This has been making its way around the internets lately. It’s one of the most thoughtful personal — and political — essays I’ve read in awhile… or at least that’s resonated so strongly: I was in Berlin giving a talk when the Marxist writer Tariq Ali invited me out to a dinner that included a [...]
I missed this debate between Rob Satloff and Mark Perry on Lehrer last week–all Pennsylvania for me, all the time–but I did think Perry got the better of it…in large part because, in my view, people who want to negotiate with our enemies almost always have a stronger argument than people who don’t. Not that [...]
The speech: More of the same, only with Bill there. It’s 3 p.m., and the campaign is offering us our fourth meal of the day. This one is a sandwich that is some kind of local delicacy, involving kiolbassa, kielbasa,* sauerkraut and french fries (all inside the sandwich) that you are supposed to drench in [...]
All the candidates have released their FEC reports today. McCain’s report, the Politico suggests, cements the prediction that he will accept public funds in the general. This has one obvious outcome — he will be outspent badly. Very badly — and one slightly less obvious one: He’ll also be going to the Republican National Committee [...]
Hillary Clinton has spent the past few days hammering Barack Obama for saying something that doesn’t sound very controversial to me: that either Democratic candidate would be a much better President than GWB…and that John McCain would, too. Now, let’s leave aside the fact that Clinton–just a few weeks ago–was saying that McCain had the [...]
Hillary’s new “comparison” ad up in PA. It’s unusual for the genre: Hillary’s the one in b&w, not her opponent, and the music is a peppy yet vaguely menacing sort of waltz (it sounds like the music that would be playing while Hannibal Lecter looks up recipes). The last lines, however, are classic: “There are [...]
The Swampkids–who were lobbying last summer for us to vacation here–are thrilled that I’ve finally made it to Scranton, though there have thus far been no sightings of Michael Scott. I’m sorry I missed the St. Patrick’s Day parade, where a Clinton staffer tells me much of the town was decked out in green Dunder [...]
State College, Pa. I’ve spent the weekend with the Democrats–yesterday with Obama, today with Clinton. I’ll have a lot more to say about the race in my print column this week…but a few quick notes from Pennsylvania: Substance: Both Clinton’s and Obama’s stump speeches have collapsed into blatant pandering. Obama doesn’t talk about hope much [...]
