The Arkansas Rockefeller

Tomorrow would have been Winthrop Rockefeller's 100th birthday.It may seem inappropriate to refer to him — as my headline does — as "the Arkansas Rockefeller" — although that is the title of a book about Rockefeller that was written by a friend of mine, John Ward (the longtime editor of my hometown newspaper and my early mentor), more than 30 years ago.Rockefeller was born in New York City, as were most of his siblings, but he put down roots in Arkansas.Most...

Read More

Forecasting an Incumbent's Chances

We are just about six months away from the 2012 election.In the early days of my collegiate career, I was a political science major, and one of the things my professors drummed into my head (and the heads of my peers) was the conviction that voters reach their conclusions about an incumbent about six months before the election.That is a piece of conventional wisdom that has held up rather well, whereas I have found that people who rely on surveys...

Read More

Nixon's 'Evil Genius' Dies

In the Nixon White House, Charles Colson was known as an "evil genius," a master of "dirty tricks," the guy who (reportedly) said he would walk over his own grandmother to ensure the re–election of Richard Nixon.He was more than 18 years younger than Nixon so, I suppose, it was appropriate that he should die nearly 18 years to the day after Nixon did.And, to many, I suppose, his story is an inspiring one, even if Nixon's is not — a man who spent...

Read More

Manchin's Fence Straddling

Most folks shouldn't be overly concerned about West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin's revelation that he hasn't decided whether to vote for Barack Obama or Mitt Romney this fall.Manchin, 64, was one of the few Democrats who prospered in the 2010 midterms, winning the seat long held by the late Robert Byrd.His victory really came as no surprise. Electing Democrats is a long tradition in West Virginia. Since the Stock Market Crash of 1929, West Virginia...

Read More

Registered Voters and Likely Voters

There is an important distinction between polls of registered voters and likely voters.I have to make this point to people in every election cycle, but it seems particularly relevant this time.It's easy to be a registered voter. Registration drives are so numerous that, in many places, you can register to vote at your local shopping center or campus. (I recall overhearing a snippet of a conversation between some of my students about voting. One student expressed what appeared to be genuine surprise that she was not automatically registered to vote...

Read More

Five Years After Virginia Tech

Over the years, sadly, the American culture has grown accustomed to the reality that, from time to time, somewhere someone will open fire on students at a high school or a college.It's to be expected, I have heard some people say, in a country where private gun ownership is not only legal but encouraged.I don't know if that is true or not, but there are a few things I do know.For one, I know that we seem to have shootings on school grounds every...

Read More

A Great Moment in American Journalism

A great moment in American journalism occurred 100 years ago in the aftermath of the sinking of the Titanic.Unfortunately, it is probably one of the lesser known stories surrounding the famous shipwreck.Carr Van Anda, managing editor of the New York Times, scooped the competition largely because he put two and two together and concluded that the reason there had been no more communication from the ship was that it had sunk, and he insisted on publishing...

Read More

The Tragedy of the Titanic, a Century Later

From time to time, man persuades himself that he has conquered nature.A century ago tonight, the passengers on the Titanic's maiden voyage probably believed they were safe from any danger. Whether that really was how the people of that time saw it or not, Titanic came to be known in popular lore as unsinkable — even though it had sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic.But that reputation for being unsinkable, reports Rosie Waites of BBC News Magazine,...

Read More

The Emerging Electoral Map

Thirty weeks from today, America goes to the polls.With the exception of the farthest corners of the extreme right, it seems that more and more Republicans now are acknowledging that Mitt Romney will be their standard bearer in the fall — and that he will be the only realistic alternative to Barack Obama.The plausible scenarios in which Romney could be denied the nomination on the first ballot are dwindling.Thus, attention is shifting to a different...

Read More

Social Darwinism

When Barack Obama lashed out at the Republican budget the other day, calling it "thinly veiled social Darwinism," I must confess that I couldn't help sighing.It is a blatant example of not just this president's willingness but his eagerness to play the so–called race card whenever he believes it can be used to his benefit (and that is most of the time). The mere mention of the phrase no doubt had his many minions drooling in some kind of mass Pavlovian...

Read More

The Art of the Interview

Mike Wallace died yesterday.He was 93 years old so his death, while sad for his survivors, cannot be considered either unexpected or tragic. But his loss is considerable for anyone who appreciates the art of the interview.In a career that spanned seven decades, Wallace interviewed just about everybody who was anybody — presidents, kings, newsmakers of all kinds. I suppose most of his interviews were conducted in his work for CBS' 60 Minutes. He did...

Read More