Hill column  .

For a year, everyone has been repeating a familiar refrain: “It’s too early” to know how the contest for the Democratic nomination will shape up, let alone shake out. Well,…

I know how it happens. A major news story breaks and editors rapidly assign pieces covering every angle. Gen. Qassem Soleimani is killed. Does it mean war? What’s the effect…

If you think the Iowa caucus results are now settled, you have been paying inadequate attention to the history of this remarkable ritual of American politics. And with Iowa unsettled,…

It’s long past time we toss the “lane theory” of primaries into the dustbin of history. Lane theory holds that candidates are essentially running to attract subsets of voters who…

Theories of voting abound, but most assume it’s a rational act. We might consider each candidate’s positions on issues and vote for the one closest to us, at least on…

The Republicans of 1973/74 seem like a totally different breed than those we’re saddled with today. We recall them as facing the tribulations of Watergate determined to uncover the truth,…

With fewer people willing to be interviewed for surveys, pollsters fret about our samples no longer being representative. And if you don’t have a representative sample, there’s no reason to…

Not long ago, Republicans were pressing journalists to ask every Democrat whether they would vote for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.  Donald Trump chortled at the mention of her name,…

In 1952, Republicans successfully urged Americans to “Vote for peace; Vote for prosperity; Vote for Ike” (Eisenhower). Even before then, those two sets of issues — peace and prosperity —…

Survey questions asking whether voters want to impeach and remove Donald Trump from office are now mesmerizing pundits and pols.  Important as it seems, it may be the wrong question…