October 2008

My Job Is Driving Me Crazy
NBC's Thursday-night lineup is full of employed but dissatisfied characters. What are they going to do now that the economy is tanking?
October 30, 2008 | By Alyssa Rosenberg | web only

Races to Watch: Alabama 3
Josh Segall, a 29-year-old lawyer and former campaign worker for Paul Wellstone and Russ Feingold, is enjoying improbable success.
October 30, 2008 | By Brentin Mock | web only

Why Those "Other" Federal Courts Are So Important In This Election
There is considerable opportunity for the next president to shape the legal landscape through appointments to the 13 federal appellate courts.
October 30, 2008 | By Alexander Wohl | web only

John McCain: Not More of the Same
Barack Obama and his allies have spent the last year arguing that John McCain is just like George W. Bush. They're wrong.
October 30, 2008 | By Ezra Klein | web only

Races to Watch: Pennsylvania 11
This Friday, Hazleton, Pennsylvania's mayor, Lou Barletta, will go to court to defend some of the most zealous anti-immigrant ordinances in the nation. Next Tuesday, he just might be elected to Congress.
October 30, 2008 | By Carolyn Petri | web only

The FundamentaList (No. 56)
Even if McCain loses, the religious right isn't going anywhere. In fact, a McCain defeat may actually strengthen their position in the party. The only question is who will lead them -- probably Huckabee, Jindal, or Palin.
October 29, 2008 | By Sarah Posner | web only

Unions Confront Race at the Doorstep
In all-important Ohio, labor has finally taken on the challenge of persuading its white members to vote for Barack Obama. Will it be enough to change working-class voters' minds?
October 29, 2008 | By Harold Meyerson | web only

Guilt by Insinuation
Barack Obama isn't a terrorist and neither are American Muslims. Why hasn't his campaign been more vocal in defending them?
October 28, 2008 | By Tim Fernholz | web only

The Real October Surprise
If Osama bin Laden releases a pre-election tape like he did in 2004, don't assume it will be to the Republicans' benefit.
October 28, 2008 | By Paul Waldman | web only

Palin's Polar Bear Problem
Sarah Palin's denial of global warming isn't the only scientific idea she has dismissed -- she has also rejected protection of endangered polar bears.
October 27, 2008 | By Brentin Mock | web only

Is the Southern Strategy Dead?
Elizabeth Dole is fighting hard for her Senate seat, Democrats have significantly outpaced Republicans in new voter registrations, and unions have put organizing muscle in North Carolina for the first time.
October 24, 2008 | By Harold Meyerson | web only

An Israeli Looks at Obama
I was getting so many questions from friends and neighbors about how Obama stacked up on foreign policy, particularly as it concerned Israel, that it seemed time to sit down and review the facts.
October 24, 2008 | By Gershom Gorenberg | web only

Dancing on Air
A documentary on Philippe Petit, the man who walked on a wire between the World Trade Center towers in 1974, leaves the question of what motivates art to the viewer.
October 23, 2008 | By Noy Thrupkaew | web only

The FundamentaList (No. 55)
How the current Republican attacks on Democrats are straight out of the religious right's play book and why the Florida gay marriage ban is failing.
October 22, 2008 | By Sarah Posner | web only

What We Need Out of a Second Stimulus Package
The consensus in Washington seems to be moving in the direction of a second economic stimulus package. Democrats need to consider crafting it around something other than just encouraging spending.
October 22, 2008 | By Reid Cramer | web only

Suddenly, Everyone's Pro-Choice!
There's one surprising issue that keeps cropping up in progressive and some moderate Republican campaigns this year: A woman's right to choose.
October 22, 2008 | By Tim Fernholz | web only

One Cool Customer
Amid all the talk about John McCain's character, the press has missed the most important personal story in this election: Obama's steady, mature, and thoughtful approach to politics appeals to voters.
October 21, 2008 | By Paul Waldman | web only

Populism Without Pitchforks
All Democratic presidential campaigns, whether desperate or confident, in good times or bad, turn populist at the end. Obama's inclusive, quiet tone has given liberals a new language of ethics.
October 20, 2008 | By Mark Schmitt | web only

Sheila Bair for Treasury Secretary
As Obama puts together his shortlist for treasury secretary, he should stay away from ex-Wall Streeters and former Clinton administration officals. Current FDIC chair Sheila Bair looks better by the day.
October 20, 2008 | By Robert Kuttner | web only

Shadows and Fog
After a past denunciation is unearthed from the files, Milan Kundera faces his own trial by media. Is the jury rigged against him?
October 17, 2008 | By Richard Byrne | web only

The Coming Military Spending Surge
New Pentagon spending estimates for the next five years fly in the face of progressive priorities -- the likely incoming majority shouldn't stand for it.
October 16, 2008 | By Matthew Yglesias | web only

The Case for Plain Vanilla
Here is the radical implication of this collapse: The next financial system, rebuilt by governments on the ruins of the old one, needs to be plain vanilla.
October 16, 2008 | By Robert Kuttner | web only

John McCain's Anger Problem
This is a year that favors health care plans and regulatory schemes and unemployment benefits. It is not a year that favors John McCain. Is it any wonder then, that the man is seething with resentment?
October 16, 2008 | By Ezra Klein | web only

