R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.

John Kelly will need to plug White House leaks

Luigi Barzini, my old pal and the author of so many fine books all written from his aerie above Rome -- and his finest, "The Italians," he wrote in English -- once jolted me by saying, "You Americans talk too much." Of course, he said it with affection. Back in the days of the Cold War, he was one of the few European intellectuals who really understood and admired America. What provoked him, however, was the famous euphemism of American politicians.

August 1, 2017

Russia collusion inquiry continues to turn up no proof

In the Russia-Trump imbroglio let us be clear. We are now months into it. A dozen or so culprits have been fingered, some being actually quite amusing. You will be seeing more of the fat British music promoter, Rob Goldstone, who has been photographed wearing a baseball hat emblazoned with a word denoting a type of female anatomy on it.

July 25, 2017

Universities drifting far to the left

I have recently been reminded of one of my earliest conclusions about the American left. I arrived at that conclusion when what we now call the left was relatively civilized. We called it, in those days, American liberalism, but even then it was fla fla.

July 18, 2017

Donald Trump critics fancy themselves heroes

I have returned. From Europe, that is, and I hope I met with no Russian undercover agents while there. The soi-disant liberals are in a snit about the Russians. Supposedly, Donald Trump Jr. and the mysterious Jared Kushner met with an undercover agent of the Kremlin in June of last year, and they did not report their meeting to The Powers That Be.

July 11, 2017

Shariah can be headed off by Constitution

Do I detect a note of desperation in how some of my fellow Americans discuss how to treat terrorism, specifically the Islamic State, or ISIS? ISIS has grown from a small group of brutes back in President Obama's time committing various heinous crimes into a small army consisting of a few thousand, perhaps tens of thousands committing heinous crimes.

June 27, 2017

Alexandria shooter hated Republicans

Have you followed the drift of the Mainstream Media (MSM) as to what provoked James T. Hodgkinson to attempt the massacre of the Republican baseball team as it practiced in Alexandria, Va., last week?

June 20, 2017

James Comey behavior shows he has come unglued

I shall not beat around the bush. As readers of this column perhaps suspect, I have admired former FBI Director James Comey for most of his public career, beginning in 2013. That he is a friend of former FBI Director Robert Mueller makes me admire him even more. Mr. Mueller is a man of integrity and discretion. Mr. Mueller would not befriend a man of dubious character.

June 13, 2017

Clintons’ legacy is in danger

I shall be honest with you. Let me be frank. I am worried about the Clintons. They are that magical couple about whom most of Washington's commentariat have been in agreement ever since John F. Harris wrote his definitive book, "The Survivor."

June 6, 2017

Memorial Day shows price so many paid for freedom

Last weekend I heard, while visiting the New Jersey shore, an astonishing number of vacationing Americans -- all well-intentioned, to be sure -- greet their fellow vacationers with a cheerful: "Have a Happy Memorial Day."

May 30, 2017

Roger Ailes built conservative juggernaut

A major threat to the predominance of the Kultursmog in these United States passed away last week, but he had succeeded in what he set out to do, namely: to damage the left in America beyond any hope of recovery. Not many people recognize this, but it is nonetheless true.

May 23, 2017

Left-wing commentators quick to lambast humor

It is probably too early in our 45th president's tenure to evaluate how his critics are appraising him, both those on the left and those on the right. Among his critics on the right, such as Bill Kristol and George F. Will, their criticisms have calmed down a bit, and of course their criticisms are relatively chaste.

May 9, 2017

Ann Coulter canceled speech shows campus closed-mindedness

Well, she did not show up. I am talking about Ann Coulter, the svelte, conservative firebrand who was invited to the University of California at Berkeley, to speak and inadvertently to show the assembled coeds how a stylish blonde dresses. But then she was disinvited.

May 2, 2017

Hillary Clinton loss detailed in book ‘Shattered’

We call it Kultursmog, it being that collection of attitudes, ideas, tastes and personages that are polluted by the politics of the left and that predominate on both coasts. And who are we?

April 25, 2017

Eisenhower Memorial must be salvaged

There is hope. I am speaking of the envisioned memorial to Dwight D. Eisenhower here in Washington, D.C. Admittedly, its design by the crank architect Frank Gehry has been pretty much accepted by the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission, and the chairman of the House committee that has control of the funding, Rep. Ken Calvert, seems to be going along.

April 18, 2017

Syria strikes prompted by horrible actions against children

It looks like former Obama administration National Security Adviser Susan Rice will get a reprieve. With all the hullabaloo from last week's military action by President Trump in Syria's -- do we call it Syria's civil war or a massacre? -- it now appears Ms. Rice's mishandling of surveillance is going to subside from the headlines temporarily. Well, her mishandling of surveillance on the Trump team can wait. What Mr. Trump did last week in public was historic. He changed his mind.

April 11, 2017

Susan Rice actions bad for Obama legacy

Have you been keeping up with the news from Washington? If you have, doubtless you know that there are congressional investigations of Russian interference with our recent elections.

April 4, 2017

Constitution preservation important for conservatives

The trials of Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, before the Senate Judiciary Committee en route almost certainly to his place on the Supreme Court, reveal one of my favorite findings regarding modern politics, to wit: The Democrats are the extremists, the Republicans are mainstream. The Democrats are the ideologues; the Republicans base their policies and political judgments usually on philosophy.

March 28, 2017

Chuck Brunie was an investing genius

What are more important to the health of an intellectual movement, writers and academics or investors and philanthropists? That thought occurred to me when I was informed of the death of Chuck Brunie, the former longtime chairman of the board of the Manhattan Institute and the chairman emeritus of The American Spectator.

March 21, 2017

Baby boomers finally face backlash

I was wondering when it would happen. For more than 30 years I have been anxiously awaiting the backlash. Alas, for years it never arrived. What backlash have I been awaiting, you ask?

March 14, 2017

Democrats call for impeachment of Sessions

The average American is understandably perplexed as to why Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and, of course, runner-up in last year's Democratic primaries, Bernie Saunders, are so lathered up over the Republicans' recent overtures to the Russians.

March 7, 2017