"American politics is theatre. There is a frightening emotionalism at national conventions." — Robert Dallek

In 1800, in the first interparty contest, the Federalists warned that presidential candidate Thomas Jefferson, because of his sympathy expressed at the outset of the French Revolution, was 'the son of a half-breed Indian squaw' who would put opponents under the guillotine.

Concealing one's true medical condition from the voting public is a time-honored tradition of the American presidency.

John Kennedy had so many different medical problems that began when he was a boy. He started out with intestinal problems... spastic colitis.

Obama's endorsement of gay marriage is hardly as consequential as Johnson's legislative success on civil rights.