WASHINGTON — The recent terrorist attacks have called forth predictable demands from our nation’s politicians, particularly President Obama’s opponents, for American leadership in the world. Here’s what these politicians don’t talk about: the image of our country they themselves create in the way they manage — or mismanage — the work of governing. For several […]
E.J. Dionne Jr.
Posted inOp-Eds
The discipline of gratitude
WASHINGTON — Thanksgiving is about gratitude, which is a disposition, a virtue and a way of thinking all at once. We often trivialize gratitude as little more than a passing feeling that gets expressed on greeting cards or in quick thank-you notes (although I’d make a strong case for thank-you notes, which I do not […]
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Posted inOp-Eds
What matters most to the public?
WASHINGTON — Politics is not only about competing views on issues. It is also about which problems come to the forefront in the public conversation and in the minds of citizens and voters. The battle over what matters most could determine the outcome of the 2016 election. One set of concerns, related to race, immigration […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Election shows Americans becoming entrenched
WASHINGTON — To understand the disappointment of Democrats with Tuesday’s off-off-year election results, consider what they might have said had two key states, Kentucky and Virginia, voted differently. Kentucky, a deeply red state in presidential years, has a habit of electing Democratic governors, including Steve Beshear, the popular incumbent who was term-limited. Polls gave Attorney […]