Ta-Nehisi Coates got me thinking about this on Twitter yesterday. What if the GOP candidates overcame their fear of hip hop (and urban America, and a host of other things) and each picked hip hop campaign themes? What if they finally went after that “hip hop makeover” that former chairman Michael Steele suggested? Given the GOP’s … Continue reading
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Here’s a re-post from Christmas last year. It’s still pretty nearly what I think about the season. — Now that Thanksgiving’s over, it’s time for my annual wrestle with the Christmas spirit. I’ve struggled with it for years, often because I’m simultaneously struggling with my faith. My reasons are nothing … Continue reading
Starting to see some stories on Ron Paul as “candidate-now-being-covered-as-the-candidate-who-can’t-get-covered,” as I predicted in my last post. For what it’s worth, I still think he’s the most likely GOP candidate to win Iowa. Gingrich is still the unlikable cad he always was, and Romney’s (still) not catching fire. Santorum appears to be on the lips … Continue reading
Yep! Here’s the latest poll. While Chris Cillizza (and others) thought that Paul’s isolationist foreign policy answers in the last (and every) debate would cost him going forward in Iowa…that hasn’t happened yet. And, hey, I told you so. Gingrich’s support was never more than ephemeral. Romney might actually benefit from a Paul victory in … Continue reading
The GOP field just finished their last pre-Iowa presidential debate. I’ve watched at least 90% of the 17 (give or take) debates this year, and I think this is the first time that I’ve stayed up late afterwards to offer something like an instantaneous response. It’s not that this debate was extraordinary. It’s not that … Continue reading
Hey, Andrew Sullivan! Ron Paul could well win the Iowa caucuses. Seriously. Why? Paul is polling in the neighborhood of Mitt Romney and not excessively behind Newt Gingrich. Neither of these men has invested in a ground game in Iowa, and neither has committed supporters energized to help muscle out a win by persuading wavering … Continue reading
Thought News officially kicked off on November 17, 2010, with this post. 392 days, 401 posts, and 1 child later, it’s still kicking. Let’s take stock. • Since its inception, the site’s had
I’m a trained political theorist. In layman’s terms, that means I’ve spent years of highly esoteric, formal training learning to make things up without getting caught at it. My brother, meanwhile, is a trained economist at MIT. He works in facts and counterintuitive arguments. So: if you’re looking for a break from my wild ruminations, … Continue reading
Yesterday Barça thumped Real Madrid again, 3-1—in Madrid. They’ve made such a regular habit of pantsing the “merengues” (which, come to think of it, isn’t a particularly intimidating moniker) that it’s getting hard to think of them as rivals anymore. Since José Mourinho arrived to head up the Castillian squad, “The Special One” has beaten … Continue reading
Here’s a link to the text, which ought to be illuminating to compare and contrast with President Obama’s speech in Kansas today. Heck, it’s worth a read even if he weren’t trying to echo TR. It’s a great speech.
