LATEST FROM THE NEW REPUBLIC
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Obama's Secret Plan To Muzzle Talk Radio. Very, VERY Secret.
by Marin Cogan
Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, and other friends have spent the past year screaming about the horrors of Barack Obama. And, while it's true that they talked...
Keep TARP Alive! How Obama Can Save The Bailout That Bush Bungled.
by Clay Risen
If nothing else, the Treasury's $700 billion bailout has been a boon for unintentional black comedy.
Reality Check: Has ANY Country Had Luck Cutting Emissions?
by Bradford Plumer
Next month, international talks for a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol will kick off in Poland. But whatever happened with the last treaty? First...
TNRtv: What Does Boehner's Leadership Mean For The Future Of The GOP?
by Eve Fairbanks
TNR associate editor Eve Fairbanks dishes on what Boehner's leadership means for conservatism, and how more traditional conservatives like Cantor and ...
Why Tom Daschle Is The Perfect Choice To Lead Obama's Health Care Crusade
by Jonathan Cohn
So much health care news, so little time to blog. But let me weigh in on the news, via, CNN, that Tom Daschle will be Secretary of Health and Human Services...
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Quotas, Dueling Interest Groups, Poisonous Gender Politics … Oh My God, It's 1993 Again!
by Jonathan Chait
A few days ago, I wrote a column about identity politics and Democratic presidencies. My argument was that the focus on social issues in general and identity...
Every Economist Agrees On Our Fatal Flaw--Yet No Politician Will Mention It.
by John B. Judis
For those Americans who are not daily readers of the Financial Times, the past few months have been a crash course in the abstract and obscure instruments...
A (Quasi) Appreciation Of John Boehner: The Amazing Teflon Minority Leader
by Eve Fairbanks
The House Republican leadership elections are today, and GOPers will almost certainly reselect John Boehner, their eternally tan, chain-smoking, long-...
What Can Hillary Do With Her $8 Million Campaign Debt If She Becomes Secretary Of State?
by Amanda Silverman
With Hillary Clinton likely to be appointed as Secretary of State in the coming days, what happens to the $22 million in debt she accrued during her run...
How Country Music Lost The Election--And Why That May Be The Best Thing To Happen To The Genre In Years
by David Browne
Admittedly, it's difficult to fire up a crowd before a concession speech. Yet on an Arizona stage on election night, there stood Hank Williams Jr. and...
A Kinder, Gentler Bankruptcy For GM?
by Jonathan Cohn
As a number of analysts have noted, the biggest reason a General Motors bankruptcy is so frightening is that it might not work out like the airline bankruptcies...
In Congo's War, There Are No Angels
by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
WASHINGTON--When both sides have a point in a war, you know you are in deep trouble--in deciding whom to help, whom to blame, or whom to punish. That...
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Barack Won A Mandate: Here's why you shouldn't let anyone tell you differently.
by Jonathan Chait
The funny thing about elections is that their meaning undergoes a metamorphosis the very instant they occur. A couple weeks before the vote, a Republican...
How The Global Economic Crisis Could Bring Down The Chinese Government
by Joshua Kurlantzick
How The Global Economic Crisis Could Bring Down The Chinese Government
What Will The Republican Party Look Like After Several Years Of Obama?
by E.J. Dionne, Jr.
WASHINGTON -- There is a second transition under way over which President-elect Barack Obama has no control--the transition of conservatives to minority...
Bold And Green: Inside The Next Senate's Energy Priorities
by Bradford Plumer
Next year, new Congress: Who will be the major players crafting energy policy? Well, there's Barack Obama—him you know. There's Barbara Boxer, who chairs...
Hillary Clinton For Secretary Of State? Please No!
by Martin Peretz
I confess: Hillary Clinton has never appealed to me. There have been so many Hillary Clintons that I suspect that none was authentic. In any case, the...
Monday, November 17, 2008
No Drama No More: How President Obama Will Handle His People.
by Noam Scheiber
The morning after the presidential election, a group of top Obama staffers and consultants gathered for brunch at a restaurant a few blocks from their...
Let's Call John Kerry's Loss In 2004 What It Is: The Luckiest Thing To Happen To Democrats In 40 Years
by David W. Rohde
After the 2004 presidential election Democrats were crushed. Four more years of George W. Bush seemed unthinkable, disastrous. But now that the Obama ...
Al Gore Just Updated His Prescription For Fighting Climate Change. Time For Other Greens To Follow His Lead.
by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus
In a New York Times published on the first Sunday after Barack Obama's presidential election, Nobel prize winner Al Gore shifted from his longstanding...
The Restless Life Of Thornton Wilder
by Christopher Benfey
It is fortunate for literary historians that Thornton Wilder and Edmund Wilson did not meet at the Princeton-Yale football game or, heaven forbid, in ...
