According to Me
The best seasonal present, this year and any year (since 1857), is of course a subscription to The Atlantic. Get…
