If Harry Reid’s private remarks about the skin tone and speaking style of Barack Obama were offensive, the Republican crusade to oust him from his leadership position is worse. For Republicans to claim that he deserves the punishment inflicted on Trent Lott—the former Republican majority leader forced to resign because of a racial gaffe—shows their bad faith and their misunderstanding of the G.O.P.’s own troubled racial... MORE»
By Ed Koch, Robert Weiner and Jordan Osserman | January 13, 2010 | 12:09 am
President Obama has said he and his administration are seeking input as he works on a national AIDS strategy, and the White House is holding a series of meeting to finalize the new plan. This is, as much as anything else, a New York City problem. According to the city’s Department of Health, New York remains “the epicenter” of the H.I.V./AIDS epidemic. More than 100,000 New Yorkers are living with H.I.V., accounting for nearly one-tenth of the 1.1 million people living with the disease in the... MORE»
For once, Michael Steele is absolutely right: If Mitch McConnell, the Senate’s Republican leader, had described Barack Obama as a “light-skinned” man “with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one,” he absolutely would be under fierce pressure from black leaders and Democrats to step down. But Mitch McConnell didn’t say that. Harry Reid did. And instead of calling for his head, every big-name Democrat and every big-name civil rights leader—to say nothing of Obama himself—is rallying around the Senate’s Democratic... MORE»
The notion of a Harold Ford Jr. Senate campaign in New York this year—which took on new life when The New York Times reported on Tuesday night that the former Tennessee congressman is actively considering the race—smells a little of career desperation and a lot of misguided political... MORE»
From a political standpoint, Chris Dodd’s decision to end his bid for a sixth Senate term makes plenty of sense: His poll numbers were brutal and they weren’t changing and defeat next fall—whether to Rob Simmons or Linda McMahon, the two Republicans vying for his seat—was certain. By getting out now, he spares himself the embarrassment of defeat and very likely saves a Senate seat for his party.... MORE»
If you ever hear about a company whose new technology is going to save magazines from extinction … short it. You’ll make a killing. Step back in time. The old list of possible solutions to the magazine industry’s existential crisis is a long one: a perfect electronic replica of ink-and-paper editions, in PDF format; Web sites loaded with social networking features and user-generated content; mobile phone editions; flexible e-paper; print-on-demand copies and on and on it... MORE»
The latest atrocity attempted by Al Qaeda seems to be yet another example of history reprising a great tragedy as farce. What make the misadventure of the underpants bomber on Flight 253 seem darkly ridiculous, however, is not only his incompetence in setting himself on fire, but the hysteria and hypocrisy of the reactions set off on the right by his painful squib. Then again, the Republican exploitative response to terror is as predictable as Al Qaeda’s urge to... MORE»
Understandably, countless parallels have been drawn between Barack Obama's push for health care reform and the effort undertaken by Bill Clinton 15 years ago. But when it comes to gauging the political impact of the legislation that Obama now seems poised to sign early next year, the more apt comparison is to the budget that Clinton forced through Congress in the summer of... MORE»
We won't have Rudy Giuliani to kick around anymore. Well, that's not entirely true. He'll still pop up on the Sunday shows occasionally (and Fox News, too - of course) to calmly and rationally discuss his concerns about President Obama's refusal to use the word "war" in every sentence. But as far as another Giuliani campaign for any office goes - well, that ship has now officially... MORE»
On the topic of his party's chances in next year's elections, Robert Menendez is a study in resolute optimism. Not that he has much choice. Mr. Menendez, New Jersey's junior senator, chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which recruits and provides financial and political support for the party's U.S. Senate candidates. Optimism is part of the... MORE»
By bowing to Senator Joseph Lieberman and his obstructive pals in both parties on health care reform, President Obama has confirmed what Republicans always say about Democrats: They simply aren’t strong enough to govern. Or at least the Democrats elected last year—and their colleagues in the Senate leadership—don’t seem to... MORE»
Just three months ago, Joe Lieberman explained his opposition to a public health insurance option by telling a Connecticut newspaper that he instead favored expanding Medicare—a less cumbersome, more affordable way to extend coverage to some Americans, he... MORE»
President Obama's just-get-me-a-bill-dammit approach to health care reform is rooted in the calculation that a signing ceremony would be a major political winner for the White House in the 2010 elections. In his latest "60 Minutes" sit-down on Sunday night, the president offered a preview of the triumphant spin we can expect if he is able to put his signature on a... MORE»
He remains so radioactive that a candidate in the Democratic primary for Manhattan district attorney was forced to cancel a fundraiser with him this summer. So, naturally, Eliot Spitzer is thinking … political... MORE»
All year, the biggest fault line in the health care debate has been the public option—a proposed government-run insurance plan that Americans without access to group coverage would be eligible to sign up for. To liberals, it has been the reason for doing health care reform, an innovative tool that will break up private insurers’ monopolies and improve the cost and quality of care for everyone. To the right, it’s just... MORE»
