I have to admit, my first reaction was, “Not another rally.” This is not to dismiss or disrespect those who will be participating in today’s “Rise for Climate” demonstrations across the country (as well as internationally) today. Yes, it’s important to take to the streets to condemn the moral scandal that is the Trump administration’s […]
2008 presidential election
Posted inPolitical Animal
Sorry, Tom Brokaw, But Only Republicans Have Lessons to Learn from John McCain
For the last time, both sides don’t do it. It was sad to watch former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw embarrass himself on Meet the Press this morning, suggesting that both parties have lessons to learn from the legacy of the late Senator John McCain. Brokaw’s response to host Chuck Todd’s question about how […]
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John McCain, 1936-2018
The Arizona senator’s life was, if nothing else, an incredible journey. On Saturday, that journey concluded.
Posted inPolitical Animal
The Ecstasy and the Agony
What did Dickens say about the best of times and the worst of times, the age of wisdom and the age of foolishness? Next week marks the tenth anniversary of two back-to-back events that still define our politics–and will continue to define our politics for generations to come. The first such event occurred on August […]
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March for the Ocean on June 9. Vote for the Ocean on November 6.
At the end of the day, the most important march is the one that ends at the ballot box. No disrespect to Bill McKibben and David Helvarg, who are calling upon Americans to head to Washington, D.C., on Saturday, June 9, to protest the Trump administration’s offshore drilling schemes. As both men note, there’s plenty […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Money Changes Everything
In a perfect world, Citizens United would be overturned and American law would embrace the separation of billionaire and state. In an imperfect world, this appears to be the best one can hope for: Boston hedge fund billionaire Seth Klarman lavished more than $7 million on Republican candidates and political committees during the Obama administration, […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Those Who Do Not Learn from History…
Now that ‘80s nostalgia is in vogue again by virtue of the box-office success of Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, it’s as good a time as any to note that this July marks the 35th anniversary of the release of Madonna’s debut album. If Donald Trump loses the 2020 election, then one can envision a […]
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Stormy Daniels is the Trump Voter’s Legacy
How many Trump voters will bring themselves to watch 60 Minutes tonight? Pardon me for assuming that the vast majority of those who sent the bigoted billionaire to the White House in November 2016 will not have the guts to view this evening’s scheduled broadcast of an interview with the President’s previous paramour, veteran adult […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Bush and Trump: The Inevitable Occurs
You had to know it was going to happen: Former President George W. Bush often jokes that President Trump’s administration makes his own former White House team look “pretty good,” according to a Republican source. The former Republican president regularly knocks the current administration, a source close to the Trump administration told National Journal, unable […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
The Spirit of ‘08
It could be the ultimate anniversary celebration. The 2018 midterm elections will be held just two days after the tenth anniversary of Barack Obama’s trailblazing victory over John McCain. The memory of that moment could well inspire two groups of voters: those who demanded hope and change a decade ago, and those who were too […]
