Gwen's Take

Our Messy Liberties, Then And Now

Posted: July 5, 2012 at 5:58 pm

On the Fourth of July, I poured a cup of coffee and started my day reading the Declaration of Independence at my kitchen table. Out loud.

You should try it. It’s one thing to think you know what it says. It’s another thing to hear the words come back at you in your own voice.

We all remember the opening phrases -- “When in the course of human events...” and “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal….” But how many of us recall how in-your-face the rest of the document is?

Washington’s 100-Degree Day of Contempt, Constitutionality & the Rule of Law

Posted: June 28, 2012 at 6:21 pm

I can say quite honestly that Thursday was among the most dramatic days I’ve ever seen unfold in Washington.

Understanding that I was too young to witness the Kennedy funeral or the Nixon resignation firsthand, watching the Supreme Court uphold a sweeping health care law hours before the House of Representatives voted to find an attorney general in contempt of Congress -- for the first time ever--- was riveting.

The Apple War: How One Man Took On The Nation's Divisive Politics

Posted: June 21, 2012 at 5:39 pm

Greg Clement saved the Brunswick, Ohio apple orchard and restaurant he now owns from foreclosure last year. He grew up there and decided to use his experience launching a successful software firm to save a piece of his childhood.

So when Mitt Romney's campaign advance team came to town scouting out a place for a rally, Clement was thrilled to offer up picturesque Mapleside Farms, with its acres of apple trees and sweeping views of the Appalachian foothills.

Gwen with Greg Clement (NewsHour)

Dearth of Civility in the Public Square

Posted: June 14, 2012 at 6:16 pm

Flash back with me to sixth grade recess. A bit of taunting that turns into a little shoving and trash talking. Next thing you know, a circle of children are egging each other you on, chanting: “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

What choice did you have but to fight? It wasn’t a very civil thing to do, but this was elementary school.

Now, we live in a world of sixth grade taunting everywhere we look, where disagreements are settled on the playground of dueling campaign appearances and pundit-driven cable television debates.

Election 2012: All the Bright and Shiny Objects

Posted: June 7, 2012 at 5:12 pm

I have become an excellent tea-leaf reader this spring. As I watch college graduates cross the stage on commencement day -- teetering in new heels, arms outstretched to grasp their hard-earned diplomas -- I study the terror in their eyes.

And as I watch two party nominees stride onto their stages -- theme songs blaring, and huge American flags hung behind them -- I study the ambition in their eyes.