A new generation of technocratic black mayors has emerged with a pragmatic, bottom-line approach to governing. Tamar Jacoby hails these new leaders for their commitment to fiscal solvency and building cities that work—for both blacks and whites.

George W. Bush, it seems plausible to argue, wouldn’t have been elected president in 2000 if George H. W. Bush hadn’t been elected president in 1988. And George H. W. Bush wouldn’t have been elected president in 1988 if Ronald Reagan hadn’t invited him to be Reagan’s running mate in 1980. Hoover fellow Edwin Meese III describes how Reagan decided to issue that 1980 invitation–starting the Bushes on their way.

Steven C. Munson on Command Performance: An Actress in the Theater of Politics by Jane Alexander

Early in the third evening of the 1980 Republican convention, George W. Bush’s father was scarcely on Ronald Reagan’s mind. By the end of the night, he was Reagan’s vice-presidential nominee. An account from the front lines of the Reagan revolution. By Hoover fellow Richard V. Allen.