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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.

Why Palin Won't Make It Out Of A GOP Primary

By Ta-Nehisi Coates
Jul 10 2009, 2:00 PM ET Comment

Because her spokesperson is trading shots with a 19-year old kid. It makes liberals, like me, feel good that the GOP is a wreck, and the notion of Sarah Palin as the standard-bearer only increases the scale of that wreckage. It also validates a certain idea about certain voters, and their relative intelligence. I would just argue that we should not confuse a poll with the rigors of an actual election. A lot of you think I'm underestimating Palin. But I think people are underestimating the GOP. The desire to win has a way of taming folks.


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