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Barack, Please Don't Let Identity Politics Sink Your Early Presidency The Way It Sunk Bill Clinton's
by Jonathan Chait
Ever since Election Night, the specter of 1994 has loomed over the Democratic Party. Would the Democrats 'overreach'? Would this bright new dawn of liberalism...
The Case For Letting Joe Lieberman Keep His Committee Chairmanship
by James Kirchick
On Tuesday, Democratic Senators will decide the political fate of Joe Lieberman. For the past several years, Lieberman has been a persistent thorn in ...
Seven Questions I Want Answered About The Hillary As Secretary Of State Rumor
by Michael Crowley
Some questions about the speculation du jour: --Would Obama really welcome the drama having Clinton in his cabinet would inevitably entail?
Are Obama-Haters Racists? Or Just Anti-Democrat Partisans?
by Michelle Cottle
An old friend of mine who lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, emailed the other day to say how disheartened she was, as an Obama supporter, by the wave of ...
Greenland's Great Melt: Making The Best Out Of Global Warming
by Alexander Zaitchik
It's become a cliché of Arctic reportage to begin stories by describing the calving of glaciers—that process by which enormous vertical slabs of ice, ...
Friday, November 14, 2008
Keep The Cars Running: Yes, Barack, Rescue The Auto Industry
by Jonathan Cohn
General Motors has come to Washington, begging for a $25 billion bailout to keep it and its ailing Detroit counterparts going next year. But nobody seems...
Collapsed Bridges! Exploding Pipes! Flooded Levees! How Obama Can Reinvent The Way Our Government Invests In Vital Infrastructure.
by Robert Puentes
The list of infrastructure crises over the last three years reads like an almost biblical catalog of calamity: The I-35W bridge falling into the Mississippi...
Why Syria Won't Stop Harboring Terrorists, No Matter How Hard We Try
by Lee Smith
The Bush administration has quietly authorized U.S. forces to attack Al-Qaeda bases around the Middle East--an escalation in the war on terror that ...
Terrible Title, Pretty Good Bond--'Quantum of Solace' Is No 'Casino Royale,' But Daniel Craig Delivers Again
by Christopher Orr
When the 16th James Bond film, Licence to Kill, was released in 1989, it was widely reported that its working title, Licence Revoked, had been altered...
Honey, The Country's Late: Why Obama Needs To Address Abortion Early In His Presidency
by E.J. Dionne, Jr.
WASHINGTON--Of course, President-elect Barack Obama's most urgent task is to repair an ailing economy. But one of his most important promises was to end...
Should the Obama Kids Go to Public School?
by Jason Zengerle
Today's NYT has a thorough story about Michelle Rhee and her efforts to reform D.C.'s supremely screwed up public school system--efforts that, since they...
A French Movie Siren Teaches Us About Man’s Hunger For The Truth
by Stanley Kauffmann
One Day You'll Understand -- Kino International
Thursday, November 13, 2008
The Joys Of Partisanship
by Paul Starr
'On the Side of the Angels: An Appreciation of Parties and Partisanship'
Inevitable Disappointment Watch: Guantanamo Bay Won't Close Any Time Soon
by Joseph Landau
The Associated Press reported Monday that advisors to President-Elect Barack Obama 'are quietly crafting a proposal to ship dozens, if not hundreds, of...
What Really Drew Russia And Georgia Into Conflict This Summer?
by James P. Rubin
Why did Russia really invade Georgia? In late September, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov appeared before the Council on Foreign Relations in New...
Don't Buy That Hummer Quite Yet: Low Gas Prices Are Not Here To Stay
by Clay Risen
This week anyone with a car is telling the same story: Where were you when you saw regular unleaded at less than 2 dollars a gallon? (New Market, Virginia...
What Should Be In Obama's Stimulus Package? Renowned Economist Ben Friedman Has Some Suggestions.

When Barack Obama is inaugurated, one of the first items on his legislative agenda will be an economic recovery package. By all accounts, the current ...
Not Just For Tweens And The Elderly, The Scrapbook Is A Modern American Art Form
by Jenna Weissman Joselit
'Scrapbooks: An American History' -- By Jessica Helfand
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Imperial Dick: Has Cheney's thirst for executive power weakened Obama's chance to use it?
by Sam Tanenhaus
'Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency' -- By Barton Gellman
Our Advice To Democrats: Act Boldly. Act Swiftly. And Stop Worrying About Losing Seats In The Midterm Elections.
by The Editors
Now that Barack Obama has won the presidency, a swath of the Washington establishment is pressing him to answer what it considers an urgent question: ...
