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...