“We are all of us preachers in private or public capacities. We have no sooner uttered words than we have given impulse to other people to look at the world, or some small part of it, in our way…That is why I must agree with Quintilian that the true orator is the good…

The School of Media and Public Affairs, The George Washington University Syllabus : Strategic Political Communication – SMPA 3353 Fall 2017 Tuesday and Thursday 12:45 – 2:00pm – MPA 307 Instructor: Peter Loge ploge@gwu.edu “The world is still in want of clear-headed citizens, tempered by historical perspective, disciplined by rational thinking and moral compass, who speak…

Last week Senator John McCain (R-AZ) flew to Washington from Arizona where he was receiving treatment for a brain tumor for the final votes on repealing the Affordable Care Act. He gave an impassioned speech on the floor of the Senate in favor of a return to political order and political debates based on arguments…

Last Saturday night in Chester, Pennsylvania Haris Medunjanin told a referee that he was wrong. What makes this worth noting is that Medunjanin is a professional soccer player who was protesting a red card issued to an opponent who had just fouled him. Medunjanin plays for the Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer. In the…

  Another shooting, another call for unity, another symbolic act. Another round of placing blame and denying personal responsibility.  Representative Mark Sanford (R-SC) says Trump is partially to blame for the shooting and former Speaker Newt Gingrich blames the “the left.” The President calls for unity, even as he attacks our democratic institutions. After U.S….

We are the grownups in the room. It is time for our cooler heads to prevail. Ultimately, the grown-ups in the room will have to do their jobs The Washington Post 9/29/13 A couple of months ago I was wondering when the adults and their cooler heads would prevail and we would settle back into…

  I’m one of those people. I’m a swamp-dwelling, fancy suit and loafer wearing, political campaign donating, political insider. I have worked for Senator Ted Kennedy, three members of the US House of Representatives, and most recently I worked in President Obama’s administration as a senior advisor to the Commissioner of the US Food and…

Last week’s House vote on health care was a missed opportunity. Representatives had a chance to work together to improve parts of the Affordable Care Act that needed improving and jettison elements that were not working. Had they done that, they would have improved the lives of the American people, improved their own standing with…

One cannot constantly attack an institution and expect that institution to function. If the only thing anyone hears about a place is how awful it is, and if the only thing anyone hears about those who work there is how corrupt and incompetent they are, then all anyone will believe is that the place and…

The House Republicans’ latest attempt to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare would turn several federal requirements into state options. This is both bad politics and bad policy. As others have noted, Republican attempts to repeal and replace Obamacare have made the law more popular. The individual elements of the Affordable Care Act have…