On the heels of my last post, I’m still thinking about FDR’s possible place in modern progressive rhetoric. Listen, for a moment (have some scotch and aspirin ready), to rhetoric from the GOP’s presidential field. After God (and His son), no one comes in for more frequent and positive mention than St. Reagan.** They love … Continue reading
Every time that a conservative lights into President Obama for heading up “the worst economy/recovery/etc since the Great Depression,” a buzzer should go off with a reminder message: Right! That’s because the New Deal and resulting regulatory apparatus that sustained the fair, prosperous American economy were still in place. We eliminated them, and now we’re … Continue reading
On the Today Show this morning, Tom Brokaw insisted that President Obama needs to show the American people “leadership” in his jobs speech tomorrow night. Obama needs to show us that he’s “confident.” This is a common trope throughout the pundit class right now. The President needs to be a leader! He needs to be … Continue reading
The next news cycle is pretty much locked on 2008 media obsession Sarah Palin’s new bus tour. Want to save some time? Here, I’ll help. This is how it will go, rendered here in full-on media blitz incoherence: She’s on a bus! She has a movie out! Is she running for president? She’s polling at … Continue reading
It’s been fascinating to watch the blogosphere react to the last few rounds of GOP presidential candidate shuffling. Above all, it’s driving home the vast differences in perception across the American political spectrum. See, to a guy like me, here’s how our current political moment seems: The GOP’s field of presidential candidates looks downright hilarious. … Continue reading
Matt Miller, from his Tyranny of Dead Ideas (emphasis added): “If Abraham Lincoln had made the elimination of slavery the centerpiece of his campaign, there would be no Lincoln Memorial in Washington today, because he never would have gotten out of Illinois. If Franklin Roosevelt had shocked conventional sensibilities by pledging to run big deficits … Continue reading
My most recent column in the Washington Post: Lincoln understood that democracy thrives on effective laws and equal treatment. Facing men who would sacrifice the Union over deep differences, he asked Americans to believe in the worth of democratic institutions. We know the rest of the story: Thousands of Americans gave their lives so “that … Continue reading
