Running for president in 1928, Al Smith argued it was possible to be both a good Catholic and a faithful servant of the American people, writes Terry Golway. Even in losing, he changed U.S. history.
Terry Golway
Terry Golway, a former columnist for America, is a senior editor at Politico. He has written several books about Irish and Irish-American history.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Northern Ireland’s painful past is far from over
Patrick Radden Keefe delivers a searing portrait of Irish women and men struggling to make sense of their past and their memories.
Posted inBooks
Shaping Up the Docks
“On The Irish Waterfront” promises to reshape how cultural historians view a classic 1950s film.
Posted inColumns
A Happier Tomorrow: ‘I’m inspired by the astonishing optimism of other Americans.’
'I'm inspired by the astonishing optimism of other Americans.'
Posted inColumns
Print’s Demise: ‘No one needs to be told that newspapers are nearing their end days.’
‘No one needs to be told that newspapers are nearing their end days.’
Posted inColumns
Deja Vu on Wall Street: ‘The meltdown of venerable investment houses might have been anticipated.’
‘The meltdown of venerable investment houses might have been anticipated.’
Posted inColumns
National Civics Lesson
We have reached that stage of the election cycle when travel-weary commentators direct their ire at a hardy artifact of the old millennium, the national political convention. As thousands of delegates prepare for a few days of around-the-clock socializing and caucusing, their Boswells in the politic
Posted inColumns
Parsing Race and Gender: ‘Identity politics can be dangerous.’
Clinton, Obama, and the danger of identity politics
Posted inColumns
Lessons of Bittergate: ‘Not all Americans have reason to celebrate the 21st century economy.’
The most extraordinary presidential primary season since 1976, when Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan competed for delegates right up to the eve of the Republican National Convention, is nearly over. Cynics and late-night comics no doubt will heave a well-practiced sigh of relief and pretend, as best th
Posted inColumns
Public Morality After the Religious Right: ‘Religion still retains a hold on the American conscience.’
Is the religious right a spent force in American politics? There seems to be a growing consensus that it is, based in part on John McCain’s rather easy dispatch of Mike Huckabee in the Republican primaries. Huckabee, a preacher and unabashed advocate for the evangelical movement, certainly tou