Scott Wilson

Is it a model for governing in a global age? Is it a failure in bridging the divide between its east and west, its frontier conservatism and its coastal liberalism? Should people even be living in a place where a shifting climate is making already-scare resources even more rare – and fire a year-round threat? How the nation’s most populous state – and historically one of the best predicators of the country’s course – is navigating its way forward

Each is distinct in its politics and approach. But how does a White House work? Is it more “West Wing” or “The Apprentice?” How does a president communicate with the public, especially in an age of a fractured and increasingly partisan media? The success or failure of a president to do so can frequently determine not only the efficacy of an administration but the course of the country.

Washington often sees itself as the decisive actor on the world stage. It can be. But the view of the United States from abroad – among its allies and its antagonists – is often at odds with what the policy makers in Washington believe. This has been true in many of the places I have lived and worked, abroad and in the capital, and as the world wonders whether the United States is a waning force morally and economically, the way others understand this country is more important than ever.

The answer, according to public opinion surveys, is no. The result is a confused, frightened and angry public that makes governing by democratic consent increasingly difficult to achieve. A view from years among the senior editing ranks from inside one major American newsroom and a sense of how the media may be able to recover some public trust.

A career that in includes interviews with more than a half dozen heads of state, including former President Barack Obama, and experience on-stage moderating discussions on foreign policy and domestic politics with cabinet members, foreign diplomats and members of congress.