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Paul Waldman

Paul Waldman is a contributing editor for the Prospect and the author of Being Right is Not Enough: What Progressives Must Learn From Conservative Success.

Recent Articles

Should Jews Be Allowed to Serve Openly in the Armed Forces?

Paul WaldmanJul 22, 2010

It's often said that the military is not a democracy, and that's for the best. At the same time, it's important to know what the troops think about any number of things. As it prepares to phase out the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, the military has been surveying troops to see what they think about the gay troops currently serving, and the prospect of them serving openly. This has generated some controversy, because some of the questions are of the "Just how icky do you find homosexuals?" variety.

The GOP's New Race Problem.

Paul WaldmanJul 22, 2010

A little blast from the past. The date on this story is July 14, 2005, just five years and a few days ago:

It was called "the southern strategy," started under Richard M. Nixon in 1968, and described Republican efforts to use race as a wedge issue -- on matters such as desegregation and busing -- to appeal to white southern voters. Ken Mehlman, the Republican National Committee chairman, this morning will tell the NAACP national convention in Milwaukee that it was "wrong."

An Opportunity for Tom Vilsack.

Paul WaldmanJul 21, 2010

The case of Shirley Sherrod, which we along with everyone else have been writing about over the last 24 hours (just scroll down), is full of lessons -- about the danger for the mainstream media in relying on charlatans like Andrew Breitbart to be their assignment editors; about the right's growing obsession with "reverse racism" (and their understanding of how easy it is to get the press to chase stories with a racial tinge); about how right Eric Holder was when he said we're "a nation of cowards" when it comes to race, despite all our talk about it; about how so many Democrats haven't lost their reflex to flinch every t

Turned Off by the Crazies.

Paul WaldmanJul 20, 2010

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Gut Check for the White House on Elizabeth Warren.

Paul WaldmanJul 20, 2010

As President Obama decides whom to appoint to lead the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a controversy is on its way about whether Elizabeth Warren -- the Harvard professor who currently is in charge of oversight of TARP, and who had the idea for the CFPB in the first place -- will get the nod. Liberals, who have been impressed with Warren's dogged advocacy on consumers' behalf, are getting geared up to be seriously pissed off at the administration if they appoint someone else.

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