The media is trying to sell President-elect Obama as another Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but Hall Institute Executive Director Michael Riccards contends that such talk a bit premature and perhaps a little out of sync. Riccards, a presidential scholar and the author of 14 books, makes his argument in Another New Deal, his current column on PolitickerNJ.com.

The Audio Version— If you enjoy Riccards' column on FDR, be sure to listen to his podcast on the new interest of scholars and politicians in Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. Play

Balancing Work and Play— What does the emergence of leisure time at the end of the 19th Century have to do with the current state of politics and journalism? Read Leisure Time, Pseudo Events and Politics by the Hall Institute’s Richard Lee to learn why.

An Ongoing Struggle— More work is needed to ensure that people with disabilities enjoy the same due process rights as non-disabled persons. Salvatore Pizzuro, a leading advocate for the disabled, examines this issue in Therapeutic Jurisprudence and the Due Process Rights of People with Cognitive and Psychiatric Disabilities.

• Riccards on New Jersey 2008 — A blog on our state's expanded role in the 2008 presidential race.
• Rich Lee on Media — Musings on those who make the news and those who report it.
• School Funding — Commentary and analysis on educational issues.
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• Research Essays
• Op-Ed Articles
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The Hall Institute is a non-partisan, not-for-profit foundation established to explore social, economic, educational and cultural issues. Our weekly email newsletter is sent to organizations and individuals with an interest in the material posted on our website at www.hallnj.org.

Since its inception in 2005, the institute has emerged as a leading voice for public policy in New Jersey. More than 400 papers, on topics ranging from health care to education to property taxes, have been posted on our website.

In 2006 and 2008, the institute presented online Virtual Debates among the candidates in New Jersey's U.S. Senate race. We also sponsored NJ2008, a special section on New Jersey's role in the 2008 presidential campaign.

In addition to our other activities, the institute also has published two books -- The State of the Garden State and Reaction and Reform in New Jersey. Both are compilations of the major papers posted on its website.

Located in Trenton directly across from the New Jersey State House, the institute was established by George E. Hall, a successful business executive and a leading philanthropist who lives in Middletown, N.J.