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McCain Advisers Feel Guilty Over Loosing Sarah Palin on the American Public
Tweet Share on Facebook June 30, 2009 Comment (30)By John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
John McCain's advisers thought Sarah Palin was pretty goofy. That is, after they almost put her in the White House as vice president of the United States, a heartbeat from the Oval Office. "No serious vetting had been done," writes Todd Purdum, in a new article by Vanity Fair. The McCain team was shocked, afterwards, to discover a certain "slipperiness—about what the truth was and whether the truth even mattered" to the Alaska governor.
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Supreme Court Is Right to Reject Sotomayor's Ricci Ruling on New Haven Firefighters
Tweet Share on Facebook June 29, 2009 Comment (17)By John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
The Supreme Court's ruling today on behalf of a group of white and Hispanic firefighters from New Haven, Conn., is the latest proof that it's time for our increasingly diverse nation to start dropping affirmative action programs based on race, and move toward a color-blind society.
The court ruled that the white and Hispanic candidates who aced their exam, but were denied promotion by New Haven because no black candidates qualified, were the victims of reverse discrimination. The case is particularly relevant because, in reaching their decision, the justices overruled a decision by a federal appeals court that included Judge Sonia Sotomayor.
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Jeb Bush for President in 2012? After Sanford, Ensign Etc., It's Not Impossible
Tweet Share on Facebook June 26, 2009 Comment (53)By John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
It's looking highly likely that the 2012 Republican presidential nominee will be a retread.
With Gov. Mark Sanford at wit's end, and Sen. John Ensign joining Sanford at adultery camp, and Gov. Jon Huntsman going to China, and Gov. Bobby Jindal flopping in his first big national TV appearance, and Gov. Mitch Daniels saying he doesn't want to be president, and Gov. Sarah Palin running such an undisciplined operation up there in Alaska, the prospect for fresh blood is thinning.
We got some old party leaders from down South—Gov. Haley Barbour and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich—and a couple of former governors who couldn't beat John McCain last time out—Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee.
And then there is Jeb.
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The Best Way to Learn the History of the United States
Tweet Share on Facebook June 25, 2009 Comment (4)By John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
I have a regret to share.
No, not about my Argentine mistress.
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Red Sox Nation Owns Washington, Right Down to the Bar Bet Trivia
Tweet Share on Facebook June 24, 2009 CommentBy John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Nationals Park was Fenway South, and riding the Metro was like taking the T last night, as the Boston Red Sox made a rare visit to the nation's capital, and the displaced members of Red Sox Nation gave the Washington Nationals their biggest crowd ever.
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The Supreme Court Correctly Upholds the Voting Rights Act
Tweet Share on Facebook June 23, 2009 Comment (5)By John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
I have criticized, and proclaimed the need for, an end of race-based affirmative action programs. So why am I pleased with the decision announced yesterday by the U.S. Supreme Court, preserving the Voting Rights Act?
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Criticizing Obama's Subdued Stance on Iran Is Self-Indulgent and Silly
Tweet Share on Facebook June 22, 2009 Comment (11)By John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
It is stunning to me that, with an event of such potential importance as the Iranian election, critics who know nothing about what's going on in Tehran are so quick to criticize President Obama for being insufficiently vocal in his support for the protesters.
That kind of critique seems sentimental and self-indulgent.
Sure, it might make us feel good. But would it have helped the marchers?
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The Library of Congress Joins the 21st Century
Tweet Share on Facebook June 19, 2009 Comment (3)By John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
There is a great scene in the movie All the President's Men in which intrepid reporters Woodward and Bernstein head to the Library of Congress to see if they can prove that a Watergate conspirator was conducting secret research to slander Ted Kennedy.
Woodstein asks to see the call slips, and the boys are handed a mountain of flimsy paper sheets, each about the size of a playing card, to laboriously page through. They never find their man.
But, hey. It would be easier today. The Library of Congress has joined the 21st century. The day of the call slip is drawing to an end.
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Three Reasons Why White Working-Class Voters Can't Save the Republicans
Tweet Share on Facebook June 18, 2009 Comment (12)By John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
For all that has been said about the growing diversity of the American electorate, this much is still true: White people elect presidents.
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Republicans Need Latinos, So Attacking Sotomayor is "Just Not Smart Politics"
Tweet Share on Facebook June 17, 2009 Comment (7)By John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
If you want good ethnic food in America, you no longer head for the nearest city. "The best ethnic restaurants are not downtown" but in the suburbs, says Virginia Tech professor Robert Lang. "They are in the dead strip malls from the 1950s."
And that is one reason that things are looking up for the Democrats in the wake of the 2008 elections.
