In A Bad Time

I can’t recall a time when it was as easy as it is today to glance at the headlines of the morning paper and turn quickly to the sports pages. The presidential campaign is only the most obvious reason for a general depression about political life. On the right, there is some vitality and enthusiasm. But on the left, everything that makes commitment exciting and worthwhile seems for the moment to be missing: a sense of possibility, collective esprit, programmatic vigor, and intelligence....