The South Is More Vibrant, Varied, And Relevant To American Politics Than 'The New York Times' Will Have You Believe
by Clay Risen
Momentarily doffing my business-beat hat, I want to highlight a strange article in the New York Times this morning. 'For South, a Waning Hold on National...
Joy In Mumbai: Why 'Slumdog Millionaire' Is One Of The Best Films Of The Year
by Christopher Orr
Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle's captivating new film, is structured as a riddle: How is it that 18-year-old Jamal (Dev Patel), a penniless orphan--...
What Being Hispanic Means In The Age Of Obama
by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
WASHINGTON -- Because of the debate over immigration reform, the word 'Hispanic' became a stigma in the eyes of many Americans over the last two years...
TNRtv: Why Is The Republican Party Incapable Of Learning From It's Own Mistakes?
by Jonathan Chait and Franklin Foer
TNR editor Frank Foer and senior editor Jonathan Chait discuss the latest 'TRB From Washington' column. Why is the Republican Party incapable of diagnosing...
From The Dept. Of Reckless Lies: How Beijing Is Cooking The Books On Its Pollution Numbers
by Alex Pasternack
During the Beijing Olympic Games in August, fears of choking pollution were quickly forgotten thanks to a bevy of anti-smog measures and good (partially...
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
The Democrats' Secret Health Care Plan
by Jonathan Cohn
If you believe what the pundits are saying, enacting universal health insurance in the next year won't be difficult: It will be impossible. As the argument...
Time's Up For The Minutemen: Bidding Adios To The Anti-Immigrant Sensation
by Zvika Krieger
Jim Gilchrist, the founder of the Minuteman Project, lives in a one-story home in a gated community in Orange County. On a late August afternoon, the...
ROUND THREE Of The Gay Marriage Debate: When Should Judges Get Out Of The Way And Let The Political Process Take Over?
by Richard Just and Jeffrey Rosen
Dear Richard, Many thanks for your thoughtful response. But just to be clear: I'm not arguing that judges should crudely follow the polls, or that courts...
Dear Barack: Don't Send A Special Envoy To The Middle East. And Definitely Don't Send Bill Clinton.
by Martin Peretz
It was Thursday, barely 36 hours since Barack Obama was recognized to have won the American presidency, that some editorialist at the London Financial...
The Case Against Including The Auto Industry In Obama's Bailout Plan
by Clay Risen
As Obama has made clear, bailing out the auto industry is a key priority in his economic recovery agenda. There's already $25 billion in low-cost loans...
What Lessons Can We Take From Marcus Garvey Now?
by Steven Hahn
'Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey'
What Jihadists, Islamists, And Other America-Haters Are Saying About The Obama Victory
by Eli Lake
The election of Barack Obama has filled the cable networks with images of Kenyans dancing in the street and Australians breaking down into tears of joy...
Monday, November 10, 2008
The Shadow President: How John Podesta Invented The Obama Administration.
by Michael Crowley
The bright young think tank staffers at the progressive Center for American Progress (CAP) admire their boss, John Podesta. Podesta, who is also co-managing...
Barack Obama Should Model His Presidency After ... George W. Bush?
by Jonathan Cohn
You hear lots of talk about which former president Barack Obama should use as a model. Bill Clinton comes up regularly. Franklin Roosevelt, too. But what...
What Role Will Al Gore Play Under President Obama?
by Bradford Plumer
In The New York Times today, Al Gore lays out his plan to have the United States get '100 percent of [its] electricity from carbon-free sources within...
Allen Grossman's Poetry Provides Eternal Answers Without Ever Offering The Question
by Alexander Nemser
'Descartes' Loneliness' -- By Allen Grossman
Saturday, November 08, 2008
TRB: Slow Learners--What Part Of 'Overwhelming Electoral Defeat' Does The GOP Not Understand?
by Jonathan Chait
A year and a half ago, around the time thoughtful conservatives started to realize that George W. Bush might not in fact be a combination of Abraham Lincoln...
In Defense Of Summers: Don't Rule Out A Brilliant Policymaker Because Of Two Ham-Fisted Comments
by Noam Scheiber
So, as promised, I wanted to make a few quick points in defense of Summers...
'Synecdoche, New York' Is A Dreamy, Thrillingly Ambitious Shot To The Brain
by Christopher Orr
'Regardless of how this whole thing works out, I will be dying, and so will you, and so will everyone else here. And that's what I'd like to explore.' ...
Is A 52-48 Vote Really Enough To Prove That The Courts Overstepped On Gay Marriage?
by Richard Just and Jeffrey Rosen
You and I both believe in gay marriage; our disagreement is about means, not ends. Moreover, while I am devastated about what happened in California on...
On The Huge Expectations That The World Has For Barack Obama
by Bernard-Henri Levy
It is clear that Barack Obama is neither an angel nor a man sent from heaven.
