Mr. Speaker, Not Mr. President

As his presidential campaign slides toward the back pages of the history he loves to quote, Newt Gingrich may want to reflect on one lesson of history that he never mentions:  what a weak platform the House Speakership has proved to be for presidential candidates. Although House Speakers are national figures, they have faded from…

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World War I: Too Big to Write?

Having just finished the terrific, deeply flawed The Beauty and the Sorrow by Peter Englund, about World War I, I find myself wondering if it is possible to write a sensible history of that massive, world-changing conflict.   I hope people keep trying to do so, because I want to try to understand it better, but…

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