The country faces grave challenges. So why do Jeb Bush and Barack Obama spend so much time on small-bore maneuvers?
Sequestered in Memphis
My head is filled to bursting with the great Hold Steady song: Subpoened in Texas, Sequestered in Memphis. It’s far more fun than the current idiotic man-made crisis over the sequester in DC. I’ve been ignoring this “crisis,” assuming that they’ll cut some sort of last minute deal, as they always do.
Good News on Health Care
Good news? Yes. There’s been a decline in the increase of health care spending that could shrink our budget deficits in the near future.
COIN and Change
My latest print column: John McCain’s ugly cross-examination of Chuck Hagel raised some larger questions about US policy.
The Anti-Defamation League’s House of Cards
House of Cards appropriately called out the Anti-Defamation League for devaluing the currency of Anti-Semitism. (UPDATE)
Hizzoner
Ed Koch was a giant of New York. He will not, I think, be remembered for giant breakthroughs in governance. No, he’ll be remembered for his gigantic, totally NooYawk personality.
Israel Moves Left
Wow. Exit polls indicate that the Knesset will be nearly equally divided between left and right. There’s even a slim chance that Benjamin Netanyahu could lose.
The Wages of Moderation
This week’s print column on the latest, sad–but sort of hopeful–attempt at bipartisanship.
The Shame of New York School Bus Drivers
It is shameful that New York city’s school bus drivers, whose major function is to transport special needs children, have gone on strike today–and even more shameful that they’re striking for the guarantee of employment, which may be illegal.
I Have Seen the Future…
We’ve now had two significant bipartisan votes in the House–to raise taxes and to provide storm relief post-Sandy. I see a third one on the horizon, and a fourth.
Bill Kristol’s Very Bad Day
Ah, the wages of extremism! Bill Kristol writes yet another editorial trying to scuttle the Chuck Hagel nomination–and even criticizes AIPAC for eschewing public denunciations of Hagel. And then the neocons’ last best hope, Chuck Schumer, weighs in.
Obama’s Second Chance
The President has decided that he is, for the moment, in a position of power and, unlike his first-term negotiating style, seems ready to bulldoze his hapless opponents.
Richard Ben Cramer
Richard Ben Cramer, a journalist I knew and admired greatly, has passed away at the age of 62.