Paul Waldman

I’ve often noted that the changing geographic distribution of immigrants has a lot to do with the “I want my country back!” sentiment that has become so visible in recent months. At one time, if you lived in a suburb or a small town, you were unlikely to encounter people speaking a language other than […]

President Obama with reporters in happier times (White House/Pete Souza) Politico has an interesting piece up about displeasure within the White House press corps, which feels that it has been mistreated by the administration’s press operation. Some of the complaints aren’t particularly meaningful (Favoritism toward The New York Times, which sets the agenda for the […]

Item No. 1: The Supreme Court ruled that a cross erected on federal land in the Mojave Desert to honor war dead from World War I can stay. Item No. 2: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, fresh from his Confederate History Month debacle, sought to reach out to people not like him by reversing a policy […]

Over at the Atlantic, Josh Green and Andrew Sullivan are having something of a feud, complete with not-so-restrained insults, about the question of whether Sarah Palin will run for president in 2012 — Josh says no, Andrew says yes. There are reasonable cases to be made on each side, but I’m in leaning Josh’s direction. […]

We live, it is said, in an era of angry political polarization. Yet if you watch congressional floor debates on C-SPAN, you can’t help but be struck by the elaborate rituals of politeness: “I yield to the gentlelady from Michigan,” “Would the chair entertain a motion?”, “My good friend from Texas seems to have his […]

Marco Rubio, Florida Republican Senate candidate, darling of Tea Partiers, and New Latino Friend to GOP presidential contenders everywhere, just did a very curious thing. He actually came out against Arizona’s new immigration law: From what I have read in news reports, I do have concerns about this legislation. While I don’t believe Arizona’s policy […]

When this season of 24 began, I confidently predicted that, as usual, Jack Bauer‘s eventful day would be chock-full of torture, just as the seasons before had been. “Who knows,” I wrote, “maybe the folks at CTU will turn over a new leaf this season, and unearth the nefarious conspiracy without breaking anyone’s fingers. But […]

When I opened The New York Times this morning and began to read Ross Douthat‘s column about the most recent South Park controversy, I said, “Here’s a chance to reach across the aisle!” Douthat criticizes Comedy Central for censoring last week’s episode of the program, in which the prophet Muhammad is portrayed (or not exactly […]

(Flickr/geerlingguy) The latest edition of New York magazine contains an essential article for fans of the political/media/cultural juggernaut that is Sarah Palin. Titled “Palin, Inc.,” it details the ways Palin has built her brand, and her bank account, since leaving office halfway into her first term as Alaska governor (indeed, the article is fairly clear […]