The history of patent law shows its great and enduring power.

A letter from an expat describes a beautiful, baffling country.

Barack Obama is a symbol—a truly inspiring example of what a half-African, half-American man can achieve in the United States. He is also a gifted orator, if a little over-reliant on the teleprompter. Into the bargain, he is a streetwise Chicago politician who outsmarted Hillary Clinton in the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination. Above […]

The Obama Administration is a work in progress, and a fair-minded report card would feature far more incompletes than letter grades. Still, one may venture some interim judgments.On the positive side, the President has put in place a competent White House and Executive Branch, which seem to be functioning reasonably smoothly and with no more […]

There are three Democratic predecessors in whose footsteps Barack Obama could follow: Jimmy Carter, who was seen as a failure in both domestic and foreign policy; Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded at home but failed abroad; and Franklin Roosevelt, who achieved great things on both fronts. If Obama gets a reasonable health care reform bill through […]

Dear Mr. President, It’s been nearly a year since Inauguration day, and it’s fair to say that things could be better. I think you know the lay of the land, but please permit me a brief summary.Just two months ago, on the first anniversary of your election, and the first time the voters had spoken […]

Pakistan has lots of problems, but jihadi violence isn’t the biggest one.

Warren G. Harding may have been a bounder, but he was a talented one.

Two new books ostensibly about Israel really aren’t.

Phillip Roth and Ian McEwan on love, lust and loss.