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Category Archives: Columns
The Obama Haters Book Club: The Canon Swells – The Daily Beast
Welcome to the Obama Haters Book Club—a parallel universe of fear mongering for fun and profit. Over the past four years, no less than 89 obsessively anti-Obama books have been published, as now catalogued by The Daily Beast. I’m not … Continue reading
Posted in Columns, Featured Columns
Tagged 2012 Elections, Elections, President Obama, The Daily Beast, Wingnuts
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Why ‘The Newsroom’ matters – CNN.com
Aaron Sorkin’s HBO show “The Newsroom” represents the reality of working in television news about as accurately as “The West Wing” captured working in politics — which is to say, not at all. But both dramas did something more worthwhile: … Continue reading
Don’t Call Obama Racist – The Daily Beast
Race remains a fundamental fault line in American life. That’s why the Trayvon Martin murder trial drew wall to wall coverage on cable news and why the jury’s decision to acquit George Zimmerman drew outraged cries. And on Friday afternoon, … Continue reading
George H.W. Bush, Our Preppiest Ex-President, Honored at White House – The Daily Beast
It’s been a quarter-century since George H.W. Bush was elected president, but the wheels of history are finally turning his way. In a triumph of civility and character over hyperbolic hyper-partisanship, Bush 41 was honored Monday by President Obama at … Continue reading
The Changing Face of the U.S. Electorate – CNN.com
John King speaks with Margaret Hoover and John Avlon about how Pres. Obama was able to win despite losing white vote.
Posted in Columns, Featured Videos, Videos
Tagged 2012 Elections, CNN, Elections, Independent Voters
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Lindsey Graham Wasn’t Afraid to Fight for Immigration Reform – The Daily Beast
Profiles in courage are rare in our politics these days, but the Senate’s passage of comprehensive immigration reform is bright example of how Washington does not need to be a place where good ideas go to die. Credit goes to … Continue reading
Lisa Murkowski’s Declaration of Independence – The Daily Beast
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski became the third Republican U.S. Senator to support same-sex marriage on Wednesday, just days before the Supreme Court is set to decide on its constitutionality. But what’s really significant about Murkowski’s decision is the argument she … Continue reading
‘Sopranos’ a Violent Fantasy for Middle-Aged Guys – CNN.com
Why do we love gangsters — at least the ones on TV and in the movies? The sudden death of actor James Gandolfini at age 51 has brought a round of instant nostalgia for the HBO show he led at … Continue reading
Paranoia on Patriots’ Day – The Daily Beast
The paranoid style in American politics is alive and well. It was thriving on both sides of the Potomac Monday at separate Second Amendment rallies offering a cast of characters including militia members, a fundamentalist Mormon family, a sheriff, a … Continue reading
The Military-Industrial Complex Is Real, and It’s Bigger Than Ever – The Daily Beast
In January 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower famously warned about the growth of the “military-industrial complex” in his farewell address. Ed Snowden, late of Booz Allen Hamilton, is just one small expression of its rise. The rest is evident throughout … Continue reading
NSA Spying Shows Obama’s Machine Out of Control – The Daily Beast
With news that Verizon was required to hand over supposedly private domestic phone records to the government as part of a national security dragnet, the second-term curse just got much more real for the Obama administration. To date, however, the … Continue reading
Michele Bachmann Is Done: Her Hostage Tape to Reality – The Daily Beast
Our long national nightmare is over. Well, that’s overstating it. But the congresswoman who represented the worst of modern American politics more than she ever tried to represent her Minnesota constituents has announced that she will not run for reelection. … Continue reading
Memo to the GOP: It’s Time to Listen to Your Elders – The Daily Beast
Sometimes retirees are out of touch. But sometimes they’re freer to tell the truth. And that’s what happened when GOP mandarins Bob Dole and John Warner fired off warning flares about the rightward drift of the Republican Party. Former presidential … Continue reading
How Did ‘Patriot’ Become a Dirty Word? – CNN.com
On Memorial Day, we honor those patriots who gave “the last full measure of devotion” — in Abraham Lincoln’s words — and died defending our freedom and union. But this Memorial Day is partly clouded by the resurgence of partisan … Continue reading
Stuck Far From Home, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett Asks for Prayers – The Daily Beast
When the mile-wide twister came down just outside his town, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett was watching the devastation on television, just like the rest of America. The three-term mayor was stuck at an economic-development conference in Las Vegas—the last … Continue reading
American Way: Don’t Impose Watergate on the Scandals Facing Obama – They Stand on Their Own – The Telegraph
Somewhere Richard Nixon is smiling. Four decades after Watergate and two decades after his death, we still can’t stop talking about the dark anti-hero of American politics. His five-o’clock shadowy visage remains too convenient a metaphor for lazy critics looking … Continue reading
Hispanic Outreach Director Explains Why He Said ‘Adios’ to the GOP – The Daily Beast
Conservatives should consider this a warning sign. The Republican National Committee’s former Hispanic outreach director for Florida has left the GOP and registered as a Democrat, citing a “culture of intolerance.” Pablo Pantoja is a decorated Iraq war vet who … Continue reading
With Benghazi Video, Karl Rove Kicks Off 2016 With Hillary Clinton Hit – The Daily Beast
Less than five months after Barack Obama began his second term, the 2016 presidential campaign kicked off this weekend with a Benghazi-themed attack ad that takes direct aim at Hillary Clinton. The 90-second web ad, called “Benghazi”, was issued by … Continue reading
IRS Wrong To Target ‘Patriots’–But Also To Let Non-Profits Play Politics – The Daily Beast
Forget slow-news Friday. The IRS admission today that it singled out for scrutiny political action committees with the words “Tea Party” and “Patriot” in their names rocketed around the Internet, fueling conservatives’ feeling of persecution. The actions were apparently taken … Continue reading
Mark Sanford Is the Comeback Kid, Winning SC Congressional Seat – The Daily Beast
The redemption tour is over and Congress has a new Comeback Kid. Scandal-laden former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford won back his old congressional seat on Tuesday night, defeating Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch by a 54 percent to 45 percent … Continue reading