Friday, November 07, 2008
The O-List: Thirty People Who Will Rule Obama's Washington
by TNR Staff
In the spring of 2007, long before Sarah Palin became a feminist icon, before Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers reared their unreconstructed heads, before...
Washington Diarist: 'Americans Who Were Not Moved By What Happened The Other Night Were In Some Way Un-American'
by Leon Wieseltier
The leaves were not all that was changing in Lafayette Park. I had never before seen a patriotic mosh-pit, but I was gladly trapped in one outside the...
Democrats Did Terribly With Religious Voters On Tuesday. But Does The Party Need Them?
by Damon Linker
Election Day 2008 was a moment of unambiguous triumph for Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. But do Tuesday's results make it a 'pivot' election, ...
Debating Prop. 8: Why Overeager Judges Don't Help The Cause Of Marriage Equality
by Richard Just and Jeffrey Rosen
In a major setback for gay marriage advocates, California voters passed Proposition 8 on Tuesday. Over the next couple of days, TNR's managing editor ...
Rahm Wasn't Just The Right Choice For Chief Of Staff; He Was The Only One
by Noam Scheiber
abstract TK
Five Ways In Which Barack Obama's Victory Has Changed The Political Landscape In America
by Marty Peretz
Has anyone noticed that Arkansas fell to John McCain and is one of only three states that went Republican with a higher margin than when George Bush beat...
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Should The Secretary of Treasury Be Larry Summers Or … Tim Geitner, Who's The Next Larry Summers.
by Noam Scheiber
In early 2003, Bill McDonough, the longtime president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, announced he was stepping down after ten years at the helm...
Why It Took A Black Presidential Candidate To End Our Four-Decade Culture War
by Alan Wolfe
There can be no beginning without an ending. Everyone seems to agree that Barack Obama's victory marks a new chapter in American political history. What...
A Wonderful Political Season, Yes, But Also A Deeply Disappointing One For Women
by Katherine Marsh
For anyone who has ever felt--because of race, gender, sexual orientation, or class--like an 'other,' last night was a triumphant night. But as I watched...
America The Polarized: Why Obama's Resounding Victory Does Not Indicate A Broader Political Realignment
by Scott Winship
To say my heart isn't fully in the wet-blanket role at this historic moment is an understatement. I spent last night with throngs of people celebrating...
Unsolved Electoral Mysteries: Why Did Democrats Have More Down-Ballot Trouble Than Expected?
by Eve Fairbanks
Why did the Democrats -- whose House gain currently stands at 18 seats, with some still uncalled -- somewhat underperform Congress-watchers' expectations...
Why Does 'No-Drama' Obama Want Rahm As Chief Of Staff? And Why Would Rahm Want To Pass Up The Speakership?
by Jason Zengerle and Michelle Cottle
Despite their very, uh, different personalities, Obama and Emanuel have one big thing in common: David Axelrod. Emanuel is one of Axelrod's closest friends...
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Does Obama's Victory Prove That America Has Become A Liberal County?
by John B. Judis
Even before the final results, showing a Democratic sweep, were in, Washington’s pundits were declaring that nothing had really changed politically in...
Scouring The Exits: 'Of The People For Whom Race Mattered, More Wanted To See A Black Man Become President Than Didn't'
by Noam Scheiber
It didn't take long for the GOP to settle on a narrative once the numbers started heading south last night: John McCain was running even or slightly ahead...
Some Ideas On How We Should Start To Process This Monumental Victory
by John McWhorter
The Bradley Effect. 'God damn America!' 'Kill him!' 'Why can't he close the deal?' 'Isn't he a Muslim?' The 'terrorist fist jab.' The New Yorker cover...
Gala-hopping With Los Angeles Republicans. (Reflecting On The State Of The Party Strongly Discouraged.)
by T.A. Frank
Insight on party decoration, gleaned at 6:30 p.m., 11/4/2008: Abundant balloons, in the absence of abundant human beings, is a real downer. When I arrived...
TNRtv: Why Yesterday's Election Results Should Be A Rude Awakening To Anti-Immigration Conservatives
by James Kirchick
TNR assistant editor James Kirchick argues that today's election numbers should serve as a rude awakening to anti-immigration conservatives: how the issue...
The Foreign TV Watch: Mindless Chatter, Leftie Politics, Odes To The 'Primordial Importance of Women' … And Chris Matthews Wasn't Even Around
by Brendan Bernhard
Election Day found me across the Atlantic in France, but like any good American, I was glued to the television. The only difference was the time (six ...
What's Next For John McCain?
by Franklin Foer
The concession speech is always the classiest. (See also Hillary) As a one-time admirer of John McCain, I was grateful to see him at his patriotic, eloquent...
