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Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates - Ta-Nehisi Coates is a senior editor for The Atlantic, where he writes about culture, politics, and social issues for TheAtlantic.com and the magazine. He is the author of the memoir The Beautiful Struggle. More

Born in 1975, the product of two beautiful parents. Raised in West Baltimore—not quite The Wire, but sometimes ill all the same. Studied at the Mecca for some years in the mid-’90s. Emerged with a purpose, if not a degree. Slowly migrated up the East Coast with a baby and my beloved, until I reached the shores of Harlem. Wrote some stuff along the way.

Against Bipartsanship

By Ta-Nehisi Coates
Jan 30 2009, 9:00 AM ET Comment

Matt makes the case:

The lesson I would hope the administration learns here is this: He needs to spend less time seeking political cover to mitigate the downside to possible policy failure, and more time trying to implement the best policies he can.
Of course there's another kind of long-term politics being played. Obama's trips to Capitol Hill allows him to continue to look like guy willing to talk, while his opponents look like obstructionists. Given Obama's style, I expect to see more, not less, of that in the future.


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