President Obama
WILL OBAMA BE AN OUTLAW HERO?
America loves its outlaw heroes. We love them when they are rebellious misfits like Bob Dylan, Holden Caufield and Huck Finn. We also love them when they are action heroes, like Batman and Dirty Harry. In our political life, some of our greatest figures have been outlaw heroes like Martin Luther King, who spoke truth …
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
Ed Gillespie, John McCain, Sean Hannity and other Republicans can complain all they want about President Obama taking the credit for making the decision to take down Osama bin Laden. After all, it’s what happened; as Walter Brennan used to say, “No brag, just fact.” Maybe it was a little tacky to bring Mitt Romney‘s …
THE METAPHOR AMERICA NEEDS
More than two months ago, Drew Westen, a professor of psychology at Emory University, wrote a piece for the Times in which he criticized President Obama‘s failure to seize the narrative of the political issues of our times. Well, the president has made a lot of appearances in that time, but he still has yet …
CYNICAL TO THE MAX
Members of Congress have have been the authors of some of the great acts of cynicism in our lifetimes: slipping items favored by special interests in the fine print of conference committee reports; voting one way on a bill and thenanother way in enabling legislation or appropriations; citing some high-minded purpose on a bill that …
TAKING OWNERSHIP OF MEDICARE
Rep. Paul Ryan‘s plan to replace Medicare with a voucher plan was killed by the Senate the otehr day when five GOP Senators voted against Ryan’s idea. On most political occasions, this blow would put an end to Ryan’s fifteen minutes of political fame, except for two things: one, the Democrats will now want to …
ON SPIKING THE FOOTBALL
In his explanation of why he refused to release the photos of the dead body of Osama bin Laden, President Obama told 60 Minutes “”We don’t trot out this stuff as trophies. We don’t need to spike the football.” I don’t agree. Put me down as standing with the Beatles on this one. As they …
IN THE SIT
Terrific article, amazing photos in the New York Times about President Obama‘s vantage on the killing of Osama bin Laden: “On Sunday afternoon, as the helicopters raced over Pakistani territory, the president and his advisers gathered in the Situation Room of the White House to monitor the operation as it unfolded. Much of the time …
BIN DEADEN
Navy Seals killed the terrorist Osama bin Laden in a compund in Abbottablad yesterday. “Justice has been done,” said President Obama, and though long delayed, it has been. Good riddance. Writing in the Times today, Ross Douthat says “This is a triumph for the United States of America, for our soldiers and intelligence operatives, and …
WHY IS OBAMA HARDER ON HIS FRIENDS THAN ON HIS ENEMIES?
In The Washington Post today, Richard Cohen writes about Team Obama’s attempt to toss the inept New York Governor David Paterson out of the 2010 campaign. “The Defenestration of New York tells you nothing you did not know about Paterson. But it does tell you something about Obama and a toughness lurking behind that blazing …
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