The FundamentaList (No. 54)
Religious conservatives name Palin as heir-apparent, the Family Research Council launches a new anti-Obama ad, and gay-marriage opponents outplay opponents in California.
October 15, 2008 | By Sarah Posner | web only

What Are Those Squiggly Lines on CNN Telling You?
Viewers of the presidential debates on CNN have a novel feature on their screen -- a box at the bottom showing the real-time reactions of a focus group of undecided voters. Should we take it seriously?
October 15, 2008 | By Sam Boyd | web only

The Permanent (Smear) Campaign
Conservatives realize that a successful Obama presidency could remake American politics. If Obama wins the election, they will try to destroy his presidency with lies, just as they sought to do to Bill Clinton.
October 14, 2008 | By Paul Waldman | web only

What Right Wingers Mean When They Call Obama a "Socialist"
Right-wing attempts to paint Barack Obama as a socialist aren't just disingenuous. They're rooted in a history of conservative smears against black leaders.
October 13, 2008 | By Adam Serwer | web only

The Political Power of the Coffee Klatch
It's not campaign ads or talking heads that have the greatest power to reach undecided voters who flip on the TV. It's five women who chat on comfy couches every morning.
October 13, 2008 | By Courtney E. Martin | web only

A City United Against Itself
The Jerusalem mayoral race speaks to the sharp divisions within the city, and the lead candidate's culture-war appeal is a reminder of how ugly politics can get.
October 10, 2008 | By Gershom Gorenberg | web only

Races to Watch: Minnesota 3
Ashwin Madia is not just mounting a strong challenge to the Republican incumbent -- he's tapping a new base of Indian American voters and heading up a next generation of Iraq vets seeking office.
October 9, 2008 | By Dayo Olopade | web only

Man Without a Shadow: An Interview with Barton Gellman
Barton Gellman, author of Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency, reveals the inner workings of one of the most secretive offices in history.
October 9, 2008 | By Tara McKelvey | web only

Can We Have a New Deal Without the New Dealers?
Can a massive government intervention in the economy work if it is being run by people who don't believe in government?
October 9, 2008 | By Eric Rauchway | web only

Sympathy for McCain
Negative campaigning has destroyed the McCain brand. But it was always more fragile than McCain had let himself believe.
October 8, 2008 | By Mark Schmitt | web only

The FundamentaList (No. 53)
Dobson endorses McCain after insisting he wouldn't, it's the High Holidays, so it must be time for Jews to find Jesus, and is Sarah Palin the modern Queen Esther?
October 8, 2008 | By Sarah Posner | web only

McCain's Ideas Fell Flat
John McCain tried and failed to remake himself as an economic populist during last night's debate. Barack Obama won, not just because his policies are more authentically progressive but because he approaches economic issues from the perspective of ordinary people.
October 8, 2008 | By Harold Meyerson | web only

Who Will Look After the Economy Until January?
Bush, Bernanke, Paulson, and the incoming president would do well to avoid the mistakes of the Hoover-Roosevelt interregnum, a stand-off that made it even more arduous to climb out of the Great Depression once Roosevelt finally took office.
October 8, 2008 | By Robert Kuttner | web only

Races to Watch:
Ohio 15
Mary Jo Kilroy is running again for the House -- but this time the incumbent is gone, and the largely suburban district, like many across the country, is starting to trend Democratic.
October 7, 2008 | By Holly Yeager | web only

Will the November Surprise Be Disenfranchised Voters?
Don't expect everything to go smoothly on Election Day. Make no mistake: The problems that existed in 2000 and 2004 haven't gone away. There could be millions of Americans who will be prevented from exercising their franchise on Nov. 4.
October 7, 2008 | By Paul Waldman | web only

The Strange Case of the Colorado Labor-Business Coalition
In the Rocky Mountain swing state, business leaders are working alongside unions to defeat a right-to-work ballot initiative. Inside one of the wackiest political compromises in American history.
October 6, 2008 | By Dana Goldstein | web only

What Comes After Paulson?
The Paulson plan will take weeks to implement, and markets are already declaring a resounding vote of no-confidence.
October 6, 2008 | By Robert Kuttner | web only

Protecting Voter Rights
TAP Online talks with Myrna Perez of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU about what we can do to ensure eligible voters get to cast a ballot.
October 3, 2008 | By Adam Serwer | web only

What Comes After Senate Approval of the Bailout Bill?
Congressional leaders need to look to more than just passing the bill in the House.
October 2, 2008 | By Robert Kuttner | web only

How Does Iraq Play Into the Economic Crisis?
The focus is on our unstable credit markets -- but we shouldn't forget that Bush's foreign policy has exacted its own costs on our economy.
October 2, 2008 | By Matthew Yglesias | web only

The FundamentaList (No. 52)
Conservative pastors seek the right to practice politics from the pulpit, and a conservative group says Obama is not a Christian. Also, does Sarah Palin think Putin is the Antichrist?
October 1, 2008 | By Sarah Posner | web only

Democrats on a Wire
As Congress attempts to bail out the bailout, will Nancy Pelosi have the leverage she needs to get the package right?
October 1, 2008 | By Robert Kuttner | web only