Our nation has come a long way, brothers and sisters — in the wrong direction.

You might be interested to know that there have been only 12 lieutenant governors in Georgia’s history, going back to 1947 when the position was created. Four went on to become governor. One became lieutenant governor after having served as governor. Four others tried for the state’s highest office and failed. Two left politics after their term in office.It is safe to say that the 12th occupant, Geoff Duncan, didn’t have the job on his radar when he graduated from Georgia Tech. A pitcher for the Yellow Jackets, he was signed by the Miami Marlins organization and made it as far as the organization’s AAA affiliate, the Calgary Cannons of the Pacific Coast League, until a shoulder injury ended his career.

A funny thing happened with a dinner reservation here during the recent playing of the U. S. Open golf championship.

She had it all: A great personal story as a first-generation American, a likable personality, a solid political record, an uncommon ability to hit the ground running with ease and competence, and a golden opportunity that made her a household name and earned her an international reputation.

It might be extremely tough for a Republican to win any Gwinnett race in 2020.

What’s the best car on the road? One that’s paid off.

Former vice president Joe Biden said in a recent interview that he agrees with Jim Mattis that the Obama administration’s decision to withdraw troops from Iraq was a mistake, but that as vice president he tried to keep “a residual force” stationed there.

Turn with me now to those not-so-thrilling days of yesteryear while I talk about — toys.

I ran across a piece recently entitled: “Johnny Isakson: Living His Values.” That, he has done. As he leaves the U.S. Senate and some 40 years of public service, I doubt we will see his equal anytime soon.

The latest spiritual adviser to the president is TV evangelist Paula White-Cain.

Is it possible? The 2020 presidential election is just a year away. 

Generals require committed privates in order to achieve success in warfare. Presidents need the same, along with staff who don't always tell them what they want to hear, but sometimes what they need to hear.

Next Monday is Veterans Day. That’s a great time to honor our veterans – by doing our small part to tackle the growing issue of veteran suicides.

Today I give you random ramblings from a troubled soul.

Esther Cepeda's email address is estherjcepeda@washpost.com or follow her on Twitter @estherjcepeda.

President Trump deserves credit for ordering the operation that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

“Well my daddy left home when I was three, and he didn’t leave much to Ma and me, except this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze. Now I don’t blame him because he run and hid, but the meanest thing that he ever did, is before he left, he went and named me Sue.”

As we observe Red Ribbon Week, a time when we focus on drug prevention awareness, the bill is coming due for the drug companies that recklessly flooded our nation with highly addictive opioids.

Don’t look now, y’all, but October is just about over. How did that happen? It just started day before yesterday.

I bow to no one in my love for and loyalty to the University of Georgia. I bleed red and black.

After dozens of House Republicans demanded access to a secure facility in the Capitol on Wednesday where House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., was preparing to depose a Pentagon official, Democrats expressed outrage at the breach of protocol.

He was the Bernie Sanders of his day.

As the 2020 election comes into sharper focus, one issue that seems to animate both sides — the Supreme Court — is once again taking center stage.

It’s Washington’s new favorite Latin phrase: quid pro quo. 

A new wrestling league is being promoted during TV coverage of Major League Baseball's post-season. The ad promises more action, more spectacle and includes women as well as men grappling with each other.

You see, more school districts are banning childhood games that were staples when I was growing up in the 1970s.

Everything is offensive now — even Halloween.

Sometimes truth is so eager to be heard that it slips past the speaker's tongue without his conscious cooperation.

Enter acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.

At his age President Trump may not be able to change his “spots,” but he can tone down the invective against opponents, which is only giving them and everyone else who hates him permission to fire back in a similar manner.

I have a history with gas. I mean the kind you put into your car’s tank. In my youth, I was a gas pump jockey before I became a radio disc jockey or a TV news jockey.

This is all political theater and bad theater at that. Democrats are going through the motions of impeachment, hoping to thwart the president’s re-election.

Growing up, both of my parents were public schoolteachers. It gave them great joy to work every day to help shape the future for our children. As a parent and grandfather, I feel the same joy watching my grandkids learn something new.

For Biden to now attack Trump for a temporary delay in a new round of lethal military aid reeks of hypocrisy.

This is all political theater and bad theater at that. Democrats are going through the motions of impeachment, hoping to thwart the president’s re-election.

I have a hard time dealing with new. That’s the primary reason I’ve kept the same wife and house for almost 40 years. The thought of trying something different just never has sat well with me.

President Trump's critics are now complaining that he asked the Australian prime minister to cooperate with the Justice Department's investigation into the origins of the Mueller probe and that Attorney General William Barr has traveled overseas to ask foreign intelligence officials to cooperate with that investigation.

As if we need more proof that the impeachment cacophony is Inside-the-Beltway blather between Republicans and Democrats, cheered on by wingnuts and navel-gazing pundits, consider how important that issue is to families whose loved ones may have been abused in some of Georgia’s senior care facilities.