EDUCATION AND LIBERALISM. Over at the Corner, Jonah Goldberg cites uncritically a letter writer who says, “I have been hoping for a long time that black Americans would stop voting monolithically Democratic as they became more educated and successful.” Now why doesn’t Goldberg contradict this assumption that being more educated would lead a group to […]
Ben Adler
Ben Adler is a senior editor at City & State NY. He previously worked for Politico, The Nation, and Reuters, and he has written for The Washington Post and The New Republic, among other publications.
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NPR ON ABORTION:
NPR ON ABORTION: Astute media critics often note that the problem with the tone of mainstream media isn’t that they favor liberals or conservatives, but that they put an irrational premium on slippery values like moderation, compromise, or reasonableness. The most despicable example would be the way coverage of the 2000 election controversy presumed that […]
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HILLARY’S MOMMY PROBLEM:
HILLARY’S MOMMY PROBLEM: Now that Hillary’s announced, the media will surely start wondering how her gender will affect her electoral prospects. I think some interesting clues are in my Campus Progress colleague Dana Goldstein’s Prospect web piece from Friday. Dana argues that female politicians like Hillary and Nancy Pelosi may actually pay a price for […]
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WILL MCCAIN GET AWAY WITH IT?:
WILL MCCAIN GET AWAY WITH IT?: Ezra asks whether backing the escalation surge in the Iraq War will hurt McCain now that it is really happening. He says it depends on whether “the press let[s] him weasel away from his advocacy role in the strategy.” I’m not sure I entirely agree with the premise; I […]
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BRAZIL, OBESE OR ANOREXIC?:
BRAZIL, OBESE OR ANOREXIC?: The New York Times had a typical trend piece this Sunday on the rising cult of thinness in Brazil and the consequent tragic uptick in anorexia among young women. The article devotes much space to contrasting this development with Brazillian culture’s usual tendency to consider a plumper physique more beautiful. Ironically […]
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CONSERVATIVES AND MLK.
CONSERVATIVES AND MLK. Every year when Martin Luther King Day rolls around, I have to gear up for the sickening spectacle of conservative talking heads, the ideological — and sometimes biological — descendants of those who opposed him in his lifetime, trying to claim King’s legacy as justification for all kinds of policies he would […]
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ABOUT TIME: The…
ABOUT TIME: The knocks against the “Person of the Year” choice notwithstanding, Time magazine has take a distinctly postive turn in the last year or two. Increasingly they seem willing to eschew the tired “on the one hand, on the other hand” formula of MSM news stories. Though they remain completely non-partisan, their willingness to […]
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ELECTABILITY MYTH:
ELECTABILITY MYTH: Jonathan Cohn has a great online piece in TNR today, arguing that Democrats should stop chasing the ghost of electability. He analyzes their mistake in 2004, where they found reasons to disqualify every contender but Kerry, even though none found him inspiring. But Cohn leaves out a strong point that supports his argument. […]
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EDWARDS’ SHREWD MOVE:
EDWARDS’ SHREWD MOVE: While I, like Garance, will reserve judgment on Edwards’announcement speech until I hear it, there is one aspect of his entrance into the race that I think shows that he is taking the right approach: his choice of location. The Ninth Ward of New Orleans has the potential to be the Democrats’ […]
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THE REAL REASON NO ONE RUNS
THE REAL REASON NO ONE RUNS: Not to take anything away from Howard Dean, but I’m not sure where Ezra — himself a former Deaniac — finds the causality between Dean’s campaign and the progressive tilt of possible Democratic candidates in 2008. First, I think a couple notes of caution are in order: the only […]