What President Obama Owes A Populace That's Scared About Its Future
by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
WASHINGTON -- The social coalition put together by Barack Obama signifies a political realignment that may well have replaced the one that started with...
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
The Barack I Know: How Obama Schooled Me On Race, And Other Stories From My Year On The Campaign Trail
by Noam Scheiber
A little over four-and-a-half years ago, I traveled to Illinois to interview Barack Obama for a profile I was working on. It was not long after he'd captured...
Ten Reasons Why You Should Ignore Exit Polls At All Costs
by Nate Silver
Why you should ignore the exit polls at all costs. Oh, let me count the ways. Almost all of this, by the way, is lifted from Mark Bluemthnal's outstanding...
Big Trouble's A-Brewing At Polling Stations In Virginia
by Dave Jamieson
It appears Virginia's electoral debacle is upon is. The vigilant folks here at Election Protection headquarters are telling us that large numbers of Virginia...
Special Triumphalist Edition! We Haven't Even Seen The Exit Polls, But John B. Judis Has Already Picked Out Obama's Cabinet.

If Barack Obama wins the presidency, I don't know who he is going to put in his cabinet, but I have some recommendations for how he should go about choosing...
In Defense Of Caution: Why President Obama Shouldn't Push For Too Much Too Fast
by William Galston
In Defense Of Caution: Why President Obama Shouldn't Push For Too Much Too Fast
The Final Polls Are In, And McCain's Chances Of Victory Settle At ... 1.9 Percent
by Nate Silver
With fewer than six hours until voting begins in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, the national polling picture has cleared up considerably. Barack Obama...
The Democratic Party's Sly New Congressional Strategy. PLUS: Meet The New Jim Webb.
by Eve Fairbanks
Electoral guru Stu Rothenberg has offered up his final House prediction: Democrats could capture Republican seats numbering 'quite possibly well into ...
Why Palin's Policies Won't Help Special-Needs Children
by Harold Pollack
Today's New York Times contains a poignant article, 'In Palin, Families of Disabled Children See a Potential White House Friend.' With her infant son'...
Monday, November 03, 2008
Don't Worry, Obama's Got This
by Noam Scheiber
If you're the kind of person who obsesses over minor poll movements (and, if you're reading this, you almost certainly are), there's a good chance you...
Why McCain's Last Stand Indulges White Voters' Worst Instincts
by Jonathan Chait
Ross Douthat scratches his head wondering why the McCain campaign is "pinning their hopes on a working-class backlash against the progressive income tax...
Hanging Out With Ohio Secretary Of State Jennifer Brunner Before Everything Goes To Hell On Tuesday
by Seyward Darby
Seyward abstract TK
What Can We Expect From Fox News Over The Next Four Years? I Watched An Insane Amount Of It To Find Out.
by Isaac Chotiner
abstract link TK
McCain Finally Refines His Tax Argument, And It's Reaching More Voters. Too Bad It's Still Wrong.
by Jonathan Cohn
Sometime in the last ten days or so, John McCain distilled his argument about taxes to this line: 'Senator Obama is running to punish the successful. ...
How Obama, The First Truly 21st Century Figure In American Politics, Has Transformed The Nature Of Campaigns
by E.J. Dionne, Jr.
WASHINGTON--A good politician triumphs by adapting to the times and taking advantage of opportunities as they come. A great politician anticipates openings...
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Should McCain Have Been Expelled From The Senate? The Keating Five Story You've Never Heard.
by Sahil Mahtani
One day in early March 1986, John McCain, an Arizona congressman, sat down to write a letter. McCain had heard that a long-time friend and donor, Charles...
Obama's Playing Spooky Mind Games In Arizona
by Nate Silver
In contrast to what most candidates do in the closing days of a race, Barack Obama is expanding his list of targets, making an ad buy in Arizona as well...
"We're Doing The Work McCain's People Can't Or Won't Do": Meet The Man Behind The New Reverend Wright Ad
by Zvika Krieger
Jeremiah Wright is back in the headlines thanks to a new ad by the recently formed National Republican Trust PAC. I spoke over the phone today with the...
Lawsuits! Shady Associates! Dirty Money! Your Guide To The Never-Ending Scandals Of Norm Coleman.
by Eve Fairbanks
Lawsuits! Shady associates! Dirty money! It's very hard to keep track of what the hell's been going on in these final days of the Norm Coleman-Al Franken...
The Real Reason Red-Staters Are So Angry. (Hint: Have You Ever Tried To Buy A Vibrator In Texas?)
by Michelle Cottle
A colleague (I won't reveal his name) was up late last night watching 'Thelma and Louise' on Lifetime. During a commerical break, an ad for Trojan's Vibrating...
John McCain's Bizarre Fantasy U.N. Replacement
by Nina Hachigian
There is a line of thought in international affairs, the democratic peace theory, which suggests democracies never go to war with one another.
