At 14 you are still in most respects a dependent youth, in some respects a child. At 24 you are an adult. In between, extraordinary turbulences take place.

Citizen participation is a device whereby public officials induce nonpublic individuals to act in a way the officials desire.

You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.

Irresponsibility breeds irresponsibility. The finances of government are so central. You'd think that would be pretty obvious.

The issue of race could benefit from a period of benign neglect.

The liberal left can be as rigid and destructive as any force in American life.

Am I embarrassed to speak for a less than perfect democracy? Not one bit. Find me a better one. Do I suppose there are societies which are free of sin? No, I don't. Do I think ours is, on balance, incomparably the most hopeful set of human relations the world has? Yes, I do.