President Obama recently met with more than a dozen representatives from some of the country's largest religious organizations to talk about his push for comprehensive immigration reform. The president asked for their input and spoke about their important role in shaping attitudes of their parishioners on the issue....

The third and final presidential debate of the 2012 presidential campaign season will be held Monday evening and will focus on foreign policy issues. So far, Mitt Romney's Mormon faith was mentioned only briefly in the closing minutes of the second debate, less frequently than many had expected. It's no...

The 2012 vice-presidential debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan, held this week at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, is now over and on its way to be sliced and diced by pundits, politicians, and possibly the cast of Saturday Night Live. It has been an amazing experience for me...

This Thursday the eyes of the nation and world will be focused on Danville, Kentucky as Centre College proudly hosts the 2012 vice presidential debate between Congressman Paul Ryan and Vice President Joe Biden. Coming fresh off the heels of last week's opening debate between Governor Romney and President Obama,...

Presidential campaigns tend to focus on the contrasts between candidates. Campaign ads and candidate stump speeches emphasize differences on everything from tax plans to prior experience to visions for the future. This year, the Obama and Romney campaigns are no different. There is some evidence, though, that in one key...

As a Government professor at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, one of the main themes I teach my students is to avoid the temptation to engage in "bumper sticker politics." What I mean by this is that students who acquire a quality liberal arts education (such as the one Centre...

Centre College is gearing up for hosting the vice presidential debate in October, and its campus will soon be turned upside-down and inside-out with the preparations for media and security. We've come to take the current tradition of presidential debates as a given, but it may be surprising to know...

This October the vice presidential debate will be held at Centre College in Danville, Ky., where I teach classes on American politics. Naturally, I've been reading up a bit on debates. I recently finished Tension City: Inside the Presidential Debates, From Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain by perennial moderator Jim Lehrer. He...

Over the last few years the word "socialism" has become fairly prominent in our American political discourse. It's become fashionable among many Republicans, both elected officials and members of the public, to accuse President Obama, prominent Democrats, or the Democratic Party itself, of being card-carrying socialists of some kind or...

Nearly 12 years ago Centre College hosted the vice presidential debate between Joe Lieberman and Dick Cheney. Speaking of the event, former CBS Evening News host Dan Rather proclaimed: "Centre College held the finest vice presidential debate ever held." This October we at Centre will be honored once again to...