TNRtv: What Would Rahm Emanuel As Chief Of Staff Say About An Obama Administration?
by Eve Fairbanks
TNR associate editor Eve Fairbanks takes issue with today's report that Obama will select House bruiser Rahm Emanuel as Chief of Staff: why Obama doesn...
Friday, October 31, 2008
The Movie Review: 'Zack and Miri Make a Porno'
by Christopher Orr
With 1990s films such as 'Clerks<' and 'Chasing Amy,' Kevin Smith pioneered the kind of tender raunch that, under Judd Apatow, has come to dominate American...
Rashid Who? Why The Jews Finally Came Home To Obama
by Ethan Porter
By late last spring, concerns about Jews deserting the presumptive Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, had reached a fever pitch. Writing in his popular...
Meet Lou Barletta, The Anti-Immigrant Republican Who's Riding Obama's Coattails To A House Seat
by Marin Cogan
DUNMORE, PENNSYLVANIA--With just two weeks left until the election, Democratic Representative Paul Kanjorski is in the back room of Ragnacci's, a cozy...
Did The Swift Boaters Finally Beat John Murtha?
by Joshua Hersh
In just a few short weeks, eighteen-term Democratic congressman John Murtha has gone from shoo-in incumbent to a man on the brink.
Why It's So Hard For The Media To Call McCain Out On His Policy Lies
by Jonathan Cohn
Ten days ago, the campaign’s unofficial referees came down pretty hard on Barack Obama and his campaign. The issue was Medicare--specifically, Obama...
McCain Believes Good Always Defeats Evil, And, Well, That's Scary In A President
by Peter Scoblic
This morning on NPR, Newsweek editor Jon Meacham provided a bizarre analysis of John McCain's worldview, and then dove headfirst down the rabbit hole ...
Finally, The Campaign Turns To A Truly Substantive Argument
by E.J. Dionne, Jr.
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa.--Emily Daywalt decided to go to the first political rally of her life because she wanted to cheer Sarah Palin, who was here a few ...
Thursday, October 30, 2008
California's Anti-Gay Marriage Crusaders Have Decided To Put A Very Nice Face On A Very Close-Minded Idea
by T.A. Frank
LOS, ANGELES--The interior of the 'Yes on 8' bus looks disappointingly similar to that of a Greyhound bus, apart from some perfunctory 'Yes on 8' banners...
The Scariest Part About The Economic Collapse Is That, Even Still, Nobody Knows What's Going On
by Steven R. Weisman
As investors all around the world ran scared this past month, their panic was about the only thing easy to understand. The global financial system was...
How Simon Cowell Saved American Democracy
by Alan H. Fleischmann
Washington pundits like to dismiss the 'youth vote' as a figment of MTV's imagination. Those crazy kids, they say, never rock the vote. They are too...
Why America Is Better Served By Having Two Parties In Power: A Response To John B. Judis
by Jacob T. Levy
There is a growing consensus that having the president and Congress controlled by different parties makes for better governance--an argument that the ...
Correspondence: Rodger Foreman on 'Barracuda'
by Rodger Foreman and Noam Scheiber
Dear Editor: Some weeks ago, I was contacted by … Noam Scheiber, who wrote the article 'Barracuda,' appearing in your current issue.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
What Does Covering A Two-Year Campaign Do To The Soul Of A Journalist?
by Julia Ioffe
What Does Covering A Two-Year Campaign Do To The Soul Of A Journalist?
Should Obama Fans Be Popping Corks Or Xanax? Our Senior Editors Debate Obama Inevitability.
by John B. Judis and Noam Scheiber
If the extensive Pew Center poll proves prescient, the Obama people will be popping the corks by 8 PM next Tuesday, and the Republican party will be in...
Seeing The Financial Crisis As An Opportunity
by Michael E. Lewitt
We are now on our second multibillion-dollar plan to bail out Wall Street. The Bush administration has abandoned the free-market ideology that laid the...
TNR EXCLUSIVE: The Bush Administration Has Dramatically Escalated The Fight Against Al Qaeda--With Serious Implications For An Obama Administration.
by Eli Lake
On Sunday, U.S. helicopters accompanied by a special forces team struck in Sukkariyeh, Syria, just over the border from Iraq. It was a raid with enormous...
Is Bobby Jindal Really 'The Republican Obama'? And Would The GOP Ever Nominate Him For President?
by Suzy Khimm and Christopher Orr
With the Republicans' presidential hopes for 2008 now all but dashed, a few upstarts in the party are—surprise—positioning themselves for future runs. ...
Why McCain's Economic Plan Will Screw New York (And Most Other States Too!)
by Jonathan Cohn
OK, McCain hasn't actually said 'Drop Dead' to New York. But he's sending the same message with his economic agenda. Consider the latest news from Albany...
