THE MOST PERILOUS ELECTION OF OUR LIFETIMES

At a time when recent polls seem to suggest a dramatically close race between President Biden and Donald Trump, most thoughtful analysts still raise serious questions about the latter’s electability. Many question the constitutionality of a Trump candidacy (and as this description goes "to press," the Supreme Court must decide whether Trump is constitutionally eligible for the presidency.

One thing is certain, in the 2024 primaries, as candidates are chosen for the presidency, Congressional races, and gubernatorial contests, our democratic system and democracy itself are at stake as never before. As Harvard professor Lawrence Lessig puts it: "Donald Trump is an astoundingly dangerous candidate for president. He is a pathological liar, with clear authoritarian instincts. His reelection would be worse than any political event in the history of America — save the decision of South Carolina to launch the Civil War."

This brief workshop is the first of an occasional series over the next several months that will track, analyze, and parse issues, patterns, portents, and results. These two weeks will survey the landscape, assess the many candidates, and raise some of the most critical questions at an incredibly perilous time.