Through a series of thought-provoking book reviews and public policy essays, the author offers enduring insights concerning the nature of government and its relationship to the governed, particularly in America. A recurring theme of the book is an abiding respect for the system of government established by the Founding Fathers. As the author notes at one point,



Properly understood, constitutional devices such as the Electoral College, rather than being arcane relics, are an integral part of our system of government. Other such devices include the diffusion of governmental power between the states and a limited central government, and the further diffusion of the latter power among coordinate, but separate, branches which serve as checks and balances upon each other.



Commentaries on the Republic offers readers an elegantly written alternative to the ad hominem arguments that characterize contemporary politics.