The Rise of Presidential Campaigning
Presidential campaigns were not always the expensive and brutal battles we recognize today. Our first leaders did not even campaign at all. Why? It was considered vulgar and venal to promote one’s self. It suggested deceit and dishonor. Many founders used pen names when they published, to separate personalities from issues. Some of the great pseudonyms included “The Federal Farmer,”….Read more
Unions: Crony Cartel or Collective Voice?
Legend has it that Henry Ford Jr was touring a car production plant with union official Walter Reuther. Ford pointed to his automated robots and smiled at Reuther. “How are you going to get the robots to pay union dues, Walter?” Ford quipped. “How are you going to get the robots to buy your cars, Henry?” Reuther replied. ….Read more
Did Jefferson Foresee Today’s Racial Divide?
Recently, NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem, in part because of a little known verse that celebrates slavery. The national soul is being tested again. We all know the paradox of Thomas Jefferson. Despite his claim that all humans are created equal, he held slaves himself and did not free them in his will. He referred to Native….Read more
7 Tips to Becoming a Leader Who Influences, Not Commands
The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership. –General Colin Powell Our society grapples with problems of leadership. Difficult decisions clash with strong emotions–with severe….Read more
‘Letting Trump Be Trump’: Hubris and Leadership
Guest post contributed by Glenn LeBoeuf British army intelligence began, in 1941, to explore the feasibility of assassinating Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany’s navy and Luftwaffe were bombing British cities and sinking many of the essential supplies coming to England. To carry out such a plan, first they needed a detailed psychological study of Hitler’s childhood, WWI traumas and parental influences,….Read more
Thomas Jefferson’s Fix for an Ignorant Citizenry
Thomas Jefferson’s epitaph in Virginia leaves out one salient fact and includes another lesser known achievement: Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia Jefferson was immensely proud of his role in founding the university, which was his secular….Read more
How High and How Thick the Wall of Separation?
Guest post by RJ Gaynor, guest blogger Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American….Read more
What Would Alexander Hamilton Do About Debt? Side With Creditors
Imagine yourself a Massachusetts minuteman during the American Revolution. The state government promised you fair payment for your military service when you enlisted. You starved, bled and froze through several cold winters for your new country. But on payday, you didn’t get paid in currency. All you got was a war bond, just an IOU from the state. Out of patriotism, you….Read more
What Would Alexander Hamilton Do? Go Big on Government
If they break this union, they will break my heart. –Alexander Hamilton on his deathbed, quoted by Ron Chernow in Alexander Hamilton Hamilton was wary of government dissent and concerned about too much immigration. The man the New York Times calls “the country’s new favorite founder” who is an unlikely Broadway sensation, sounds like a modern conservative. But….Read more
Who Are Those Convention Delegates, Anyway?
It’s convention month and I had the pleasure of chatting this week with a person who a large newspaper once called the “grande dame” of Democratic politics in New Jersey. She happens to be a Democrat; but rest assured that is not why we spoke to her. She has been to 11 party nominating conventions and if anyone knows how….Read more