Op Ed

"My goal is to be the last fat black woman in my family," writes Alice Randall, writer in residence at Vanderbilt and author of "Ada's Rules." Read More

As the topic of education reform continues to dominate and preoccupy today’s educational discourse and divide a nation, it is easy to get distracted from the primary reason we send our children to school every day: to learn how to read, write, think, and speak effectively. Read More

As the Obama administration begins its quest to right the economy through government spending, a counter story of recovery comes from admirers of the Reagan administration. President Reagan's admirers point out that he was also faced with a horrible economy upon his inauguration which, they assert, Reagan cured with deep tax cuts. Read More

Last May, during my remarks at Vanderbilt University's graduate school commencement ceremony, I shared this observation, "The world you're about to enter as Vanderbilt's newest alumni is a world where many of the challenges so in need of fresh ideas are increasingly measured in trillions." Little did I know then that the economy's approaching nosedive would soon turn trillions into front-page news. Read More

As the curtain falls on the Bush presidency, we will inevitably try to assess his legacy. So will President Bush. He's been doing interviews, holding press conferences, and just delivered his farewell address all in an effort to define that legacy. Read More

With all the focus on the president-elect's views about the Burris appointment and the economic stimulus, we forget that Barack Obama is about to assume responsibility as chief executive of an organization that employs close to 2 million civilian employees. Obama's fortunes as president will depend in large part on his success at taking charge of the machinery of government. Read More

The No. 1 priority facing President-elect Barack Obama is the economic crisis, which, so far, is focused on the financial sector. But there are other serious issues deserving attention from the president-elect. Read More

Like other presidents before him, President-elect Barack Obama will be under immense pressure to reward campaign workers, state and local party officials, interest groups and key donors with positions in the new administration. Read More

In answering Gwen Ifill\'s question about vice presidential powers at last week\'s debate, Joe Biden redirected attention to the still not very well known concept of the "unitary executive." Biden charged that Dick Cheney had become "the most dangerous vice president we\'ve had probably in American history" because of his attempts to create a super-powerful unitary executive. Read More

It\'s that time again. With the mud flying in the presidential race, pundits, journalists and political observers of all stripes are denouncing the campaign\'s new, strikingly negative tone. Listening to them, you\'d think that the very fabric of our democracy were being ripped apart every time a candidate aired a tough attack ad, threw an elbow or issued a sharply worded statement. Read More

Continued thrust and parry between Barack Obama and John McCain has led many to label the 2008 presidential campaign the most negative campaign in the modern era. Negative ads have dominated the airwaves to the point that even Karl Rove argued that both candidates have gone too far. Read More

The highest priority must be given to the development of Afghan security forces that are better able to deal with insurgents within the country, even if they have a haven in Pakistan. Read More

The attacks of September 11, 2001 killed citizens from more than 80 nations and stunned the world by their scope and savagery. The quintessentially American ethos of national invulnerability was forever altered. The President declared, to thunderous applause, that, "we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. Our grief has turned to anger and anger to resolution. Whether we bring our enemies to justice, or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done." Read More

Republicans should kick off their convention in a most unconventional and memorable manner. Instead of singing God Bless America and blasting Democrats, Republicans should ascend the stage with their heads bowed and collectively plead for God\'s mercy and forgiveness. Read More

With a sagging economy, an unpopular war and a Republican president with limited public support, it would be easy to write off John McCain\'s chances of being our next president. Read More

With the national polls continuing to show a close race, the stakes of the upcoming Democratic convention are huge for Barack Obama and the Democrats. Read More

If they hope to win the White House in November and retain control of Congress, the Democrats must emerge from their convention with a party platform that adheres to traditional values while addressing the concerns and worries of Wal-Mart shoppers who fret about the rising costs of flour, milk and sugar. Read More

Cheap electricity and gasoline fueled Tennessee's prosperity over the last several decades. But Tennessee now ranks first in the nation in per-person residential electricity consumption, much of which is generated from coal, the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel, and Tennessee drivers rank among the highest in the number of vehicle miles traveled per person. Read More

All of life is a struggle. Achieving high ideals demands teeth-gritting pain, sadness and loss. It may take generations to embody the values on which a nation is founded. And once embodied, they perpetually threaten to slip away. Read More

America is not living up to the principles embodied in the Declaration of Independence. As a consequence, there is much unrest. We have forgotten who we are, how we were established and what we were meant to be. We have become a declining, decadent nation; too arrogant for its own good. On this July 4, 2008, we must look back "lest we forget." amy.wolf@vanderbilt.edu Read More