In the White House, it's been called the Swing Around the Circle, a planned rally tour to persuade middle-of-the-road voters of his moderation, and of the extremism of the opposition.

But not all plans ...well... go off as planned.

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On November 19, a special time marking national redefinition, a day signifying dedication to an ideal, we are reminded instead how far we have fallen.

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In 1970, Mayor Carl Stokes gently rebuked an accuser.

Not quite half a century later, that rebuke stands in contrast with clumsy denials by Trump's Interior Secretary.

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When the ruler of the most powerful nation in the world demands unconditional loyalty, even future generations will take notice.

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The unknown, little reported, scandal within the scandal we call Watergate helped cause years of national pain.

Nearly five decades later, James Comey repeated that scandal.

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Elizabeth Warren deserves praise: She "persisted."

Among others who persisted, John Quincy Adams was a true original.

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Think you know history? Think you understand why the Electoral College was formed?

Think it was all about distrust of "tyranny of the majority" and big vs small states?

Think again.

Most of us were taught a constitutional fiction.

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Almost 50 years ago, Brian Wilson trashed the best work he had ever done.
Only pieces of it survived to be heard by a select few decades later.

We do not need to follow his sad example by repeating past tragedies for our country today.

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It isn't because of her political positions. It isn't because of her qualifications.

It is something more basic.

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We react with degrees of fear and reason to tragic mass shootings.

Some of those reactions carry their own tragedy.

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Conservatives could have seen Barack Obama as proof that conservative values work.

Why did they sacrifice those values?

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Joe Biden, Paul Ryan, and Mario Cuomo have something sad in common. They might have changed America. They never will.

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The literary storm that followed an unfortunate book review in the Economist magazine has been a combination of outrage and rage. The review was critical of a book by Edward Baptist about slavery. The reviewer presented the case that the book lacked balance, neglecting to present the case in favor of slavery.

The Economist withdrew the piece. The recantation contained the review itself as a gesture toward transparency. It served as an allocution of sorts: an acknowledgment of the facts as part of an admission of guilt.

The controversy brought to mind the lessons of my youth and a larger message about history itself. The reasons we were taught what we were taught can teach us more now than we could ever have learned then.

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