Brendan Nyhan

In recent weeks, it has become increasingly clear that there is a void at the heart of the Democratic Party. At the outset of our first great debate over post-September 11 foreign policy — what to do about Saddam Hussein and Iraq — the Democrats are sitting it out, worried about taking on a […]

At this point, it’s almost a cliché to say that the media loves to dish out scrutiny of powerful institutions — except for itself. But like many clichés, this one has a grain of truth. Case in point: the continuing controversy over the actions of Susan Schmidt, a reporter at The Washington Post who is […]

The tectonic plates of American politics are moving, and the media is getting nervous. Until recently, the establishment press unquestionably had the biggest megaphone in any given controversy. But now a news story or op-ed is pilloried on the Internet hours after it’s released by webloggers like Andrew Sullivan, Joshua Micah Marshall, and Mickey Kaus, […]

Here in Washington, it’s usually the straight-talking John McCain who receives attention from the media for his valuable willingness to cross partisan lines. But in some ways his ally, Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, is more indispensable. Whatever you may think of Hagel’s politics, you have to admit he speaks his mind — and […]

The right’s cynical exploitation of Ronald Reagan’s legacy has always been something of a race to the bottom. Last year, for instance, conservatives in Congress went so far as to bully local government in Washington to change a map to read “Reagan National Airport.” But the former president’s son, radio host Michael Reagan, pushed the […]

There was no lack of political content to last Sunday’s Super Bowl, from the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s new anti-terrorism drug ads to U2’s halftime performance. But according to some, the most ideology-infused event took place before the game, when the New England Patriots spurned player introductions and took the field as a […]

How significant was President Bush’s State of the Union address? Andrew Sullivan articulates one conservative view on his website, saying simply that “[t]he development of Bush Republicanism took another step.” But David Brooks of The Weekly Standard goes much further. Brooks calls the speech “transformational,” arguing that Bush “[reshaped] the foreign policy of the most […]

At first glance, conservative gadfly Alan Keyes’s new MSNBC show, Alan Keyes is Making Sense, seems like just another step in the gradual takeover of televised political commentary by the Fox News Channel model. Rupert Murdoch’s brainchild has made significant inroads into the CNN and MSNBC audience, setting off a scramble to attract conservative viewers. […]

After years of railing at the suppression of “non-‘politically correct’” speech on college campuses, conservatives have turned the tables on their left-wing foes. With the vast majority of Americans supporting U.S. military actions in Afghanistan, it is now students on the left who find their speech unpopular. Have the conservative free speech champions now embraced […]