Q & A, Hosted by Jay Nordlinger

If there is someone who knows more about American politics than Jonathan Martin, I don’t know of him. Neither does anyone else, frankly. “J-Mart” is a writer at Politico and the host of On the Road, an interview show in which Jonathan meets prominent politicians at famed local eateries.In our Q&A, we pick through the midterms, but we begin with Stephen Miller, whom President Trump has just named his chief of staff. What does this mean? J-Mart has a pretty good idea.As we talk, we cover JD Vance, who is doing some fast political dancing. We turn our eyes to Texas, Maine, and other interesting states. We discuss the “blacklash,” and a historic election in Georgia. We’ve got “The Big Dog,” a.k.a. Bill Clinton. “Hurricane Abdul,” i.e., the new senator from Michigan. The late Lindsey Graham. LBJ (even). A host of characters.Jonathan Martin makes politics absolutely alive. He eats, sleeps, and breathes this stuff, and knows it cold (or hot). His fund of stories is inexhaustible. His insights are keen.At the end of our conversation, I make a confession to him (and you): I, who had always loved politics, fell out of love with it some years ago. J-Mart helps me get it back.Q&A is the podcast of this site, Onward and Upward. The site is supported by readers and listeners. To receive new articles and episodes—and to support the work of the writer and podcaster—become a free or paid subscriber. Many thanks to you. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Talking with Mona Charen is one of my great pleasures in life. She is a dear friend and I admire her greatly. For years, we were podcast partners. A few days ago, we recorded a Q&A.A brief reminder of Mona and her professional doings. She is a syndicated columnist. She is a writer and editor at The Bulwark. She is the host of The Mona Charen Show. She is the author of several books, including Sex Matters: How Modern Feminism Lost Touch with Science, Love, and Common Sense.At the beginning of our Q&A, I ask her about transgenderism. It has exploded in recent years. It is an amazing, and often painful, phenomenon.Mona and I then get onto—well, many issues. Ukraine. The GOP. The Democrats’ Abdul El-Sayed. The Republicans’ Vivek Ramaswamy. Washington, D.C.What do I mean by that last one? I am a lifelong lover of Washington, and a recent visit left a sour taste in my mouth. I wrote about this here. Mona has lived in the D.C. area for most of her adult life. How does she feel?I have some further personal questions, including, “Do you still refer to yourself as a conservative, or have the Trumpite Republicans irretrievably mangled the word?”Mona Charen is a combination of good, independent thinking; a “moral sense” (to use an old-fashioned term, which James Q. Wilson chose as the title of one of his books); and a lyrical pen.I think I may have even voted for her for president once (not that she approved) … Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

As I say in my introduction, Yaroslav Trofimov is one of the best foreign-affairs correspondents in the world. Born in Kyiv, he joined the Wall Street Journal in 1999 and has been its chief foreign-affairs correspondent since 2018. Among his books is Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine’s War of Independence. He has also written a novel, No Country for Love, which is about Ukraine.Like many others, I have learned a great deal from Yaroslav Trofimov about Ukraine, Russia, Europe, the Middle East—even my own country, the United States. He and I last podcasted in January 2024, here. Today, I have a slate of questions for “Yaro,” including these:Is Ukraine in a perilous moment?Garry Kasparov often says, “Only Trump can save Putin.” Is this true?President Trump likes to tell a story about the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. A Russian general took a wrong turn—a fateful turn—getting stuck in the mud. Otherwise, Russia would have taken the whole of Ukraine quickly. Where in the world did Trump get this story? Why does he repeat it?“We’ve given a lot to Ukraine,” said Trump. “They’ve given us nothing. Remember that.” Forgetting Ukraine’s sacrifices on the front lines of a broader struggle—which must not be forgotten—what about Ukrainians in Afghanistan and Iraq?Does the Kremlin “have” anything on Trump? Why does he act the way he does? Why does he exempt Putin from criticism?What is the role of money on the U.S. side—business deals?What about China, as part of a Gang of Three with the United States and Russia?If the United States withdraws its nuclear umbrella from Europe, will the Europeans, and the French in particular, be able to replace it?It is a pleasure to talk with, and learn from, someone informed, experienced, and judicious. That is Yaroslav Trofimov.Q&A is the podcast of this site, Onward and Upward. The site is supported by readers and listeners. To receive new articles and episodes—and to support the work of the writer and podcaster—become a free or paid subscriber. Many thanks to you. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Over the years, I have done several podcasts with Jeb Bush. They are always interesting and refreshing. For two terms, 1999 to 2007, he was the governor of Florida. Other governors looked to him for inspiration and advice. (I heard several of them say so, on the record and off.)After his governorship, he established his Foundation for Excellence in Education, otherwise known as “ExcelinEd.” He is its chairman today.We begin our latest discussion with education policy. How did he get into the subject in the first place? I also want to know: Is there a federal role in education, or should it be strictly a state or local matter? How about the teachers’ unions? Are they villains?Jeb Bush is from old American families, on both sides. His first ancestor in America arrived in 1647. Some would call him a “Heritage American.” He thinks all of this is nonsense, as you can imagine. He has no use for nativism. (And he married an immigrant from Mexico.)We talk about immigration, and ICE. And about our $40 trillion debt. When it comes to foreign affairs, we talk about the Iran war, Ukraine, and Venezuela. We look back at the Republican presidential primaries in 2016—could anything have stopped the Trumpian wave? We talk about the Bush family.At the end, I ask Jeb whether he has anything else to say, anything else on his mind. Yes, he says: Don’t let social media get the better of us.Q&A is the podcast of this site, Onward and Upward. The site is supported by readers and listeners. To receive new articles and episodes—and to support the work of the writer and podcaster—become a free or paid subscriber. Many thanks to you. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Maybe I could quote from my introduction:… our guest today is one of my favorites: Steven B. Smith, the scholar of political philosophy. He is a Chicagoan—not a North Shore kid but a gritty South Sider, who would earn his Ph.D. at the local school: the University of Chicago. Since 1984, he has taught at Yale, where he is the Alfred Cowles Professor of Political Science.He is the author of many books, including Modernity and Its Discontents. Back in 2021, we talked about his then new book Reclaiming Patriotism in an Age of Extremes.He has now written On Statesmanship. It is a beautiful, learned book, which distills years of study and thinking. And raw human experience, I would say.For Professor Smith, I have many questions, starting with “What is statesmanship? Who is a statesman? Not just any politician or officeholder, right?” We talk about a range of particular statesmen, including Pericles, FDR, and Lee Kuan Yew.What was the impetus for this book? Why did Smith write it? I will abbreviate and paraphrase his answer:For two reasons, really. One is relevant to our public life, and the other is more relevant to academic life.Clearly, we are suffering from a dearth of great leaders—not just in America, but in many other places as well. In the last generation, there has been a rise of authoritarian leaders, but no rise on the other side: no rise of true statesmen.We have seen a slow degradation of our politics and our public life. This book is an attempt to say, great democracies need great leaders—and we have lost the language for it. We have lost sight of what the qualities for great leadership are. We barely know how to talk about it.On to academia:From the beginning, philosophers have discussed the concept of the statesman. The history of philosophy is replete with profound reflections on statesmanship.Think of Plato’s philosopher-king. And Machiavelli’s prince. And Rousseau’s lawgiver. And Weber’s thoughts on charisma, etc.That has all but disappeared from the academy. We think a lot about democracy, and the problems of democracy, but not very much about leaders in a democracy. If you think that democracies don’t require great leaders—think again.If there is one thing that keeps Steven Smith from despair, it’s this: you never know who will rise, and how. You never know who’s out there, to save the day—or at least to make the day better than it would have been.Who would ever have identified Lincoln? Yet “he both rose and mastered the occasion,” says Smith.He also talks about de Gaulle:Nobody had any idea who he was. He was a military officer, with no public visibility. When he spoke over the BBC from England, people didn’t even believe that that was a real name: “de Gaulle.” They thought it was made up. Yet through force of his personality and intellect, he created Free France and then the modern state.At the end of our Q&A, I bring up a mysterious and touchy subject: “American exceptionalism.” I have always believed in it, and counted on it, but my faith is waning. And I’m not even sure what it is.I will give Smith’s (excellent) answer—again, in my abbreviation and paraphrase:I’m a little bit hesitant to put it this way, but I’ll go ahead: I believe that, in many ways, “American exceptionalism” is our foundational myth.The Founders believed that they were creating something new and different. Hamilton said, We’re going to prove that a society doesn’t have to rely on accident and chance. It can be created through reflection and choice. This will be a different kind of society from others in the past.There’s an old joke. Someone asks a philosopher, “Do you believe in free will?” He answers, “Of course I do. I have no choice.”I feel a bit that way about American exceptionalism. Of course I believe in it—we have no choice. We have to regard ourselves as an exceptional people who are engaged in a mission that is a light unto the nations. We are a city on a hill …This is a long conversation—like a seminar—but I feel it is not long enough. You can learn a great deal from Steven Smith, without paying Yale tuition. And the price of the book, On Statesmanship? Worth every penny.Q&A is the podcast of this site, Onward and Upward. The site is supported by readers and listeners. To receive new articles and episodes—and to support the work of the writer and podcaster—become a free or paid subscriber. Many thanks to you. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe