Thomas Balcerski teaches history at Eastern Connecticut State University.... He is the author of

Tim Scott is one of the relatively few people who has ever run for president of the United States.... " And without that presidential spouse, without the modern first lady at his side, a president is weakened." The role of presidential spouse is entirely ceremonial--not prescribed by the U.S. Constitution or the country's other founding documents.... Decades later, Nancy Reagan served as something like husband Ronald Reagan's" human resources department," determining who was going to be given

Doing it during a surging pandemic and an economic downturn makes it even more important to hand things over the right way.... And many experts are raising serious concerns about what Biden's team is missing out on--briefings, payroll, office space and more--as it waits for frivolous lawsuits to be dismissed and for Trump to come to terms with his stinging defeat.... But while Trump's denialism makes him a sore loser so far, it may not quite be time to hit the panic button about the transition