Did It Work?
We don't yet know the speech's impact, but Obama missed a few things. More »
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Generation Dropout
Obama will address Congress in primetime. Can he save health reform? More »
There were things to admire about Robert Novak, who died today at 78. He was a hard-working reporter long after the age when most journalists have left the field. He was not afraid to be unpopular, which is a deeply impressive quality. He had a loving family. His friends, some of whom I count as friendly acquaintances, say he was actually a nice guy or not as unnice as he seemed. I feel for him, suffering through a brain tumor, which seems like as bad a way to go… More »
There's lots of lamenting on the left about all the teabaggers showing up and town hall meetings on health care being held by returning members. The right's all atwitter about organized labor and the left sending people to these meetings. I'm not sure any of it is really bad. Obviously, death threats, demonization and the like are not good for civil discourse. No one gains from shouting. In a perfect world each town meeting would be a civilized discussion of the… More »
There's something comic and familiar, of course, about a Louisiana politician going to jail. We've come to expect colorful rogues in jumpsuit orange. There's something more tragic to the fall of William Jefferson. Maybe because he was the state's first African American congressman since Reconstruction or maybe it's because he's a Harvard-trained lawyer. A lot of excitement greeted his election. After all, he took over the seat once held by House Majority Leader… More »
When you think of what just happened in Pyonyang, it's extraordinary. A former president was dispatched to rescue the employees of his former vice president. Meanwhile, his wife, the secretary of state, who lost to the current president, played an integral role in setting up the entire mission even as she jets off to Africa where the president himself just visited. Try substituting Nixon/Agnew, Bush/Quayle, Roosevelt/Wallace, or any other combination of president… More »
Through the placement of a special listening device in Pyonyang... More »
Late on Monday, Sen. Mike Enzi, not exactly a household name but an important figure in the health care debate, said that he didn't feel obligated to meet a September 15 deadline to pass a healthcare bill. The Wyoming Republican is just the latest to balk at the idea of a deadline. Recall that the White House wanted a health care bill before Congress left for its August recess. That got rolled back and the middle of September has been the latest line in the sand.… More »
The Washington elites are abuzz over Obama's poll decline. Of course, polls are mercurial, everchanging and go up and down. Nevertheless they do reflect a reality of public perception at a particular moment and they create their own dynamic. New research from the folks at Pew suggests that the economy, health care and Obama's comments on the Henry Louis Gates arrest have helped push his numbers down. All those things certainly make sense. While everybody wants… More »
With all the talk of how we eat--from Michael Pollan's bestsellers to Michelle Obama's victory garden to the Food channel here at The Atlantic--it's worth noting that Congress missed an opportunity today to pass a law that would strengthen food safety, at least according to the bill's supporters. The Food Safety Enhancement Act went down to defeat this afternoon, mostly because of Republican voters but also an odd coalition of conservative and liberal Democrats.… More »
Amidst all the crazy health care negotiations, one thing to keep your eye on is this: Will the Senate Finance Committee come to dominate the process. Multiple congressional committees are working on health care, all with their own ideas. But the Senate Finance Committee is probably the most important to watch because its chairman, Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat, has vowed to produce a bipartisan bill. Other bills incorporate Republican amendments but that's not… More »
Robert Bork, who was rejected by the Senate in 1987, is still kind of, um, bitter. The almost comic video from Newsmax.com features an interview in which he says that Sonia Sotomayor doesn't follow the law and that her "wise Latina" line should have been disqualifying. I thank my friends at Talkingpointsmemo.com for the heads up. Here's the video:I have a few thoughts about Bork, some sympathetic and some not so much. First, I think the now generation-long… More »
I won't claim to be sourced on the whole White House v. Department of Justice fight about whether to launch a criminal investigation into torture during the Bush era. Recent news reports have suggested that Attorney General Eric Holder is considering such an investigation and that the White House, which had inveighed against it, would prefer it not go forward. Newsweek's excellent piece by former colleague and friend, Dan Klaidman, portrayed Holder as an… More »
A few commentators haven noted that if Sonia Sotomayor is confirmed, she'll be the sixth Catholic to sit on the court. There will be two Jews and one Protestant. That this is a total non-issue says so much about the country, how it's changed and our notions of diversity. Anti-Catholicism was a mainstay of American life for so long. One need only recall the 1960 presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy and his assurances that he wouldn't take orders from the Pope… More »
Democrats in the House of Representatives released their version of a health-care bill yesterday. While it marks just one phase in the complex legislative process, it's still a signal moment and one that poses opportunities and risks for the Obama administration. On one hand, it's really happening--a bill that could greatly expand health insurance coverage to milllions of Americans who don't have it. On the other hand, the ideal of near-universal insurance comes… More »
I know and like Steve Rattner, which doesn't make me especially unique. The New York financier is well known in Washington and New York, where he started the Quadrangle Group investment firm after years at Lazard Freres and other firms. His wife, Maureen White, was a finance director of the Democratic National Committee, and the two are well connected in politics in both cities. The Rattners are close to the Clintons, and Steve was an outspoken supporter of Chuck… More »
