The president’s nomination of former senator Chuck Hagel forces Republicans to come to terms with the party’s rightward shift.
Steve Erickson
Steve Erickson has contributed to The New York Times, Esquire, Rolling Stone and Los Angeles. He teaches at CalArts, and his new novel is These Dreams of You (Europa Editions).
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Give Barry a Break
The president deserves credit for the deal he achieved with congressional Republicans on the fiscal cliff, but the debt ceiling is an issue he can’t compromise on.
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
Zero Dark Thirty: Homeland’s Prequel?
In both cultural depictions, September 11 is a wound that never heals.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Newtown: A Midnight Letter
At what point do we take responsibility for our national character?
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
I Was a Teenage Conservative
For a young Southern Californian coming of age in the early ’60s, the right with its emphasis on individual freedom was enormously appealing. What better way to rebel against liberal smugness? Then, the right betrayed itself.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
The America in the Next Seat
An encounter with the surreal, five miles above the earth
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
The President as Metaphor
Every election, candidates stress that the future of the country is at stake. Could it be true this time?
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
News Flash: This Was Always a Close Election
Obama winning a second term was always meant to be an uphill climb.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
The Worst Debate Performance Ever, Really?
The reactions to the presidential face-off have one thing in common: None of them are about the substance.