With a distressed eyeroll at Seanglenn Beckhannity, and a weary headshake at Keithrachel Olbermaddowman, not to mention clenched fists of despair at TalkRadio VonHateScream, let me remind the rest of us -- aka. most people -- that just because the makers of so called News think Balanced and Thoughtful is...

President Bill Clinton's great legacy, the "I'm Not Getting Enough Attention Peccadillo", or INGEAP is bringing down important pol's on an almost weekly basis these days. INGEAP favors no party or sexual preference, has no boundaries, and cannot be killed, as long as there are needy, ambitious mirror-gazers in public...

I had a philosophy professor in college who described human savagery, and grace, and everything in between, by using the metaphor of a dial. He suggested that a couple of circumstantial clicks in one direction or another can render any human capable of luminous compassion, or obscene cruelty. What matters,...

Along with many of the hundreds of thousands of people who came to the District of Columbia for the most recent presidential inauguration, I got gloriously hammered on Tuesday night. Even Wednesday's hangover felt good; like a pleasant weariness without the sour stomach or creeping shame. My theory is that...

I was at my son's freshmen football game a few weeks ago. They were playing a road game against a high school in the North San Fernando Valley. It was homecoming weekend, with floats, home-cooked food and a big crowd of local supporters. Our boys were outnumbered, outweighed, and out...

My son Duncan, who is fourteen, is struggling a bit at his expensive school. I suspect he's smarter than all of us, but at this particular 'great' school you're not allowed to play football if you can't sustain a high average. The thought of him having to give up football,...

I just watched Barack Obama's latest campaign ad. It's him, talking straight to the camera, mainly about the economy, for two minutes. Compelling and reasonable, he says nothing we haven't heard him say before, while looking and sounding, 'presidential'. In a normal year the ad may have been criticized or...

Last week's Democratic National Convention in Denver was a triumph of choreography, security and management. The risky final day, outdoors at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium (worst corporate rename in history) provided beautiful presentation and stirring performances, but little suspense. Nor was drama provided by any of the major...

The N Word and Me:

I'm a 50 year-old White Anglo Saxon Protestant, but that's where the similarity ends, because by marriage I've been a member of a large black family for more than half my life. And I'm not talking about black people who have a place in Sag...

In London last week my wife, Alfre Woodard, and I got to spend a half hour alone with Nelson Mandela. Now, a cynic might say this audience was because of Mandela's well-known fondness for beautiful, celebrated women and I was allowed to be there only by a technicality. After all,...