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In 1998, David Mamet, the acclaimed playwright, published a short treatise, “Three Uses of the Knife,” on “the nature and purpose of drama.” The book, based on lectures he delivered the previous year at Columbia University, is well regarded in the theatre world and among screenwriters for its philosophical approach to explaining what makes good drama.

A political outsider leads a new Michigan poll of Republican presidential candidates — but it’s not brash businessman Donald Trump.

Ben Carson, a Detroit native and retired neurosurgeon, led the field in a poll of 600 likely voters, including 221 who said they would definitely vote in the GOP primary, conducted last week by the Lansing-based Marketing Resource Group ahead of tonight’s CNN debate.

GOP contenders likely can ride campaign cash to primaries, wait on Trump to fade

As entertaining as the presidential debates may be, they are not likely to winnow the GOP field of any of the major candidates, say campaign strategists and analysts who say as long as the top-tier contenders have enough money, they’ll be able to last at least until the first votes are cast in Iowa’s caucuses and New Hampshire’s primaries.

New data show Trump fever breaking

Donald Trump looked tired after a grueling Republican debate. He might not be alone.

After a summer of spectacle and saturation coverage, signs are accumulating that, for the public and the media, the onset of Trump fatigue has begun.

Voters See Lack of Fire as Problem for Ben Carson

Carly Fiorina hit a walk-off homer, helium is leaking from Ben Carson’s balloon and Scott Walker’s candidacy is on life support, according to the Republicans in Iowa who will cast the first votes of the nominating contest in less than five months.

5 questions Saturday’s Faith & Freedom forum will answer

The crowd of Republican presidential candidates gathering in Des Moines on Saturday evening needs to address only a narrow band of issues, but they must say the right thing if they want to impress an influential bloc of caucusgoers.

The media are full of reviews of last night’s debates, declaring some candidates winners or losers or assessing whether they did what they needed. Much of the attention is focused on businesswoman Carly Fiorina, who seems by most accounts to be the evening’s winner, as this Bloomberg View article suggests:

Carly the Conqueror

No candidate took the stage with a greater opportunity, or higher expectations, than Carly Fiorina. That she proceeded to steal the show was the insta-conventional wisdom—and, in this case, ... Read More >>