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The campaign for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 2012 reflects the difficulty Republicans primary voters are having with the conservative credentials of the candidates. What is a true American conservative? How do we reliably tell the difference between someone who has the heart and soul of a true conservative and those who wear the conservative label when it benefits them but will find excuses to shy away from it when they are in office? There is one sure-fire test.  (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

The U.S. Navy announced last week that it will name its newest Littoral Combat Ship (LCS 10) after former Representative Gabrielle Giffords. I admire Giffords, and I believe she has handled her situation with grace and courage; and if Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus wants to name a ship after her, that’s his prerogative. Nevertheless, is it a good idea to name Navy ships after young, living former politicians, no matter how much we may empathize with them? (Read the full column at EWRosss.com)

Can the U.S. dissuade Iran from building a nuclear weapon without having to resort to the use of military force?

American presidents have a mixed record of success in the post-World War II world of influencing the decision making of our adversaries and avoiding war. Where they have succeeded—the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis is the prime example—it was because they were prepared to use the full force of American power; and the adversary had no doubt that they would do so.

When it comes to Iran, Israel’s threat to use unilateral force complicates U.S. decision making, but it should not prevent Washington from taking the lead and doing what is necessary.  (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

“Seek truth from facts” (實事求是), a Chinese expression that dates from the Han Dynasty (206 BC to 25 AD) and used by Deng Xiaoping to reclaim China from Mao Zedong’s destruction, should be the Republican Party’s campaign slogan in 2012. President Obama and the leadership of the Democratic Party seek to create truth from campaign rhetoric, fear, and deception. If the Republican presidential nominee and candidates down the ticket simply and clearly present the facts and conservative policies they won’t abandon in office, Republican candidates will win in a national landslide.  (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

There is an interesting correlation between the most successful presidents over the past 80 years and those that have had extramarital affairs. Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, and Bill Clinton all had extramarital affairs before or during their terms of office. Only Ronald Reagan appears to be the exception to the rule. Is it any wonder that voters may be willing to overlook Newt Gingrich’s affair?  (More)

In every American war there have been those few that will urinate on enemy corpses or degrade and abuse enemy detainees. War is hell and it can bring out the worst in people. But do those who behave badly do so because of the stresses of combat or because of a propensity for such behavior before they entered the military? As a Vietnam War combat veteran, I can testify that both are true; but instances of the latter, in my opinion, outnumber the former as American men and women in uniform bring with them their personal moral and ethical bearings.  (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Following the 2008 election Americans learned a great deal more about the man they elected president than they knew about him when they voted for him. The 2012 election will tell us more about ourselves than the man we elect as our president, no matter who he is.  (More)

How is it that Stalinist North Korea continues to survive into the 21st Century when its communist-sister nations evolved? North Korea, now under Supreme Leader number three, Kim Jong-un, is the dinosaur that won’t go extinct. The answer is that China nurtures and protects North Korea, preferring it the way it is; and until the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) becomes a greater liability to China than an asset, it will continue to exist as a throwback to another era. The goal of U.S. North Korea policy, therefore, should be to hasten that day. (More)

Each of us who celebrate Christmas in America, at one time or another as December 25 approaches, thinks about Christmases past, present, and future. We string Christmases past together in our minds as if they were bulbs on an old strand of Christmas lights. There are those that glow dimly or not at all because they hold unhappy memories; and there are those that glow brightly with happy ones. We wonder how brightly Christmas present will glow when it becomes a Christmas past and how many more bright bulbs we’ll add to the string.  (More)