The Founders wrote in 1776 that 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' are unalienable American rights. In The Pursuit of Happiness in Times of War, Carl M. Cannon shows how this single phrase is one of almost unbelievable historical power. It was this rich rhetorical vein that New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and President George W. Bush tapped into after 9/11 when they urged Americans to go to ballgames, to shop, to do things that made them happy even in the face of unrivaled horror. From the Revolutionary War to the current War on Terrorism, Americans have lived out this creed. They have been helped in this effort by their elected leaders, who in times of war inevitably hark back to Jefferson's soaring language. If the former Gotham mayor and the current president had perfect pitch in the days after September 11, so too have American presidents and other leaders throughout our nation's history. In this book, Mr. Cannon--a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist--traces the roots of Jefferson's powerful phrase and explores how it has been embraced by wartime presidents for two centuries. Mr. Cannon draws on original research at presidential libraries and interviews with Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, among others. He discussed with the presidents exactly what the phrase means to them. Mr. Cannon charts how Americans' understanding of the pursuit of happiness has changed through the years as the nation itself has changed. In the end, America's political leaders have all come to the same conclusion as its spiritual leaders: True happiness--either for a nation or an individual--does not come from conquest or fortune or even from the attainment of freedom itself. It comes in the pursuit of happiness for the benefit of others. This may be one truth that contemporary liberals and conservatives can agree on. John McCain and Jimmy Carter both envision happiness as a sacrifice to a higher calling, embodied in everything from McCain's time as a prisoner of war to the Nobel Prize-winning Carter's public efforts for world peace and his quieter work with Habitat for Humanity. Their thoughts and deeds echo George Washington, who spoke in his first inaugural address of an 'indissoluble union between virtue and happiness.'

As religiously grounded moral arguments have become ever more influential factors in the national debate-particularly reinforced by recent presidential elections and the creation of the faith-based initiative office in the White House-journalists' ignorance about theological convictions has often worked to distort the public discourse on important policy issues. Pope John Paul II's pronouncements on stem-cell research, the constitutional controversies regarding faith-based initiatives, the emerging participation of Muslims in American life-issues like these require political journalists in print and broadcast media to cover religious contexts that many admit they are ill-equipped to understand. Put differently, these news events reflect subtle theological nuances and deep faith commitments that shape the activities of religious believers in the public square. Inasmuch as a faith tradition is an active or significant participant in the public arena, journalists will need to better understand the theological sources and religious convictions that motivate this political activity. The current national discourse has brought faith and its relationship to public policy to the forefront of our daily news. Since 1999, the Ethics and Public Policy Center, through the generosity of the Pew Charitable Trusts, has hosted six conferences for national journalists to help raise the level of their reporting by increasing their understanding of religion, religious communities, and the religious convictions that inform the political activity of devout believers. This book contains the presentations and conversations that grew out of those conferences.

From the Boston Tea Party through the 2016 election, ON THIS DATE takes readers through five hundred years of American history, one day at a time. Drawing from Carl Cannon's popular RealClearPolitics Morning Note, ON THIS DATE is formatted around fascinating-and sometimes unknown-stories behind specific dates in US history. Stories like how Eisenhower spent the night before D-Day, why Lincoln lost the Lincoln Douglas debates, and where Baby Ruth candy bars get their name. In the spirit of Kenneth Davis's Don't Know Much About History and the History Channel's 10 Days that Unexpectedly Changed America, ON THIS DATE offers a colorful alternative history that debunks some popular myths and celebrates America's forgotten heroes.

The Washington Post Bestseller - Now Updated with Five New Chapters and a New Epilogue Unlike President George. W. Bush, Karl Rove, his chief political adviser, is rarely "misunderestimated." Many of the president's opponents see Rove's hand in everything the president does. His friends, and the president himself, are just thankful he's on their side, and always has been. From their earliest days in Texas, Rove saw and tapped the potential of George W. Bush. "Political hacks like me wait a lifetime for a guy like this to come along," Rove said of the future president. The authors of Boy Genius fill readers in on the man, his methods, and his plans for the Republican majority for a fascinating, entertaining look at the Man Who Would be Kingmaker, an investigation that debunks myths as it reveals facts, and the story of exactly how American politics works now. From allegations of bugging his own office back in Texas, to shadowy dealings with Swift Boat veterans in the last election, Rove has played politics all the way to the highest levels, and though it sometimes isn't pretty, it works.