Update: No Wright, but Ayers has come up, big time. Obama’s response is that 1) he rejects Ayers’ past “despicable acts” and 2) Ayers “associated” in Chicago philanthropy with a lot of people, including known Republicans such as the president of Northwestern University. Given a clear opportunity by Bob Schieffer to bring up Rev. Wright […]
Dana Goldstein
Dana Goldstein, a former associate editor and writer at the Prospect, comes from a family of public-school educators. She received the Spencer Fellowship in Education Journalism, a Schwarz Fellowship at the New America Foundation, and a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellowship at the Nation Institute. Her journalism is regularly featured in Slate, The Atlantic, The Nation, The Daily Beast, and other publications, and she is a staff writer at the Marshall Project.
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EPIC FAIL.
The reliably funny Chris Beam gives an etymology of the insult of the moment. —Dana Goldstein
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INTERESTING PREDICTION OF THE DAY.
From TechPresident co-founder Andrew Rasiej: The Bradley Effect, in which black politicians receive fewer votes on Election Day than polls predicted, will be overtaken this year by “the Obama Effect,” in which white folks who claimed not to be voting for Obama secretly do so. Discuss. Hat tip: Megan Garber at CJR. —Dana Goldstein
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BLOOMBERG ON BLOOMBERG. AND TEACHERS.
I’ve been catching up on my dead tree reading, and highly recommend New York‘s 40th Anniversary Issue. Check out the dialog between Mike Bloomberg and Ed Koch, in which the third term-crusading mayor refers to himself throughout in the third person. (MB: “I’d argue that Ed Koch — and Michael Bloomberg, both — had a […]
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HOW WILL THE ECONOMIC CRISIS AFFECT NEW YORK?
Pretty deeply, which is why the state’s and city’s politics are so tense right now, with Mike Bloomberg seeking a third term and Gov. David Paterson under pressure to prove his financial bona fides. For more on Paterson, one of the more fascinating people in American politics, check out last week’s excellent New York cover […]
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THE FREAK OUT.
It’s a new election coverage meme: The grass-roots Republican faithful see McCain floundering, and they are freaking out. Politico‘s Jonathan Martin covers the trend, which includes chants of “terrorist!” and “Obama Osama” at McCain rallies. But nowhere does Martin mention a key factor in why conservative fear and anger this year is so much harsher […]
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SCHOOL DISTRICTS BACKING OUT OF BUSING COMMITMENTS.
Nationwide, only 2 percent of eligible children take advantage of No Child Left Behind’s “transfer provision,” which compels districts to allow kids attending a failing school to transfer to a higher performing one. Why is the provision so rarely used? In many districts, there simply isn’t a great school to transfer to, and NCLB does […]
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OBAMA CAMPAIGN (SORTA) BROACHES RACE IN E-MAIL TO SUPPORTERS.
Last night the Obama campaign sent an e-mail to supporters with the subject line “Time for the Talk.” I thought this e-mail would finally ask folks to deal head-on with racism among their friends and family. It turns out that the text did not mention race specifically, but it did seem geared toward encouraging younger […]
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CHECKING IN WITH GAY MARRIAGE BANS.
“The Bradley Effect” has become well-known this year — it refers to the gap between African American candidates’ polling numbers and their success on Election Day. Is there also a Bradley Effect for LGBTQ issues? That’s what supporters of California’s Proposition 8, a gay marriage ban, said when polling showed their initiative trailing by 17 […]
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ONE SWING VOTER.
Over at Grist, TAP alum Kate Sheppard catches up with the woman who asked the question about the urgency of climate change at last night’s debate, 30-year-old Ingrid Jackson, who began the night as an undecided voter. She’s now planning on voting for Obama. Here’s what she had to say: I liked Obama’s response, just […]