How America's Financial Meltdown Allowed Argentina's President To Plunder People's Savings
by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
WASHINGTON--I recently suggested that the U.S. government's bailout of the financial system, which includes the de facto nationalization of several banks...
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Divided Government Doesn't Work
by John B. Judis
I am a great fan of the Financial Times, and I was interested to see that they endorsed Barack Obama for president. But they couldn’t do so without perpetuating...
RIP Northeastern Republicans. Cause Of Death: Barracuda Attack.
by Suzy Khimm
It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon in October, and, as Republican Representative Chris Shays drives between churches in his affluent Connecticut district...
Throwing A Cold Dose Of Reality On The Claim That Obama Endorsed Redistribution Of Wealth
by Cass R. Sunstein
In the last few days, the McCain campaign has portrayed Barack Obama as a 'socialist,' and apparently the campaign and others are combing through Obama...
The Hot New Trend: Republicans Pretending To Be Democrats. Is This Good Or Bad For Liberals?
by Jonathan Cohn
If Democrats end up winning big next week, not only at the presidential but the congressional level, to what extent will it represent an endorsement of...
Should The Government Bail Out Detroit? (Would It Even Be Able To?)
by Bradford Plumer
It's been clear for quite some time that GM badly miscalculated by assuming gas prices would stay low forever and SUV sales could keep the automaker afloat...
Good Riddance, John Murtha
by Eve Fairbanks
It takes terrible luck or astonishing talent for a congressional Democrat to be endangered this year. Still, there are a half-dozen Democrats who really...
You Only Watch One Video In Which The McCain-Palin War Is Acted Out With Hand Puppets, Make It This One
by Jonathan Chait
As Sarah Palin starts distancing herself from a losing candidate, TNR senior editor Jonathan Chait performs his own reenactment of the civil war brewing...
Monday, October 27, 2008
Staking Out McCain's Right
by Jonathan Chait
In 1960, John F. Kennedy attacked the incumbent Republican administration for allowing the Soviet Union to open up a 'missile gap' over the United States...
McCain Is Dragging Down GOP Races Across The Country--And Party Leaders Are Pissed!
by Eric Zimmermann
Mark Feest is doing all he can to get John McCain elected. Unfortunately, the McCain campaign hasn't always made that easy. Feest is the chairman of ...
McCain's Florida Slide Demonstrates His Campaign's Failings
by E.J. Dionne, Jr.
ORLANDO -- Florida provides the appropriate closing metaphor for the 2008 campaign.
Does Anyone In The Financial World Actually Know How To Prevent The Coming Disaster? Is It Too Late?
by Bernard-Henri Levy
We are living in an extraordinary time.
Slashed Tires! Confederate Flags! Animal Carcasses! And More Of The Increasingly Ugly Stories From The Campaign Trail.
by Michael Crowley
The presidential has gotten increasingly ugly over the past few months. But things have devolved to such new lows in the last few days that we've decided...
Saturday, October 25, 2008
How Soldiers Really Vote
by Jason Dempsey
Last Thursday, the 'Military Times' released the results of a survey showing that members of the armed services planned to vote for John McCain over Barack...
Senior Editor Cagematch! Scheiber Vs. Chait On Whether Sarah Palin Will Be The GOP Nominee In 2012.
by Noam Scheiber and Jonathan Chait
Palin in 2012?
These Vampires Won't Only Suck Your Blood; They'll Make You Scratch Your Head In Befuddlement
by Stanley Kauffmann
'Stranded: I've come from a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains'--Zeitgeist Films 'Let The Right One In'--Magnet Releasing
TNRtv: Behind Limbaugh And Co.'s Farcical Attempt To Challenge Obama's Citizenship
by Eve Fairbanks
TNR associate editor Eve Fairbanks rips apart Limbaugh and his conservative cohorts for their accusations that Obama is not an American citizen, and explains...
Correspondence: Michael G. Oxley on 'The Gilded Age'
by Michael G. Oxley
Dear Editor:  The content of Dave Jamieson’s article referring to the time of my chairmanship, "The Gilded Age," was filled with errors and misrepresentations...
Friday, October 24, 2008
Palin in '12? No Way!
by Noam Scheiber
On Wednesday, Jon Chait predicted that Palin would be the GOP nominee for president in 2012. That's a bet I'll gladly take, since I happen to think there...
McJustice: Consider The Judicial Apocalypse That McCain Would Usher In.
by Jeffrey Rosen
During every presidential campaign for the last two decades, liberals have predicted an apocalypse in the Supreme Court. In their dire visions, as many...
