We would all be better off in the long run if Senator Sanders would categorically reject these bullying tactics. If he doesn't, he will be the thief. He will have stolen unity from the Democratic Party and he will have robbed himself of respect and admiration. It's all up to him.

One of the most disturbing realities the surveillance revelations have brought into relief is that in its drive to safeguard national security, the Obama Administration has concocted tactics that draw a sharp line dividing the state and the public, casting the latter in the role of potential conspirator.

The rough media consensus today is that the Republican contest is, in fact, over. Gingrich is described not so much as a serious contender for the Republican nomination as he is an impediment to Romney's need to unify the party and focus on Barack Obama.

The increasingly disorderly fight over raising the debt ceiling has not only exposed the petty dysfunctions of the US Congress, it has also revealed a core failure of American political journalism.

As citizens of the nation continue through the summer, distracting themselves by howling at the moon and one another, I spent this past weekend in Manhattan seeing revivals of two classic period pieces of American theater.