This past week produced two moments that were parsed endlessly and yet little understood. One involved former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg telling CBS’ Gayle King that his Democratic rivals could’ve made a lot of money to spend on their campaigns. The other involved House Speaker Nancy Pelosi separating President Donald J. Trump’s personhood from his actions in responding to Sinclair Broadcasting’s James Rosen asking her if she hated the president. Neither Bloomberg’s remark nor Pelosi’s response were satisfactory, revealing a lack of critical thinking.
Read MoreVittore Carpaccio’s “Vision of St. Augustine” (1502), tempera on canvas. In her response to James Rosen’s question about hating President Donald J. Trump, syndicated columnist Mark Shields of the “PBS NewsHour’s” “Shields and Brooks” said:, “(Nancy Pelosi) was quoting, of course, Saint Augustine, hate the sin, but don't hate the sinner.”