Back Talk

Alan says: I am in favor of limiting the governor to two consecutive terms. But blacklisting someone after eight years altogether, regardless of how good or bad they did their job, can needlessly force an effective public official out of public service. Many state governors throughout history have served well over eight years without their constituents regretting it. I would point out that such a system is wholly unworkable in twenty-first century America: we live in the era of the permanent campaign and the 24-hour news cycle. A governor facing re-election every other year would essentially do nothing but fundraise (which is close to what most do anyway even with four-year terms). (November 19th, 2009 at 11:09pm)

H. W. Brands

Features

George W. Bush says he doesn’t have time to think about his legacy, but the rest of us have no such trouble. We asked some of the smartest people we could think of—prize-winning historians, presidential scholars, White House vets—to predict how 43 will be judged and to suggest what, if anything, he can still do about it. (March 2007)

Yes, we should remember the battle at the center of the Texas Revolution. But we should forget everything we think we know about it. (March 2003)

Columns | Miscellany

I thought I’d be teaching middle- schoolers something about Texas history. I didn’t count on what they’d teach me. (June 2006)

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