By Michael P. Riccards Less than a week before the presidential election, there has been almost no conversation about foreign affairs. The United States is supposed to be a superpower, the leader of the free world, and the anchor of… Read More ›
Michael Riccards
Presidential politics is my profession, but I have had my fill
By Michael P. Riccards The nation is severely divided on many topics, but we are united in wishing the election to come soon. We are weary from the virus, from the inconclusive measures to contain it, from the marches for… Read More ›
The Catholic Church and Gay Marriage
By Michael P. Riccards This week the current Pope reasserted his disposition that he supports the establishment of civil unions for gay people. The Vatican watchdogs and the American hierarchy generally regarded that as a doctrinal lapse, but many of… Read More ›
The mental state of chief executives
By Michael P. Riccards On this site before, I have dealt with the issue of the physical fitness of the presidency. Now we have to come to grips with the more difficult issue of the mental state of chief executives. Politics tends… Read More ›
The VP Debate in Retrospect
By Michael P. Riccards Two term vice president John Nance Garner once said that the office he held was not worth a pitcher of warm spit. If he had been more loyal to his president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, he might have ended up… Read More ›
The presidency in sickness and in health
By Michael P. Riccards The recent illness of President Trump is only the latest episode in our chief executives fighting medical problems. In the 20th century, the nation experienced some extremely important setbacks linked to the illnesses of the chief… Read More ›
Tonight’s Debate: ‘A National Embarrassment’
By Michael P. Riccards In 1960, the nation had its first live televised presidential debate with Kennedy and Nixon. It was fascinating and enlightening. But tonight it was a national embarrassment with Trump and Biden. What are we doing as… Read More ›
The Catholic Church and the Pandemic
By Michael P. Riccards Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerith of tiny Luxembourg has argued that the COVID-19 epidemic could accelerate by 10 years the secularization of the West. For some reason, apparently this view is shared by other high members of the… Read More ›
Should we put a cap on the age of presidential candidates?
By Michael P. Riccards I have always loved conventions, and I attended two of them. They are P.T. Barnum at his best, but in fact they have had an impact on this nation. At the convention of 1860, the Republicans… Read More ›
Presidential scholar to provide analysis of race for the White House
Presidential scholar and author Michael P. Riccards will provide weekly commentary and analysis on the 2020 presidential campaign for the Jandoli Institute this fall. “Michael has written extensively about the presidency,” Jandoli Institute Executive Director Richard Lee said. “His insight… Read More ›
Jandoli Institute 