I thought this column by Charles Krauthammer was a lazy piece of work last Friday, with “Bomber Boy”–as George W. Bush called him–flaying his dead horse of unipolarity:
Viewpoint
Osama Gone, And Now…
This is, of course, a great day for the world, especially the U.S., our special operations teams and our President, whose crisp and appropriate decision-making when it came to the use of force was once again on display here. I …
Political Vindication in Obama’s Bin Laden Speech
This is an exciting day–I can’t remember ever feeling jubilant about someone’s death before–and it’s probably lame to start dissecting the politics. Especially since the basic politics are no-duh obvious: This is a really great day for President Obama. But since this is supposed to be a blog about politics, and the dissections have …
After Bin Laden: A Stronger America
President Obama walked down an empty corridor to the East Room of the White House on Sunday night to announce the killing of Osama bin Laden. It was like he was walking out of a forgotten dream. Remember that quest we began …
Changing the Dial
So the birther thing is kaput. That was easy. But the hijacking of the prevailing conversation in Washington by Republican extremists continues apace–in this case, abetted by elite establishment types (and especially by those high-minded Wall Streeters who gave you the Great Recession). And so, for the umpteenth time:
Ben Bernanke Channels Jerry Seinfeld
In the Federal Reserve’s first press conference in 32 years, Chairman Ben Bernanke today announced…nothing. He didn’t exactly say nothing. But he basically said that despite the weak economy, he’s decided to do nothing. …
The New Security Team
The rumors have been floating around for months–I helped in the floating process, back in February–but it now seems likely that Leon Panetta will be the next Secretary of Defense, David Petraeus will replace him at CIA, General John Allen will replace Petraeus as commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan and Ryan Crocker will come out of …
The Republican Crackup
Ezra Klein–this is boring, but it’s almost always the case–has yet another smart piece today in which he posits Barack Obama as a moderate Republican from the early 1990s. I don’t know about the label, but the substance is …
Paul Krugman, Important Person
Paul Krugman is not my cup of tea. Even when he writes things that I agree with, which is almost never, he manages to strike tones of smugness and condescension that make my skin crawl. Of course, just because I feel this way doesn’t mean everyone should.
What’s Missing from the Obama Campaign’s Strategy Video
Michael Scherer noticed four things in the Obama campaign’s new video about its strategy for getting the President reelected in 2012. Let me add one more: At no point in the six-minute video does campaign manager Jim Messina even hint at a reason why the president ought to be reelected in 2012.
The Clown Candidacy
In the annals of political reportage, I thought perhaps we’d hit bottom last week with this: a fake journalist interviewing a fake presidential candidate about a campaign that will never exist. Meghan McCain and Trump banter …
Is the Fed Failing?
If Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke had a tank, I wouldn’t just be in it; I’d probably be the bouncer checking ID’s at the door. I wrote the 2009 Person of the Year profile that credited him with saving the global …
Time to Cut the Budget? AARP Is Your Enemy
I have been 50 years old for about ten weeks now, and already I have received five identical invitations to join AARP, the group formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons. This wasteful barrage would be enough to make me hate AARP, except for the fact that I started hating AARP 30 years ago and never stopped. Let me …