Super Bowl LII American Revolution Commercial Roundup: Does any January ad count?
This is the fourth time I’ve done the Super Bowl revolution round-up (note: these go off YouTube pretty quickly; my apologies for the broken links). And for the first time, there’s not a single one. came out well before the Super Bowl. However, this Geico one came out in mid-January, and it’s fun, as most […]
There can be only one? American Revolution Super Bowl 51 Commercial Round-up
It’s the post we’ve all been waiting for: our third annual Super Bowl commercial roundup. There’s only one commercial this year, and an interesting one at that. Is this a sign of a different public toward the founding, compared to recent years? Very much so, I think.
Half-right, in a bad way: David Brooks and the founders’ ugly racial legacy
In his Feb. 26 column, “The Governing Cancer of Our Time,” New York Times columnist David Brooks praised the founding fathers in contrast to today’s tea partiers and other zealots for favoring politics over brute force, and compromise over intransigence. He’s partly right in that solving social conflict through politics and compromise is one of […]
Question on George Washington’s Birthday: Would He Be a Good Candidate Today?
There’s nothing like celebrating February 22, George Washington’s birthday, during a presidential campaign year. Mount Vernon, the historical site comprising George Washington’s home and plantation (oh, and the home of 300+ people legally owned by him and his wife, Martha), has been having fun this election cycle, with a tongue-in-cheek “George Washington for President” website, […]
Repost: I plead the 5th! Truths, Lies and a not-so-honest Abe. A President’s Day Quiz
The following was originally posted at From the Square, the official blog of New York University Press. We celebrate Presidents’ Day this year in the midst of presidential primary campaign season, a season in which not only has nearly every candidate disavowed previous political positions, but some have insisted that they never said things they said. […]