In Praise Of The LOOGY--The Most Absurd Players In Baseball
by Tim Marchman
A World Series--even one hosted in such grim locales as St. Petersburg's moldy Tropicana Field or Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park, the Ford F-250 of...
The GOP's Latest Plan To Defeat Blue Dog Democrats? Nominate Wingnuts Too Conservative Even For Their Own Party!
by Eve Fairbanks
In many ways, it was your standard Democratic fund-raiser in a Republican stronghold. On a recent Friday, a largely bleeding-heart contingent from Maryland...
Although Obama and McCain Have Both Been Called Socialists, The Socialist Party USA's Presidential Nominee Really Is One, And His Feelings Are Hurt
by Katherine Marsh
With all the accusations of socialism flying around, it seemed like a good time to check in with Brian Moore, the Socialist Party USA presidential nominee...
Angelina Jolie's Wanna-Be Oscar Bait May Be The Worst Movie Of The Year
by Christopher Orr
The first signs of trouble in Clint Eastwood's period drama 'Changeling' arrive early. Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie), a single mother in 1928 Los...
The Republican Party Has Finally Imploded. But Why Now?
by E.J. Dionne, Jr.
WASHINGTON--Conservatives are at each others throats, and here's what's revealing about how divided they are: The critics of John McCain and the critics...
TNRtv: Can Obama Stop 'Socialist' From Being A Dirty Word?
by John B. Judis
TNR senior editor John B. Judis sets the record straight about socialism: why Obama's plan is the theory's antithesis, why the bailout also doesn't qualify...
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Why I'm Voting For Obama: When McCain Picked Sarah Palin, He Told The United States Of America To Go F*ck Itself.
by Leon Wieseltier
I have never voted happily in a general election. In the 1980s I envied my conservative friends who drew the curtain of the voting booth over an epiphany...
How The West Was Lost: Why McCain Is So Unpopular In His Own Backyard
by Nate Silver
Two regions in this election contain a disproportionate number of battleground states: the Rust Belt (including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, ...
Making Sense Of The Confusing, Contentious 'Problem' Of Voter Fraud
by Dayo Olopade
We were supposed to be beyond this. In 2000, George W. Bush's freakishly thin margin of victory over Al Gore once more thrust the twin problems of voter...
Yes, Sarah Palin Will Be The Republican Nominee In 2012
by Jonathan Chait
With a long campaign finally nearing its (apparently foregone) conclusion, people are tiring of speculation about the presidential race. I think what ...
Is Philosophy About Learning To Live Or Learning To Die?
by Peter N. Miller
'To philosophize is to learn to die': seven words, and an epoch in Western thought. According to Plato in the Phaedo, one of the inextinguishable monuments...
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
How Many Polls Does It Take To Screw Up An Election?
by Michael Crowley
At three o'clock on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 24, John McCain announced a bold move. He was suspending his campaign and rushing back to ...
Who's The More Shameful Recession-Era President: George W. Bush Or Herbert Hoover?
by William E. Leuchtenburg
At various points throughout his administration, George W. Bush has been likened to Abraham Lincoln and Harry Truman, to Teddy Roosevelt and William ...
Why Obama May Be Able To Implement Big, Ambitious Government Programs In A 'Conservative' Nation
by Jonathan Cohn
Not for the first time--and, I'm sure, not for the last--Paul Krugman wrote what I was thinking this morning...
Let It Grow! On The Widening Chasm Between Conservatism And The Republican Party.
by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
WASHINGTON--A rebellion is beginning to take place among American conservatives, many of them influential commentators who are denouncing the takeover...
The Half Tame Literature, Poetry, And Criticism Of Roger Shattuck
by Jed Perl
The time has come to take a fresh look at the achievement of Roger Shattuck, who died in 2005 at the age of eighty-two. From his first book, 'The Banquet...
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The Axelrod Method: How Barack Obama's Message Man Has Learned To Conquer Race
by Jason Zengerle
In 1992, a Chicago woman named Bettylu Saltzman met Barack Obama, who had graduated from Harvard Law School one year earlier and was now in her city...
Reaching Critical Mass: Progressive Catholics Are As Organized Now As Conservative Catholics Were In 2004
by E.J. Dionne, Jr.
WASHINGTON--It has become commonplace in American politics: Certain Roman Catholic bishops declare that the faithful should cast their ballots on the ...
Could The Recession Be Good News For The Environment? Maybe? Just A Little?
by Bradford Plumer
A few days ago, Nobel-winning chemist Paul Crutzen told Reuters, 'It's a cruel thing to say, but if we are looking at a slowdown in the economy, there...
TNRtv: Is There Something Unethical About Obama's Enormous Campaign Spending?
by Jonathan Chait
TNR editor Jonathan Chait dishes on the Obama fundraising frenzy: why there's nothing unethical about Obama's spending habits, whether Obama's lead in...