Rob Rakove
@robrakove.bsky.social
Historian at Stanford University, author of "Kennedy, Johnson, and the Nonaligned World" and "Days of Opportunity: The United States and Afghanistan Before the Soviet Invasion." It's good to have options.
Pinned
Rob Rakove
@robrakove.bsky.social
· Jan 20
Some days you wrestle with big interpretive questions. Others, you try to determine when and how a few hundred tons of lambskin hides left Karachi.
And here I thought the first rule of Mellon Club was not to talk about Mellon Club.
February 14, 2026 at 12:30 AM
And here I thought the first rule of Mellon Club was not to talk about Mellon Club.
Looks like something from a mid-90s computer game.
February 14, 2026 at 12:24 AM
Looks like something from a mid-90s computer game.
In related news, I've opened up my very own clinic for Tommy John surgery. Form an orderly queue.
February 13, 2026 at 8:48 PM
In related news, I've opened up my very own clinic for Tommy John surgery. Form an orderly queue.
The UVA coupmeisters of 2012 used "strategic dynamism" as their mantra.
February 13, 2026 at 1:50 PM
The UVA coupmeisters of 2012 used "strategic dynamism" as their mantra.
LOL, a Jim Webb reference.
February 13, 2026 at 1:18 AM
LOL, a Jim Webb reference.
Reposted by Rob Rakove
but the NYT told me she was worried about the children
Katie Britt on DHS officers: "There are significant guardrails that have been put in place already in the bipartisan piece of legislation we negotiated. I think Democrats will vote that down, which means people are gonna continue this enforcement, but they're not gonna have the guardrails."
February 12, 2026 at 6:31 PM
but the NYT told me she was worried about the children
Please tell me he's not on the program or welcome committee
February 12, 2026 at 3:27 PM
Please tell me he's not on the program or welcome committee
Reposted by Rob Rakove
From @bytimreynolds.bsky.social - Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych out of Winter Olympics over banned helmet honoring war dead #olympics
apnews.com/article/hera...
apnews.com/article/hera...
Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych out of Winter Olympics over banned helmet honoring war dead
Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych is out of the Milan Cortina Games after he refused to stop wearing a banned tribute helmet.
apnews.com
February 12, 2026 at 2:54 PM
From @bytimreynolds.bsky.social - Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych out of Winter Olympics over banned helmet honoring war dead #olympics
apnews.com/article/hera...
apnews.com/article/hera...
Did you see the bit about the Saint Bernard?
February 12, 2026 at 1:50 AM
Did you see the bit about the Saint Bernard?
Recalling this for no particular reason
February 11, 2026 at 2:55 PM
Recalling this for no particular reason
That's my hurdle. It looks well-crafted, but I stumble over the almost universal unfamiliarity. Happy to bequeath this to others.
February 11, 2026 at 3:20 AM
That's my hurdle. It looks well-crafted, but I stumble over the almost universal unfamiliarity. Happy to bequeath this to others.
Why wouldn't Bolton be a classic unilateralist conservative? By his own account, he was walking for Goldwater in 1964.
February 10, 2026 at 2:42 PM
Why wouldn't Bolton be a classic unilateralist conservative? By his own account, he was walking for Goldwater in 1964.
It's quite feasible that his effective abandonment of Ukraine and NATO or the summer war with Iran will seed an even worse development.
February 10, 2026 at 2:37 PM
It's quite feasible that his effective abandonment of Ukraine and NATO or the summer war with Iran will seed an even worse development.
Reposted by Rob Rakove
Over 28 years, 140 people died at the Berlin Wall from all causes (intentional shooting, drowning, accidents, etc.). #comparativeborderregimes
This is the 38th time that the U.S. military has unlawfully killed civilians on the orders of Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump. At least 130 people — never charged with crimes, their identities unknown to their executioners — are now dead.
We are murdering people and it is basically just background noise at this point. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/u...
February 10, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Over 28 years, 140 people died at the Berlin Wall from all causes (intentional shooting, drowning, accidents, etc.). #comparativeborderregimes
The pressure is on him now, I gather.
February 10, 2026 at 3:24 AM
The pressure is on him now, I gather.
Reposted by Rob Rakove
Comparing FDR and Trump because they both had disdain for extant liberal constitutional norms is akin to comparing a brain surgeon to Norman Bates in Psycho because they both use knives to do their work.
nilsgilman.substack.com/p/the-execut...
nilsgilman.substack.com/p/the-execut...
The Executive Fetish
Why Moyn and Goldsmith's Roosevelt-Trump analogy fails
nilsgilman.substack.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:06 PM
Comparing FDR and Trump because they both had disdain for extant liberal constitutional norms is akin to comparing a brain surgeon to Norman Bates in Psycho because they both use knives to do their work.
nilsgilman.substack.com/p/the-execut...
nilsgilman.substack.com/p/the-execut...
Just glancing at that brings back bad grading memories.
February 9, 2026 at 2:19 AM
Just glancing at that brings back bad grading memories.
A clip of the Mercado would really set the scene!
February 9, 2026 at 12:09 AM
A clip of the Mercado would really set the scene!
Reposted by Rob Rakove
It's so weird they keep showing the Golden Gate as placesetting scenery for a game in Santa Clara instead of 101.
February 8, 2026 at 11:44 PM
It's so weird they keep showing the Golden Gate as placesetting scenery for a game in Santa Clara instead of 101.
Horrifying socialism!
www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/pr...
www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/pr...
February 8, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Horrifying socialism!
www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/pr...
www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/pr...
Guacamole! There goes the trade balance.
February 8, 2026 at 8:40 PM
Guacamole! There goes the trade balance.
David's line was something like LBJ muttering, "There goes the North," while signing the Wildling Rights Act.
February 8, 2026 at 8:32 PM
David's line was something like LBJ muttering, "There goes the North," while signing the Wildling Rights Act.