No real-world human being brings to the U.S. presidency the range of attributes necessary for full success in the job.

As many people have chronicled, the decision to fight in Vietnam was a years-long accretion of step-by-step choices, each of which could be rationalized at the time. Invading Iraq was an unforced, unnecessary decision to risk everything on a 'war of choice' whose costs we are still paying.

In a time of transition for journalism all around the world, it's reassuring to know that some of the old ways endure.

James Fallows Quotes