Last June I urged then-candidate Barack Obama to use his presidency to transform the country for the 21st century world, not simply to repair the damage to our economy, foreign policy, and defenses done by the Bush administration. By that standard, his first three months have been a remarkable success.

After 'Mission Accomplished' and the shift from successful invasion to unsuccessful occupation of Iraq, many people questioned why even less visible opponents were not more outspoken in opposition. In my case speeches and interviews were given, but few received any publicity. There is no guarantee that simply because one "speaks...

Last night President Obama awakened "a renewed spirit of national service." The American Republic must now respond.

Almost 2500 years ago, Pericles, in his ageless funeral oration, praised men who were worthy of the city and declared those "useless" who took no interest in the well-being of Athens....

The first twenty minutes of this evening's news covered incredibly wealthy investment bankers responsible for costing the American taxpayers a trillion dollars, corporate executives responsible for purposely marketing salmonella-tainted peanut butter that killed children, and Mr. and Mrs. Madoff who cheated investors of $50 billion dollars.

What did this unrelated...

Every era creates its own legacy. The least worthwhile legacy of the Cold War is nuclear arsenals. They provide no meaningful deterrence to terrorists. No war plans envision their use. They serve no military or diplomatic purpose.

Very soon, against the backdrop of international banking crises and restructuring...

I intend to spend my day of service continuing to try to get the "transition team" to take the Presidential Climate Action Project report--the gold standard for climate action--seriously as the basis for the new administration's climate policy. This is the culmination of a year and a half of work...

Even as the new president and administration struggle to restructure and transform the American economy in 2009, consider this possibility: 2009 could be the year when the two former Cold warriors, America and Russia, decide to make dramatic reductions in nuclear weapons and convene an international conference of all nuclear...

The geniuses of Wall Street, with their twisted version of capitalism, have conspired to steal not only Christmas but also the nation's traditional day for counting its blessings. The downward death spiral of the American economy threatens not only our patterns of unlimited consumption but even our very way of...

Endless analysis in coming months will focus on the meanings of this election, and the interpretations will be as varied as the analysts' many biases. For there is something here for everyone. This was a cyclical referendum with the pendulum bound to swing back to Democrats. The president-elect represents a...

Today America is going to produce the greatest civil rights demonstration in the history of the world.

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Rare is the catastrophe that does not offer some promise. The key is having the genius to discover hope within the rubble.

An argument can be made that the current financial disaster offers a future president, Obama in this case, the chance to transform the U.S. economy. A weakened...

Starting about the time of early Ronald Reagan, the Republican Right played capture-the-flag with Old Glory. If you were a true patriot, you gave all your speeches before massed American flags and wore the symbol of one in your lapel. And, of course, to be a true patriot meant also...

As many people seem to be born either liberal or conservative, so many also seem naturally inclined toward either idealism or pragmatism. Overly simplified, the pragmatist says "tell me how the system works and I'll do my best within it," and the idealist says, "let's change the system."

Though...

Historians of early 21st century American politics will remark the degree to which radical forces, usually called neoconservatives, perverted language as recommended by the National Socialist Party in 1930s Germany. Continue to demonize liberals, blame them for all social and economic problems, and soon enough no one will be willing...

Though national security will be front and center in the 2008 presidential election, few if any candidates or analysts will take the trouble to define it. Instead, we'll be treated to another round of charges and counter-charges, more spending versus less spending, flag pins and symbolic patriotism. Almost two decades...

Anyone who has spent any time around politics knows that there are various paths to power. Most of these paths lie between the high road and the low road. The lowest road is the one that leads to power through destruction of one's opponent. That road is also the path...

One of the more enduring myths in Washington is that Americans live their lives on a left-right ideological spectrum. We are all little liberals or little conservatives. Thus, the New York Times ponders how the "liberal" Barack Obama can fashion a governing coalition when conventional wisdom continues...

Had leading Democrats taken the trouble to fashion thoughtful and reasonable national security principles in the post-Vietnam era and thereby regained the confidence of the American people in their ability to protect the country, quite possibly they would have felt comfortable opposing the invasion of Iraq. Instead, they permitted the...

It will come as a surprise to many people that there are rules in politics. Most of those rules are unwritten and are based on common understandings, acceptable practices, and the best interest of the political party a candidate seeks to lead. One of those rules is this: Do not...

Only once in a very long time does politics become more than politics, that is something more than partisan struggle, vote bartering, or arena of ambition. In ordinary times, ordinary political leaders suffice, more or less.

But on rare occasion, old arrangements and conventional wisdom come unstuck. This happens...