“We make one final pre-election day turn to the analysis of Brooks and Capehart. That’s New York Times columnist David Brooks, and Jonathan Capehart, associate editor for The Washington Post.”
These words by Judy Woodruff always make my week, because it means it is time for another edition of Brooks and Capehart, a Friday night segment of PBS NewsHour where the conservative Brooks joins with Capehart, a liberal, to break down the political issues of the previous week.
This weekly political commentary, regardless of whether one agrees with it or not, is always thought provoking, insightful and just generally gives a great overview of the week’s political events from two different perspectives. Prior to former President Donald Trump’s extremism pushing these two men’s political beliefs closer together, their political ideologies were very different from each other.
Despite their remaining political differences, Brooks and Capehart work together in a very harmonious way that gives viewers a wonderful bipartisan view of what happens in Washington.
While all episodes of Brooks and Capehart are riveting, this week’s episode in particular was one of my personal favorites.
Both Brooks and Capehart gave a very hopeful perspective on the midterm elections, with Capehart stating that “the American electorate chose democracy” and Brooks echoing that sentiment, making a clever statement that the American people “preferred a party that is sort of out of touch to a party that is out of their minds.” But my main love of this episode stems from how Brooks approached the issues discussed.
First off, I want to give a general shoutout to Brooks. He is a conservative who has really remained true to the values of normalcy in recent years. He has not been afraid to call out both sides of the political spectrum, which I think is very rare in today’s political climate.
Capehart does this as well and deserves to be commended for it, but Brooks has managed to do so while watching his political party go down the Trump rabbit hole and witnessing many Democrats move further to the left and away from that center ground he tries to reach them on.
Brooks’s commentary this week on the midterm elections was extremely sharp and on point, demonstrating just how carefully Brooks observes these issues, not just in the United States, but around the globe. He looked towards a global rise in populism to explain Trump’s previous rise in U.S. politics, using this to describe Americans’ rejection of authoritarianism in this election.
Also, when Brooks discussed the return of “normie” Republicans, he articulated the point very clearly. I could not help but feel very happy for Brooks during this conversation because I cannot imagine the relief he must feel with his party potentially returning to its former state.
Anyone who watches Brooks and Capehart knows how intelligent they both are, but Brooks deserves a special commendation for not just how well he has provided insights on the political issues of the past few years, but also because he stayed true to himself while doing it — offering Americans a glimmer of hope for the future of the Republican party beyond Trump.
I have so many kind words to say about both of these gentlemen that I do not have enough room to put it here. I strongly recommend that if you want to get a warm feeling in your heart every week when it comes to political matters, which happens rarely nowadays, tune in to Brooks and Capehart on Friday nights.
Enjoy as you listen to two erudite men make political issues approachable for the public and show Americans how people from different sides of the political spectrum can come together to have a cohesive, rational and informative conversation about the political issues of today.
Thank you for reminding me that Mr. Brooks is a Republican. His perspective is so wise that he seems to be of no party.
The three experienced and kind intellectuals give me hope for our world. Kudos to Ms. Woodruff, Mr. Capehart, and Mr. Brooks.