A look at the civilian employment-population ratio gives a better picture of how hard it is going to be for the United States to recover from financial crisis, and explains why Ronald Reagan's approach to job creation would be better suited to spur recovery.

Like Franklin D. Roosevelt, RonaldReagan upended the near-monopoly of theDemocratic Party on the nation's political life.

Sometimes looking forward requires first studying the past. Reagan, a product of the future, nonetheless understood one needed to have a firm grasp of history.

There was no Reagan "mystique"--study him closely and you see that he worked very hard at becoming a good politician, and part of that was concealing just how hard he worked at it.

A key lesson for Republicans in 2008.

Of all the unlikely developments in American politics over the last two decades, the most astonishing is this: liberals suddenly love Ronald Reagan.

Reagan remains the beau ideal of a modern conservative statesman, whose skills and insights are worthy of the closest study and emulation.

More than most presidents, George W. Bush has left behind a mixed record.