Conor Friedersdorf is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he focuses on politics and national affairs. He lives in Venice, California, and is the founding editor of The Best of Journalism, a newsletter devoted to exceptional nonfiction.
The outcome is nearly certain. There won't be any Tuesday night suspense. But the winner still gets 55 electoral votes -- a fifth of what's needed for victory. More »
Defending costly executions, he writes that "justice should never be a matter of money." Will he follow that argument where it leads? More »
Hours-long election lines stretching many city blocks are a national embarrassment. And those responsible should be condemned across ideological lines. More »
They were horrified by Barack Obama's policies -- but only when they were described as Mitt Romney proposals. More »
In the political press, hacks and shills are among the biggest problems -- and they're unwilling to risk their own money on being right. More »
It's no wonder Andrew Breitbart's inheritors disagree about how to carry on his legacy -- his charisma masked many inconsistencies. More »
The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Jonathan Chait treat some of the most important issues in America as if they don't matter at all. More »
He supports policies that are an affront to the Constitution, can't possibly make good on his domestic agenda, and has terrible foreign-policy judgment. More »
Prudence counsels against choosing the height of a presidential campaign to evaluate the religion of the candidates -- especially the one you're against. More »
With few exceptions, there's no news value gained by putting broadcasters in gale force winds and tidal floods. It just adds drama to see their safety imperiled. More »
Election 2012, the Marijuana Majority project, and the rapidly changing politics of drug prohibition More »
Judge them by what they've done, or what they do in the future -- not by what they say they're going to do. More »
How much should physicians tell us about our DNA, if we don't ask? More »
John Brennan has more control over who appears on the kill lists than anyone save President Obama. And even he thinks the CIA can't be trusted. More »
The conspiracy theories, the obviously unqualified primary candidates, the Clint Eastwood speech -- it all adds up to a lot of opportunities lost. More »
The president has institutionalized indefinite detention, kill lists, and undeclared war. Has he acted recklessly? Or can GOP politicians be trusted with those powers? More »
His kill list is being rebranded as a "disposition matrix." But if drone strikes work, why would we need another decade of them? More »
Asked about the strike that killed him, a senior adviser to the president's campaign suggests he should've "had a more responsible father." More »
Jill Stein, Gary Johnson, and two others gathered in Chicago, and agreed that civil liberties and the rule of law are under attack. More »
The GOP nominee says his Middle East policy would be about more than just killing bad guys. The trick isn't setting the goals, it's achieving them. More »
