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Trump’s populist image is dead

As predictions of a blue wave swell, it’s worthwhile to remember that polls are sometimes wrong, that surveys have tended to undercount Trump voters (though they have been better in midterms), that professional prognosticators can err, and that Allan Lichtman is only right when he’s lucky. And yet, if there has ever been a politician who has invited electoral repudiation by more thoroughly betraying his own voters than Trump has, I can’t think of one. Trump had the most zealous followers of anyone this side of Osama bin Laden, and in his first term, he did a certain amount of fan ...

Dear Annie: Old friend’s insult is no joke

Dear Annie: I walked away from a 50-plus-year friendship. I’ve known “Ralph,” his wife and his kids since the late-1970s. We both worked construction. We never had a deep friendship; most men from the boomer generation don’t. Ralph has a sense of humor that others would say is off-putting, including uncomfortable joking, but we went through similar circumstances at different times. A group of three to five of us construction guys used to meet for lunch on Saturdays. One Saturday, during the usual discussions of yesteryear, I finished sharing my thoughts and looked over to ...

Shaving advertising can take unusual forms

Baby New Year can grow up fast! The baby pictured here is already shaving. Well, it’s probably not supposed to be Baby New Year, but being surrounded by a calendar, it’s an easy association to make. This baby was the mascot for Gillette’s safety razors, perhaps suggesting that they were ...

‘When will markets react to debt?’ Is the wrong question

Is the federal government’s history of enormous deficits proof that it can keep up the borrowing? Some people think so, and legislators sure act that way. Federal debt held by the public now equals the size of the annual economy — and is growing. Yet investors continue buying Treasury securities. No government bond sale has really failed, no one has suddenly refused to finance Washington’s spending, and no unmistakable moment has forced Congress to change course. That leads some people I cross paths with in academic life to conclude that despite decades of dire warnings, ...

The tyranny of one man’s opinion

Thomas Cromwell was the Lord Chancellor of England for much of the reign of King Henry VIII. He engineered the convictions and executions of many whom Henry wanted out of the way, including his two predecessors in office — one of whom was St. Thomas More — and even the king’s second wife, Queen Anne. When Cromwell’s son Gregory, who became sickened as he watched his father devolving from counselor to monster, learned that an executioner for the queen had been sent for from France a week before her trial, he asked his father what the purpose of her trial was if the king had ...

Dear Annie: A Cold War over the thermostat

Dear Annie: I’m 28 and live in a two-bedroom apartment in Washington state with my friend “Jess.” She’s an excellent roommate — clean, considerate, quiet. I know I’m lucky. But there’s one thing driving me crazy: the thermostat. She works from home and keeps the heat cranked to nearly 80 degrees! When I get home from the office, I start sweating before I’ve even taken my shoes off. I run hot and prefer the apartment on the chillier side, especially at night. Jess and I get along on almost everything else, but this has become a daily annoyance. We haven’t talked about ...