Terry Newell

Americans seem to love people with a swagger in their step, a self-assuredness that shouts confidence and success. We like people who dominate in their professions and get the job done. That is, for sure, much of what is right about America.

We also admire those who sacrifice for others,...

A rare moment occurred in the nation's capital a few weeks ago. Democrats and Republicans, adherents of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, and people with no political leanings or even interests came together. As the space shuttle Discovery, bolted to the back of a 747, passed overhead on...

We think of the president as Commander in Chief, a title that emphasizes his military role. He is also the Chief Executive Officer of the largest organization in America. In the former role, most presidents quite rightly praise the caliber and achievements of our men and women in uniform. The...

If the Supreme Court holds that the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, which requires every American adult to purchase health insurance or pay a fine, is unconstitutional, why could not Social Security be next? After all, it requires nearly every American to purchase retirement coverage? What about Medicare, which requires...

Most politicians insist that they will never lie to the American people. Most Americans, on the other hand, expect politicians to lie. That's the sad condition of our current political scene. As T.S. Eliot said, "between the idea and the reality falls the shadow."

How is this disconnect possible? To...

In 2004, candidates for the presidency and Congress spent $4.2 billion. In 2008, that figure jumped 27 percent to $5.3 billion ($2.4 billion for the presidency alone). With the advent of Super PACs, 2012 may well set a new record. A great deal of this money is spent...

Newt Gingrich, angling for votes in Florida, promised that, as president, he would establish a lunar base by the end of his second term. Aside from the obvious charge that he was pandering for votes in the Sunshine State ahead of its Republican primary, most thoughtful people know that delivering...

Americans are angry. We shout at each other on talk radio, from our cars, at political rallies, on cable news and on reality TV -- and, unfortunately, sometimes at home. Perhaps it is our difficult lives, filled as they are with the demands of our job (or the need to...

Since 9/11, America has fought two wars, costly in lives lost and lives forever changed by battlefield scars. Financially, these wars were also costly -- more than a trillion dollars in national wealth. Yet we are now perched on the precipice of another war. President Obama recently told Iran

Americans have a love-hate relationship with debating. Case in point: the seemingly never-ending series of Republican party candidate debates. Viewers have been alternatively enthralled and enraged, eager to tune in and bored beyond belief. But the modern approach to debating (which bears little resemblance to the classical format of carefully...

Newt Gingrich, angling for votes in Florida, recently promised that, as president, he would establish a lunar base by the end of his second term. Aside from the obvious charge that he was pandering for votes in the Sunshine State ahead of its Republican primary, most thoughtful people know that...

Americans are disturbed by the influence of money in political campaigns. In a mid-January national poll, 64 percent favored limiting how much individuals can contribute to campaigns, and 67 percent favored limiting how much groups can contribute (CBS/New York Times, January 12-17, 2012). At the same time, legislative...

Looking at a typical day's media coverage of the presidential campaign season is a bit like watching kickboxing. Lots of testosterone -- all aimed at destroying opponents. There is nothing wrong with testosterone, of course. Campaigning for the presidency seems to call forth and thrive on it. But that's not...

The sex abuse scandals at Penn State and Syracuse have revealed multiple missed opportunities for people in positions of responsibility to do the right thing. Whether the charges against Jerry Sandusky, former Penn State football defensive coordinator, and Bernie Fine, former basketball assistant coach at Syracuse, are ever proven or...

As we head toward 2012, the American public seems underwhelmed by its choices for president. Charisma and cash seem, once again, to be trumping character and competence.

As for character, the top Republican, Newt Gingrich, pitches himself to evangelical Christians as the man they can trust, hoping that his...

Forecasting the trajectory of the U.S. economy is more art than science. Understanding what will determine whether 2012 brings economic growth and sustained improvement in employment or another recession calls for reading data as well as tea leaves, which means even the experts disagree. The S&P which recently jumped four...

With the failure of the "supercommittee" in Congress to find $1.2 trillion in savings to help address the nation's long-term debt, each side blames the other. The public is not surprised, though it is justifiably angry. The approval rating of Congress, as a result, is now in the single digits.

It may be a long, cold winter for Occupy Wall Street protesters, and not just because camping in the park is not much fun in a snowstorm. The movement which began with such promise and has grown virally needs to move from the streets to the halls of legislatures, and...

Americans are getting hardening of the political arteries. Whether on the left or the right of the political spectrum, they are increasingly setting litmus tests for candidates that do neither the candidates nor the nation much good. Members of Congress, Senators, and Presidents now come into office with a very...

The media and cyberspace are frothing with the recent charge by Rep. Paul Ryan that President Obama's call for returning to pre-Bush tax rates for Americans with gross incomes over $1 million a year is "class warfare." The Right jumps on that wording to paint the President as launching an...