National service has always been the bridesmaid but never the bride in American politics. From the time the idea of some kind of service more comprehensive than military duty became popular in the ...

The 2008 presidential campaign was full of talk about public service and volunteering. Democrat Barack Obama proposed a detailed plan to more than triple the size of the national-service program ...

Of course, there are many things one could do for the country if a stint in national service became mandatory. Imagine a program that enlists young, able-bodied Americans to pick up trash and litter ...