I didn’t realize she was a ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ alumnus but am not surprised to learn she is.She reflects what is best about a ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ education… a propensity for fierce debate, an enlightened perspective, and respect for history, facts, and getting the story right.

The last election was a nearly unmitigated disaster for this nation. The machinations it took to elect the most inept, corrupt man in the history of the country (with no close second) was a dire indictment of this nation’s values.

What rescues us is those mitigating factors…the genius of a three-branched government designed to ensure checks and balances, a commitment to rule of law, and the essential powers of a free press to expose the truth, no matter how ugly it may be. In Vance’s work, we see all of those forces for good conjoined.

When historians get their hands on this sorry mess (assuming we survive it) there will be few heroes, but those who stood up boldly to this toxic administration and challenged the lies, the calumny, the grotesque breaches in justice, reason, and rule of law will be among them. Vance has secured her place in that line-up.

If justice holds sway, the man who occupies the White House will be in an entirely different line-up, one that culminates in an orange jumpsuit and cell.