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In Eric Cantor's District, President Obama Demands That Republicans "Pass This Bill."

Jamelle BouieSep 09, 2011

Last night, closing his assertive speech on the American Jobs Act, President Obama made a promise. “This plan is the right thing to do right now, and you should pass it,” he said to the joint session of Congress, “And I intend to take that message to every corner of this country.”

Fallout

Adam SerwerAug 25, 2011

Ghadafi loves Condi.

Five years later, the Jena Six move on.

Nomination oversights may be Obama's biggest sin.

Feminists against fun?

Freedom For Some, Ctd

Adam SerwerAug 25, 2011

Conor Friedersdorf, in a very gracious and charitable critique thinks my priorities, as a liberal with some libertarianish views, are skewed with regards to Ron Paul:

Obama is Now Tied with His GOP Opponents

Jamelle BouieAug 23, 2011

As recently as last month, President Obama stood strong in polls against his potential Republican challengers: With the exception of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney – who lagged by several points – Obama was far ahead of each of his competitors. Now, according to the latest Gallup survey, 48 percent of registered voters say they would vote for Romney if the presidential election were held now, compared to 46 percent for Obama. Likewise, at 47 percent support, Obama is tied in a head-to-head matchup with Texas governor Rick Perry.

Fallout

Adam SerwerAug 22, 2011

Will Clarence and Virginia Thomas succeed in killing Obama’s health-care plan?

PETA sucks.

If this kind of thing started happening with the economy Obama might keep his job.

NYC is having lots of same-sex marriages.

Dept of "Goofy And Wrong"

Adam SerwerAug 19, 2011

Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, fresh off yesterday's remarks that Barack Obama wants "to create dependency because it worked so well for him,” because he's black, offers some thoughts on Afghanistan:

The best way to get us out of Afghanistan is to grow our economy, change the regulations, have a vibrant, growing America where people are afraid to come against us,” Coburn said.

More On Coburn

Adam SerwerAug 18, 2011

Greg Sargent gets the full transcript of Senator Tom Coburn's remarks on Obama and surmises that:

I think what Coburn means here is that African Americans are more likely to need such programs than whites are, and by his own lights, Coburn actually thinks he’s being charitable to Obama here. He’s essentially saying that Obama’s life experience quite naturally dictated that he would view the safety net as a good thing, because it helped poor African Americans.

Republicans Can't Seem to Go a Day Without Insulting Black People

Jamelle BouieAug 18, 2011

Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn went on something of a speaking tour yesterday, warning of impending economic disaster and predicting the demise of Medicare. It has been an exercise in sensationalism – at one point, while voicing his frustrations with the Senate, Coburn said that “It’s just a good thing I can’t pack a gun on the Senate floor.”

The thing that stands out, however, is his take on President Obama’s intentions:

If the President Defends Liberalism and No One Listens, Does It Matter?

Jamelle BouieAug 15, 2011

In their despair over the debt-ceiling deal, liberals have admonished President Obama for his failure to use the “bully pulpit” and take his case to the public. Political psychologist Drew Westen offered a lengthy version of this argument in last week’s New York Times, lamenting Obama’s failure to capture the public’s imagination and act as a national advocate for liberalism.

Obama Stays Tame on Republicans

Jamelle BouieAug 08, 2011

If his press conference this afternoon was any indication, President Obama wants the world to know that American debt is still safe. “The markets continue to believe that our status is AAA. … Warren Buffet said that if there were a quadruple-A rating, he’d give us that.”

While Obama disputes the downgrade, he doesn’t actually take issue with Standard and Poor’s assessment of our political system. As he put it, the United States doesn’t need S&P to tell us that “using the debt ceiling as a threat” would be disastrous to our economy, or that Washington gridlock hasn’t been “constructive.”

Westen's Indictment

Adam SerwerAug 08, 2011

Drew Westen's piece yesterday highlighting Obama's failure to tell an effective "story" that would have led to Congress laying down and embracing a more progressive agenda is probably a cathartic read for liberals disappointed with Obama. It does, however, have quite a few problems -- namely the notion that "the public was desperate for a leader who would speak with confidence, and they were ready to follow wherever the president led." I mean hardly -- mostly the country was relieved that Bush was no longer in office.  But it doesn't actually matter what the public wanted. What mattered was what Congress was willing to pass.

What Bush Did For The Conservative Movement

Adam SerwerAug 05, 2011

I want to address a separate claim from Kevin Drum's defense of Obama's effectiveness as a politician, specifically Drum's argument that "in two years Obama has done more to enact a liberal agenda than George Bush did for the conservative agenda in eight."

Is Obama An Effective Politician?

Adam SerwerAug 04, 2011

Kevin Drum makes the case:

What's more, Obama also won passage during his first two years of a stimulus bill, a landmark healthcare bill that Democrats had been trying to pass for the better part of a century, a financial reform bill, and much needed reform of student loans. And more: a firm end to the Bush torture regime, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a hate crimes bill, a successful rescue of the American car industry, and resuscitation of the NLRB. Oh, and he killed Osama bin Laden too.

Fallout

Adam SerwerAug 03, 2011

The hidden history of ALEC and prison labor.

Yearning for the old George Will.

The abortion wars come to Maryland.

Why are American evangelicals so afraid of Arab democracy?

Civil Rights vs. Preemption In Immigration Cases

Adam SerwerAug 03, 2011

Nicholas Mendoza looks at why the Obama administration has relied on arguments that the federal government has the authority to set immigration policy instead of challenging immigration laws on racial profiling grounds:

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