Advice for Joe Biden’s 2020 running mate in USA Today
USA Today OPINION ‘The vice presidency is a good gig’: Here’s some advice for Joe Biden’s 2020 running mate Aaron Mannes, Opinion contributor Published 5:02 a.m. ET Aug. 2, 2020 You didn’t become vice president just for future opportunities. You want to make a difference now. There’s good news and bad news. Congratulations on […]
Jessica Jones and Presidential Authority
Hey fans (do I have any?), it’s been awhile. I have a day job and I’m trying … trying… to write a book. For the book I’m thinking about what the politics of reconstruction will look like in an age of Creedal Passion. If none of this makes sense to you, read this. A big […]
Presidents Day Special: The Greatest Veep
Today is Presidents Day, the day we honor the people who have held our nation’s highest office. I’m skeptical of this holiday – not all of them were so great. I preferred honoring the greats with a day. We used to celebrate the birthdays of Washington and Lincoln, and that was enough. We shouldn’t add […]
Fun History Lesson: Impeachment, the Supreme Court, and the Balance of Powers
Since everyone is talking about impeaching Supreme Court Justices, let me tell you a story about how Aaron Burr saved America. In general Burr appears as a blackguard and scoundrel. And some of it is true (he did shoot Hamilton – but maybe it was an accident, who knows.) Burr’s correspondence was lost, so there’s […]
Reckoning & Revelation in the 2020s Director’s Cut I: The Ex-Presidents
As my regular readers (hi mom!) know, I am pretty convinced the 2020s are going to be huge, a real political earthquake. I’m pitching papers to conferences to force myself to write this up. In less than two weeks I’ll be presenting one paper at the American Political Science Association. In November at ISSS-IS on […]
July 4th Special Post – The Reckoning: American Politics in the 2020s
I have hinted that I am at work on a secret project. But, secret no more. This idea about what is going on in U.S. politics was accepted to the American Political Science Association conference and I need to start writing. With all the political ferment, on this day, in which we re-affirm our great […]
Lobbying Pence: On the VP’s Role in Trump White House
What a great Father’s Day gift, some reports on the doings of Vice President Pence! This White House leaks, that is an understatement. This White House gushes. Yet, monitoring reports on the internecine warfare of the West Wing, Pence remains in the shadows. His public appearances are of course covered and interesting. (The limited love […]
The VP and the Ronny Jackson VA nomination
I know the big news is more Mueller, but that’s not my thing. I’m about the Veep, and there is some fascinating news on that front. CNN reports that the vice president’s physician had written memos to the White House chief of staff John Kelly that he had some problems with White House physician and […]
Presidents Day Special: Interpreting Presidential Rankings
Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia Center for Politics released the results of a poll (conducted with Ipsos) of American ratings of past presidents. Rating presidents is a time honored historical game. There are some generally accepted conclusions – Lincoln was the best, Nixon the worst. There are always fun re-interpretations. Ulysses S Grant […]
VPWriting6: (Increments + Exponents)Impact = Excrement
Increments I am still struck by my observation the other day at how a mere 500 words a day can amount to serious output. It makes it seem like being a writer should be easy. If you wander over to TerrorWonk (or right here on VeepCritique) you’ll find a number of my entries, usually 500 […]