Hoosier Buddy?

In the ongoing countdown to next year's election, there are 344 days to go until the votes are counted on Nov. 6, 2012.That's 49 weeks from tomorrow.Just think of all the things that will be determined — one way or another — between now and that night 49 weeks from tomorrow night.In spite of that, though, there are a few things that can be taken for granted.It is generally assumed, for example, that Barack Obama will receive his party's nomination....

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A Cold Case Turns 40

It was 40 years ago today that a man known to history primarily as D.B. Cooper hijacked a Northwest Orient Airlines 727, demanded $200,000 and parachuted from the plane into legend somewhere between Portland, Ore., and Seattle.The conventional wisdom for these last four decades has been that Cooper (who actually purchased his ticket under the apparent alias of Dan Cooper, but, because of miscommunication, is remembered almost exclusively as D.B....

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The LBJ Factor

I've watched the rapid descent of the popular image of Barack Obama since he took the oath of office.And I've been intrigued by his apparent public evolution — from the early days of his presidency, when he was widely seen as the reincarnation of Lincoln, Washington and/or FDR, to the recent comparisons between the president and (at best) Bill Clinton following his party's disastrous losses in the 1994 midterms or (at worst) Jimmy Carter's one–term...

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When They Liked Ike

Americans are a puzzling bunch.They can be hopelessly nostalgic, yearning for the simplicity of the past, yet demanding and unforgiving when things don't happen as quickly as they would like, ignoring completely the fact that speed is often achieved at the expense of other things.It is a lesson that history has taught us repeatedly, but each generation seems intent upon re–learning it, and modern presidents are often the whipping boys, deservedly...

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Promise Fulfilled

My mother was a Democrat.I have written here before of her death in a flash flood in 1995 — and I mention it now only because I have been thinking of a conversation I had with her the last time I saw her.It was mid–April of 1995. I was living in Oklahoma at the time, and I had come to Dallas to spend Easter weekend with my parents. Through the course of that weekend, I had several conversations with my mother on a range of topics.One of the topics...

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Obama Is No Truman

I was wading through the daily columns criticizing Barack Obama (which come from all sides these days) when I stumbled onto an intriguing piece by Michael Haydock in American History magazine.Haydock's topic is one that is bound to be of some interest, especially to those who are promoting Obama's candidacy for re–election in 2012 — Harry Truman's upset victory over Tom Dewey in 1948.If you aren't up to speed on 20th century American history, let...

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The Day Jimmy Carter Was Elected

The day that Jimmy Carter was elected president is a day that is vividly imprinted in my memory — for a couple of reasons.My father's mother died that day, and my father went to Dallas ahead of the rest of the family to work on the funeral arrangements. My mother, my brother and I followed the next day.The 1976 election was memorable for me, too, because Election Day was the day that certain students from my school (myself included) were spending...

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