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OBAMA AND TRUMP: THE COSTS OF IGNORING MACHIAVELLI
American Presidents—like politicians everywhere—strive to be loved. There are two primary reasons for this. First, even the vilest dictators want to believe they are good people—and that...
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MACHIAVELLI SIZES UP TRUMP–AND FLUNKS HIM
No shortage of pundits have sized up Donald Trump—first as a Presidential candidate, and now as the nation’s 45th President. But how does Trump measure up in the estimate of Niccolo Machiavelli, the...
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VLADIMIR PUTIN: LEARNING THE WRONG LESSONS OF HISTORY
Vladimir Putin believes himself to be a serious student of history. But he has drawn the wrong lessons from the past. During the American Revolution (1775-1783) and the War of 1812 (1812-1815) Great...
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TRUMP: MORE LIKE STALIN THAN HITLER: PART ONE (OF TWO)
Donald Trump has often been compared to Adolf Hitler. But his reign bears far more resemblance to that of Joseph Stalin. Germany’s Fuhrer, for all his brutality, maintained a relatively stable...
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TRUMP: MORE LIKE STALIN THAN HITLER: PART TWO (END)
In January, 2018, the White House banned the use of personal cell phones in the West Wing. The official reason: National security. The real reason: To prevent staffers from leaking to reporters. More...
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STUPID BOSSES CHOOSE STUPID AIDES: PART ONE (OF THREE)
“The first impression that one gets of a ruler and his brains is from seeing the men that he has about him. “When they are competent and loyal one can always consider him wise, as he has been...
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STUPID BOSSES CHOOSE STUPID AIDES: PART TWO (OF THREE)
Former President Donald Trump now faces criminal indictment for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential election. His defense: He’s blaming his lawyers for advising him to use...
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STUPID BOSSES CHOOSE STUPID AIDES: PART THREE (END)
In late July, 2016, Donald Trump’s new spokeswoman, Katrina Pierson, accepted an impossible mission that even “Mission: Impossible’s” Jim Phelps would have turned down: Convince Americans that...
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THE POWER OF IRRATIONALITY
Republicans learned long ago that most voters aren’t moved by appeals to their rationality. Instead, what counts with them is emotions. Especially the dark ones—Hate, Greed, Fear. This is a lesson...
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MACHIAVELLI’S ADVICE TO ISREAL: BE FEARED, NOT DESPISED
On October 7, about 2,500 Hamas terrorists launched coordinated attacks on Israeli outposts and settlements, firing over 5,000 rockets and burning houses. They killed over 1,400 people, mostly...
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FUHRERS AND THEIR GENERALS
On September 3, 2020 a blockbuster story appeared in The Atlantic magazine under the headline: “Trump: Americans Who Died in War are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’.” The story opened: “When President Donald...
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NAIVETY AND COWARDICE: HOW DEMOCRATS LOSE ELECTIONS
Uber liberal Democrats have long forgotten an important truth: The United States and its allies—Great Britain and the Soviet Union—did not defeat Nazi Germany because “we were the Good Guys and they...
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HOW DEMOCRATS CAN DEFEAT REPUBLICAN EXTORTION: PART ONE (OF TWO)
It took 15 voting tries—and a series of humiliating concessions—for Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to become Speaker of the House of Representatives. All of the concessions he made were to the most...
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HOW DEMOCRATS CAN DEFEAT EXTORTION: PART TWO (END)
….A man who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything must inevitably come to grief among so many who are not good. And therefore it is necessary, for a prince who wishes to maintain...
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MACHIAVELLI’S ADVICE TO ISREAL: BE FEARED, NOT DESPISED
On October 7, 2023, about 2,500 Hamas terrorists launched coordinated attacks on Israeli outposts and settlements, firing over 5,000 rockets and burning houses. They killed over 1,139 people,...
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GIVING ADVICE SAFELY—THE MACHIAVELLI WAY
Ask the average person, “What do you think of Niccolo Machiavelli?” and he’s likely to say: “The devil.” In fact, “The Old Nick” became an English term used to describe Satan and slander Machiavelli...
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MACHIAVELLI: HOW TO RECOGNIZE GOOD–AND STUPID–LEADERS
“There is no other way of guarding oneself against flattery than by letting men understand that they will not offend you by speaking the truth. But when every one can tell you the truth, you lose...
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THE LIMITS OF LOVE AND FEAR: PART ONE (OF THREE)
It’s probably the most-quoted passage of Niccolo Machiavelli’s infamous book, The Prince: “From this arises the question whether it is better to be loved than feared, or feared more than loved. The...
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THE LIMITS OF LOVE AND FEAR: PART TWO (OF THREE)
Is it better to be loved or feared? That was the question Florentine statesman Niccolo Machiavelli raised more than 500 years ago. Presidents have struggled to answer this question—and have come to...
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THE LIMITS OF LOVE AND FEAR: PART THREE (END)
American Presidents—like politicians everywhere—strive to be loved. There are two primary reasons for this. First, even the vilest dictators want to believe they are good people—and that their...
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