About Benj Demott

Just as the How Ronald Reagan Became President histories trace back to William F. Buckley’s fusion of libertarians and conservatives under the umbrella of anti-Communism at the National Review and then back to Barry Goldwater’s catastrophic landslide loss to LBJ, which in retelling turns out to actually be the trial run for Reagan; may I … Read more

The author offers this piece as a “footnote” to his memoir, Daydreams and Nightmares: Reflections of a Harlem Childhood. Economic depressions are usually measured in the adult world by increasing unemployment, declining stock market prices, business bankruptcies and assorted ailments all too well known to require repetition. Children have a far less grandiose view of … Read more

I think it was sometime early in 2007 that I began to find myself almost possessed by a profound premonitory sense that the next year, this year, 2008, would be filled with a special power. At first I was unable to articulate or explain my feeling with any more clarity than a deep and growing … Read more

An elder once suggested we change the name of First of the Month to Harlem First. He was thinking locally (and universally)—proclaiming faith in rootsy humanism, not promoting black supremacy. There were reasons to be wary of our elder’s proposed name-change. The main one being that it might have seemed presumptuous to some Harlemites. But … Read more

My heart is full of love for this country.” Barack Obama in The Audacity of Hope “I actually believe my own bullshit.” Barack Obama (quoted) in Renegade Obama often speaks about America like a true believer. Listen in on his recent remarks honoring recipients of America’s Medal of Freedom: “[W]hat unites them is a belief … Read more

“An innocent’s life is at stake. The bad guy you have captured possesses information that could save this life. He refuses to divulge. In such a case, the choice is easy.” Charles Krauthammer, The Washington Post, May 1, 2009. When my friends were going to law school in the early 1970s, I heard and on … Read more

Witness – Whittaker Chambers’ account of the Hiss case and its back story – is the fount of modern Movement Conservatism. (Ronald Reagan credited it with converting him from New Deal Democrat to conservative Republican.) Ideologues on today’s Right are still playing changes on the persona – “a solitary man in a gregarious land” – … Read more