View image | gettyimages.com A lot of the news around Jeb Bush of late has concerned his potential hurdles and the skepticism he supposedly inspires among the Republican base. So we get articles with titles like “In Iowa, Jeb Bush Risks Support With Unpopular Stances” and “NBC News Poll: Republicans Are Divided Over Jeb Bush […]
Blog: Paul Waldman
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
The Absurdity of Asking Whether Hillary Clinton Can ‘Satisfy Her Critics’
If you watched or read the coverage of Hillary Clinton’s press conference yesterday, there’s a phrase you heard, in one variation or another, over and over. “Clinton’s email explanation won’t placate critics,” said the AP. “Her defense…is unlikely to satisfy her critics or stop the questions,” said The Washington Post. Democrats, said National Journal, “worry […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Photo of the Day, Damage Control Edition
View image | gettyimages.com Hillary Clinton, answering a few questions from reporters about her emails today. Unfortunately, no one shouted “What about your gaffes?”
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Gaze In Wonder Upon My Bootstraps, Voters, For I Am Just Like You
In every election campaign, candidates assure voters that despite their fancy suits and smooth talk, they come from the humblest of origins. We were poor, they say. No running water! My mother made our clothes from old rice sacks! Dinner was one slice of bread to share between my siblings and me! And if that […]
Posted inEnergy and the Environment
Photo of the Day, Mindless Tech Slavery Edition
View image | gettyimages.com Attention, my subjects. Behold this watch. You will buy it. Is it because you want it? Silly question-I have presented it unto you, and therefore you want it as much as you have ever wanted anything, even if it doesn’t actually do much that the device in your pocket doesn’t already […]
Posted inCivil Rights in America
Obama in Selma, and the Definition of America
View image | gettyimages.com I wanted to say a bit about President Obama’s speech on Saturday in Selma, which I think will (and should) stand as a key document in one of the central arguments of the Obama years. That argument is this: What is America? It’s an argument as old as the nation itself, […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
An Open Letter to Hillary Clinton
Dear Secretary Clinton: Watching the story of your State Department emails emerge last week, liberals were possessed by an old familiar feeling. It’s the one that makes them say two things at once: “This seems ridiculously overblown,” and “What the hell is wrong with her?” It was like reliving a trauma, one they got through […]
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
Photo of the Day, Crushing the Wonder of Childhood Edition
View image | gettyimages.com This innocent tot is inspecting a “fairy door” in Somerset woods in England. Here’s the caption from Getty: Over the past few years more than 100 fairy doors have appeared delighting local children and adults alike who come to see homes of the fairies and leave gifts and messages. However, the […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
The End of the Siege of Obama
White House photo by Pete Souza This is an auspicious week, because it saw the first real controversy of Hillary Clinton’s campaign (there were a couple of “She said what?!?” mini-stories, but those don’t count). And why is that so important? I explain in my Plum Line post today: Mark the first week of March […]
Posted inLaw and Justice
What Do the GOP Candidates Think of State ‘Conscience Clause’ Legislation?
Flickr/Gexydaf There’s an interesting/horrifying piece in today’s New York Times about a trend across the country, but mostly in the South, to enact “conscience” legislation at the state level that would allow businesses to discriminate against gay people if they can justify it on the basis of their religion. One interesting facet of this issue […]
