“My candidate for the most distinctive and praiseworthy human capacity is our ability to trust and to cooperate with other people, and in particular to work together so as to improve the future.” Aristotle wrote that people have a natural impulse for community. For Aristotle, being together in community is central to “human flourishing” or…

This political season is going to get increasingly stressful and unhinged as spring turns to summer, and summer to fall. Conflict entrepreneurs and outrage hucksters will be out in full force. It will be tempting to do whatever it takes (whatever that means) to secure victory  (whatever that looks like). If we’re not careful the…

This December marks the end of my 30th year working in politics. That has led to some reflection, some of which I share here and on Medium. Thirty years ago, Andy Gordon, the incoming chief of staff to incoming US Representative Sam Coppersmith, hired me to be Sam’s director of constituent services. After figuring out…

Gun laws are public policy. Gun policy won’t change until policymakers change. Advocates need to change policymakers. In the face of events that force themselves onto the national agenda (like leaked Supreme Court rulings, racist attacks and mass shootings) activists should ask: what now, what next, and then what? Answering these questions help respond to…

On May 14th I addressed the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs graduating students and their families. You can read the full speech on Medium. Democracy is not a given. Our democratic experiment only continues if we continue it. Truffle hunters didn’t stumble across a box of democracy in the woods. We…

Below is the take-home final exam for SMPA 3348, Political Communication Ethics. Those new to the class might find this case study and “Goalposts and Guardrails: A Mixed Metaphor Guide to Ethics in Advocacy” by Elisa Massimino in Political Communication Ethics: Theory and Practice helpful as you tackle the question. Framing is a powerful persuasive…

“Aristoteles” (1811) by Francesco Hayez (1791–1882) According to Aristotle the young, “are fond of laughter, and therefore witty; for wit is cultured insolence.” He goes on: “In their actions, [the young] prefer the noble to the useful; their life is guided by their character rather than by calculation, for the latter aims at the useful,…

“To retain social hope, members of such a [modern, literate, secular] society need to be able to tell themselves a story about how things might get better, and to see no insuperable obstacles to this story’s coming true.” Richard Rorty, Contingency, irony, and solidarity Human beings seek reason and order. We want to stand on…

This is going to be a weird semester.  We are back on campus, more or less, with mandates for masks and screenings and shots. We’re meeting people for the first time whom we’ve known on Zoom for a year. Some of you (and some of your professors) are at GW for the first time, even…

“Never be daunted. Secret of my success. Never been daunted. Never been daunted in public.” Bill to Jake in The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway I’m writing this sitting in the same chair in which I’ve been sitting for a year. You may be reading this in the same chair in which you’ve been sitting…