My ask of the talented former transportation secretary: Turn opposition into a credible affordability agenda.

Is our goal of regime change worth the suffering that we are inflicting on an innocent people?

I don’t know when, but I know this debt bubble will burst.

President Trump promised to lower prices “day one.” Now he derisively calls affordability a “hoax.” Democrats everywhere, however, are running on it.

And retaining private-sector talent will require electing adults to Congress.

A large majority of Americans recognize the reality of climate change and look forward to a rational discussion of the challenge post-Trump.

If we want a country that works again, we all need to contribute however we can. My contribution is to write.

To win the independent voter, the Democratic Party needs to change. Here is what I hope for.

Both Democrats and Republicans have been defined as a function of Trump: one for, the other against. Neither represents a governing philosophy for the future.

Every minute spent talking about the Reflecting Pool is a minute not talking about policy.

A pro-growth agenda requires that we reject the Sanders/Warren argument and harness AI for the betterment of all of us.

History teaches us that the growing hysteria over the potential of AI to negatively affect our lives is unfounded. All technological advances have been met with fear and resistance. Each time, our worst fears did not materialize.

Early in my career, my boss interrupted me with a question I will never forget. “How can you be so smart and so stupid at the same time?” Similarly, NYC Mayor Mamdani provides a startling example of the possession of brilliance and profound ignorance at the same time.

“Presidents come and go; Exxon doesn’t come and go.”

That was Lee Raymond, the longtime CEO of ExxonMobil. Many years ago, he told me that the company didn’t concern itself much with the Washington cycle, which ran two to four years. The wells they were drilling that day would still be pumping 50 years from now. They thought in half-centuries, not election cycles.

And it is the question all Americans should be asking about the defense budget.

How do we process the daily attacks on our democratic institutions without becoming either numb, hysterical, or just depressed?

More government spending on social programs won't work. A pro-growth strategy for housing, healthcare, and food will.

As the Republican and Democratic parties grow even further apart, the independent middle has continued to grow larger. And yet, we are still being ignored.

Nor is he Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, or Pete Hegseth. The question is: Can the Democrats tell the difference?

Powell has been a failure. But not for the reasons Trump gives, and not for the reasons most Americans have been told.