Why I Love America: John McCain, Barack Obama, and the Internet

Election night reminded me once more what a crazy, wonderful country I live in.  Barack Obama gave an incredible, uplifting victory speech to match his great accomplishment.  John McCain’s concession speech was literally jaw-dropping.   His eloquence, graciousness, and humility were inspiring; a few more performances that good and he may not have had to concede!  [...]

College Taught Me How to Vote (sometimes)

As I filled out my absentee ballot, I found myself deeply ambivalent- both about the local races I know nothing about, and the Presidential race I’ve been reading about for months and could talk about for hours.  I wonder whether all these things I know about the candidates reflect what they know about themselves and [...]

The Presidential High Dive

As cynical Americans, we hardly expect our politicians to do in office what they promised to do on the campaign trail.  But many presidents end up doing just the opposite of what they promised, speeding away from their original platform like an Olympian diving off the 10 meter- though rarely with such purpose or grace.
Woodrow [...]

The Strange Death of American Liberalism

The Strange Death of American Liberalism by H.W. Brands purports to explain why LBJ-style liberalism no longer has any real influence on American governace.
He is right to note that its influence has faded away.  No matter how many times Bill Clinton is labelled a tax-and-spend liberal, the facts remain that he balanced the budget, reformed [...]

Judging a Magazine by its Cover- the New Yorker’s Obama edition

Given the New Yorker’s well-known political slant, its hard to imagine they meant to try to damage Obama; I find the cover delightfully over the top, with an American flag in the fireplace and a portrait of Bin Laden on the wall. When things get ridiculous enough, you’ve got to laugh- unless you’re thin [...]

Its my Party, I’ll Disenfranchise who I want to

Voting rights occupy a special place in the minds of Americans; no voting controversy can be settled, or even discussed, without some good doses of demagoguery from all sides.
The Democratic Party wanted to keep states from having their primaries a year ahead of the election; the state parties in Florida and Michigan moved theirs back [...]

Ms. Clinton’s Profession

In the run-up to the Ohio primaries, Hillary hates on New York investment bankers… like her daughter.

Return of the Tocqueville Effect

Once again, the French are able to see to the heart of American politics in a way that Americans themselves cannot.
The French newspaper Le Monde has had the best coverage of the 2008 election that I have yet to find.
Check out this pretty, colorful map that even an English-speaker can understand.

The Absurd Election: Colbert ‘08!

Rush Limbaugh often speaks about demonstrating absurdity by being absurd.
Stephen Colbert is putting this theory into action.  Really its the idea of his whole show, but he’s put it into overdrive with his presidential campaign.
There is no shortage of the absurd in American politics; but one of the worst is how much campaigning has already [...]