Tag Archives: The Daily Beast


Forty-Five Foiled Terror Plots Since 9/11 – The Daily Beast

As news of a new “credible” threat swept across the nation on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Americans were abruptly reminded that terrorism is always one bad day away from being issue No. 1. In the latest case, one report … Continue reading

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Perry’s Smash-Mouth Debate Style – The Daily Beast

So much for the 11th Commandment. At the start of the Republican debate at the Reagan Library, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry came out swinging, with the former Massachusetts governor jabbing the Texan as a career politician, followed by a … Continue reading

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John Avlon The Recovery – The Daily Beast

The Recovery – The Daily Beast

Lower Manhattan is a living symbol of civic resilience; it is evidence of how free people can triumph over fear. The neighborhood surrounding Ground Zero has become the fastest-growing in New York City. Daniel Libeskind is part of the influx. … Continue reading

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Bill Clinton to the Rescue – The Daily Beast

It’s Labor Day 2011, and all eyes are on the economy—both the stubborn 9.1 percent unemployment rate and President Obama’s upcoming “job creation” speech in front of a joint session of Congress. There’s evidence that Obama may be looking for … Continue reading

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Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time Palin – The Daily Beast

Sarah Palin’s “will-she or won’t-she?” act is getting pretty old. All eyes will be on her Saturday speech at a Tea Party rally in Iowa, but Palin’s 2012 expiration date is looming. The scattershot dysfunction that accompanied even this event … Continue reading

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Chris Christie’s 2012 Tease – The Daily Beast

As Hurricane Irene bore down on the East Coast on Saturday afternoon, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had a simple message: “Get the hell off the beach.” “You’re done. It’s 4:30 p.m. You’ve maximized your tan,” he bellowed from behind … Continue reading

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When Good Candidates Go Bad – The Daily Beast

George Clooney is a political junkie. The son of a newsman explored the intersection of government and journalism in the Oscar-winning Good Night and Good Luck. Now he’s taking on presidential campaigns in The Ides of March, a political thriller … Continue reading

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GOP Players’ Iowa Test – The Daily Beast

If you like sweet corn, or presidential politics, this is a good time to be in the heartland. On Thursday night, the GOP field will meet for a pivotal debate in Des Moines, Iowa. On Saturday, the only straw poll that … Continue reading

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Gang of 6’s Supercommittee Diss – The Daily Beast

The day before the S&P downgrading of the United States debt, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal lauded the virtues of stubbornness at the Republican National Committee summer meeting in Tampa, Florida. “It pays to be stubborn,” Jindal said. “The press is … Continue reading

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Alan Simpson Is ‘Disgusted’ by the Debt Deal – The Daily Beast

Alan Simpson is ‘Disgusted’ by the debt deal.  Hear him blast off about Washington’s incompetence. What do you think about the debt-ceiling deal? It’s a start, and that’s all you can charitably say. It really doesn’t get to the big numbers. … Continue reading

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The Web’s Stealth Presidential Race – The Daily Beast

magine what our election system might look like if it were designed today: No Byzantine electoral college, no long lines on a random Tuesday, no closed primaries that force candidates into the arms of their party’s special interests. Modern Madisons … Continue reading

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Where the GOP Went Wrong on Deficits and Debt – The Daily Beast

When did fiscal responsibility and fiscal conservatism get de-linked? That is the key question that underlies the fault lines in the current GOP civil war, playing out over the debt-ceiling debate as every day we get closer to default. It’s too simple … Continue reading

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GOP’s Debt Kamikazes – The Daily Beast

Call them Debt Ceiling Deniers. Believers in faith-based fiscal policy. Math-challenged cause-and-effect-skeptics. And an uncomfortable chunk of the GOP’s 2012 contenders. The costs of courting conservative populists should be clearer than ever to reality-based fiscal conservatives inside the Republican Party.  Their … Continue reading

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Our Pathetic Debt Debate – The Daily Beast

A cataclysmic game of chicken. Negotiating with a gun to your head. A Thelma & Louise-style full throttle off a cliff. The dire metaphors for the debt-ceiling debate proliferate as we get closer to the August 2nd due date.

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Birth of a Nation – The Daily Beast

A new nation was born today, as the Republic of South Sudan officially became the 193rd country on earth. But the joyous celebration in the new capital city of Juba should not cause observers to think that the struggle for … Continue reading

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Clinton to Obama: ‘Don’t Blink’ – The Daily Beast

There were lines outside the big tent where Bill Clinton spoke an hour before he was set to begin. A seminar on “The Future of Cancer” was his warm-up act.  When he took the stage, spillover crowds were placed in … Continue reading

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Has the Third Party’s Moment Arrived? – The Daily Beast

Independence Day came a few days early this year, as columnist and author Tom Friedman declared his support for a third party at the Aspen Ideas Festival. “We need a third party. I am for a third party,” Friedman said to … Continue reading

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New York Passes Gay Marriage: This Is the Tipping Point – The Daily Beast

If you can make it here, you’ll make it anywhere. Celebrations erupted in the streets of New York after the Empire State became the sixth and largest state in the nation to legalize same sex marriage after weeks of gridlock … Continue reading

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Obama Speech Looks Toward 2012 – The Daily Beast

President Obama wore the mantle of commander in chief with uncharacteristic ease in his prime-time East Room address announcing the end of the surge in Afghanistan. The theme was “promises kept.” The frame was America 10 years after the attacks … Continue reading

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Huntsman the Dark Horse – The Daily Beast

It’s so crazy, it just might work. Jon Huntsman is set to officially announce his run for the presidency today in sight of the Statue of Liberty, where the Gipper kicked off his fall campaign in 1980. The Reagan homage … Continue reading

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