Jingoism All the Way
The GOP field presidential candidates held a noisy war drum circle on December 15
What is “The American Character”?
I’ve started this column several times, but the news keeps getting ahead of me. And not in a good way. Not something juicy like a candidate dropping out or yet another “brain harvesting” meltdown from what’s-her-name. Syrian refugee crisis? That is SO last month. The Paris attacks
“Dark Matter” Fills the Political Universe, Too
From Space.com: Overall, dark energy is thought to contribute 73 percent of all the mass and energy in the universe. Another 23 percent is dark matter, which leaves only 4 percent of the universe composed of regular matter, such as stars, planets and people. The scientific community—you know,
A Hard Right Turn — Again
The November 13 Paris attacks changed the trajectory of our 2016 presidential election, and not for the good. I know because I’ve watched it happen before. On September 11, 2001, my wife and I were visiting Maine for a wedding. Here’s how to feel spooked: the
Debating the Debates
It took several tries before I could finish this Charles Krauthammer article about the Republicans squandering their “victory” over the so-called mainstream media, via CNBC’s demeaning questions at the most recent debate. But as Eugene Robinson explains here, it was really the phrasing and not the questions themselves. In
Are We There Yet?
...Not even close. Primaries are the tribal councils of this metaphorical Survivor season. That’s because opinion polls and voting are not the same thing, at least not this far ahead of the general election. It goes like this: You might tell someone on the telephone that you like Trump
They’re Dropping Like Flies
The Democratic field has lost half since we last spoke. Not the Republicans, the Democrats! Joe Biden: gone, even if never official. Jim Webb: a war hero, gone. Lincoln Chaffee: a joke, gone. Martin O’Malley: still around, and still irrelevant. A newish entrant, also irrelevant, is
Moments from the Democrats’ Debate
CNN debate anchor Anderson Cooper was intent on confrontation and stirring up rivalries
Lord of the House-Flies
Our little game of Political Survivor abruptly expanded to the House of Representatives last week, with potentially explosive results. Speaker John Boehner finally got so disgusted with his own tribe that he voted himself off the island, and now his presumed successor, California Representative Kevin McCarthy, has
Common Ground is the New Arctic Ice
In the U.S. recently: Pope Francis. Chinese President Xi Jinping. Russian President Vladimir Putin. And a political zombie—yet another threat to shut down the government, this time because radical Republicans want Planned Parenthood defunded. This last one has become really tiresome. John Boehner’s advance-notice resignation staved off