This morning’s Washington Post ran some excerpts from Dana Milbank’s new book, Homo Politicus: The Strange and Scary Tribes That Run Our Government. If the government is a primitive tribe — and yes, there’s some primal sociology at play in politics — then how do candidates stack up in a primitive hierarchy? (Or for theContinue reading “On John Edwards, Viking Warrior”
Category Archives: Politics
On Mitt Romney’s Anti-Endorsement
Newspapers have been endorsing candidates at all levels of the political process for years. People running for President, for instance, covet the endorsements of newspapers, both in the general election and the primaries. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen anything quite like this, before, though. The Concord Monitor, in Concord, New Hampshire, ran anContinue reading “On Mitt Romney’s Anti-Endorsement”
On Impeaching Dick Cheney
In early November the House of Representatives voted, with bipartisan support, a bill of Impeachment sponsored by Dennis Kucinich to the House Judiciary Committee. Now, we can question why the bill had bipartisan support. A cynic might say the Republicans were trying to embarrass the Democratic leadership of the House. An optimist might think thatContinue reading “On Impeaching Dick Cheney”
On Olbermann’s Take on Iran
I wrote yesterday about the release of the NIE on Iran and the President’s press conference Tuesday morning. Neither event, truthfully, was particularly pleasant. Neither has had much play in the press, that I’ve seen. (Blogosphere, yes. Media, no.) Naturally, I wondered what Keith Olbermann would make of the release of the NIE and theContinue reading “On Olbermann’s Take on Iran”
On the President and Iran
For several months now, the President and his administration have been building a drumbeat toward war with Iran. The reasons were many and varied — such as their funding and support for the Iraqi insurgents — but the major reason was the threat of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon. Which, thanks to the release ofContinue reading “On the President and Iran”
On Winter Festivals
Christopher Hitchens confuses me. Don’t misunderstand. I enjoy reading Hitchens. I don’t exactly agree with Hitchens. He reminds me of something Stephen Fry wrote recently, on the subject of dinner arguments: I was warned many, many years ago by the great Jonathan Lynn, co-creator of Yes Minister and director of the comic masterpiece My CousinContinue reading “On Winter Festivals”
On Political Opinions
Things I’ve said in the past two days: How can a politician put together the words “debate on torture”? There’s no debate. Torture is torture. End of sentence. You just don’t do it. Calling Condi Rice “incompetant” is being kind.
On Stephen Colbert’s Presidential Bid
Comedian Stephen Colbert had announced his intention to run President. Not so fast, says the South Carolina Democratic Party. They’ve decided that Colbert isn’t a serious candidate, and have rejected his application to get on the ballot. I have no opinion on this, really. The Atlantic Monthly had a good article on what his campaignContinue reading “On Stephen Colbert’s Presidential Bid”
On Boy Scouts and Bigotry
It’s hard to feel bad for the Boy Scouts. They’ve brought their troubles upon themselves. They discriminate against atheists — I myself would not be welcome in their company. They discriminate against homosexuals. The Supreme Court said, “Boy Scouts, you can discriminate! You’re a private organization!” a few years ago. Congress reaffirmed that with aContinue reading “On Boy Scouts and Bigotry”
On the Coming Crack-Up
Here’s an interesting little story. The “Religious Right” isn’t happy with the Republican Party. The GOP doesn’t value their interests. The GOP isn’t fighting for what they want. And they really don’t like Rudy Guiliani. What does all this mean? There’s the obvious fear, on the part of the Republicans, that the religious voting blocContinue reading “On the Coming Crack-Up”