In the early stages of this Republican primary cycle, it seemed like we were watching an endless season of the reality television series Survivor. Each week (literally) we would wait to see which contestant would temporarily and surprisingly surge into frontrunner status, and which contestant would be "voted off the...

Ok let's look at the current state of affairs in the U.S. from the perspective of that portion of the 1% who only sees things from their own completely self-interested viewpoint. You're someone who has worked really hard -- the old fashioned way -- to earn what you have achieved...

I had passed the photo in the hallway showing the smiling handsome young Naval officer in uniform literally thousands of times over the years, occasionally pausing to marvel at the fact that this was my Dad when he was in his late teens. He had told me many times of...

If the Tea-Party-dominated, no-tax-increase-under-any circumstances Republicans in Congress do not vote to raise the debt ceiling by August 2, they may finally be granted their ultimate wish to "get the government out of [their] lives" -- completely. It is perhaps only then that these ideologues will realize how much of...

Let me begin this by pointing out that I am a huge Roger Federer fan and for a long time I have been a true believer when people have said Roger is probably the best tennis player who ever lived. There certainly has never been such an elegant player with...

As we approach the end of President Obama's second year in office, it seems that, despite his numerous major achievements, the President has thus far managed to disappoint just about everybody. To some, it is because he has failed to meet their unrealistic great expectations; to others it is because...

During my junior year in college in 1978, our Duke Men's basketball team (which included a number of my friends and classmates) incredibly went from nowhere in the ACC the previous year to the NCAA National Championship final game. Although we lost that game to Kentucky, like many Duke students...

David Brooks' fantastic essay "The Other Education" in The NY Times Op Ed Section on Friday resonated with me on so many levels that it's hard to know where to begin. Like David, I grew up as a teenager in Main Line Philadelphia and the Jersey Shore in the 70's....

When I was a kid, I was pretty convinced I was going to become an astronaut. In fact, I was obsessed. I memorized tons of facts and figures about the space program, learned the names and backgrounds of all the astronauts in each of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space...

A week before Super Tuesday last February, a bunch of inspired Americans got together over two days to make a music video. Will.i.am had just written a brilliant song based on Barack Obama's speech following the New Hampshire primary. As a long-time supporter of Barack, I had been encouraging Will...

I've been thinking a lot recently about an article I read some years ago. The author had asked about 50 people how they would define the word "power". There were the usual responses one might expect, such as "rich and famous", "strength" or "being able to have anything you want"....

There has been much discussion recently about whether the so-called "Bradley Effect" will contribute to the outcome of this presidential contest; whether voters in the private confines of the voting booth will actually pull the lever or punch the ballot for an African-American candidate. When Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley,...

For eight years now, the overarching strategy of Bush and Cheney has been to condescendingly bludgeon the public, the world and even members of their own administration with the notion that "you're either with us or you're against us." There has been no room for questioning or discussion, no transparency...

During the 2004 presidential election and for several years thereafter, I was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rock the Vote, the well-known non-profit young voter registration and education organization. At my suggestion, we decided that our 2005 Rock the Nation Award would be given for the first...

American Idol hasn't actually begun its eighth season yet, but the verdict is already in and we have a winner. However, unlike the winners from every other season, this new Idol's path to victory was unique: it only required a single (albeit impressive) performance. She didn't have to audition, or...