Barack Obama

Alter’s New Book

The first draft of history is always going to be controversial, especially when it’s on something as touchy as health care reform – monstrous legislation the full effects of which we will not know for years to come. So it should probably come as no surprise that Jonathan Alter’s take on Barack Obama’s first year in the White …

R.I.P. Dr. Dorothy Height

I first met Dr. Dorothy Height nine years ago at the United Nations Summit on Racism in Durban, South Africa. I had the privilege of a quick interview during which she talked about co-writing the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights with former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in 1948, nearly 20 years before passage of the Civil …

Mitt Romney and the Nuance Trap

One advantage the GOP had in the health debate was its total disregard for nuance when it came to messaging. Again and again, Republicans over-simplified provisions in the Democratic plan and convinced a lot of Americans that reform was bad in the process. They said the bill would gut Medicare by slashing half a trillion dollars in …

Democrats Seem Poised for a Victory on Health Care

“We feel like we’ve been pregnant for 17 months, let’s get on with it already.” Those were the words of Democrat Rep. Louise Slaughter, chairwoman of the House Rules Committee, on Saturday, as she moved health reform one step closer to the finish line.

Well put. After all the hearings and debates and town halls; after the Gang of Six …

What Obama Will Say Today on Health Care

The White House has released parts of the health care statement President Obama will make today at 1:45 p.m. The President’s remarks are meant to give Democrats the confidence to follow the only available path left – a reconciliation package in the Senate and House passage of the underlying Senate bill. The statement will be a …

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