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Obama's Press Conference Kicked Off 2012 Campaign
Tweet Share on Facebook June 30, 2011 Comment (10)He was always "no drama Obama." He promised to bring civility and a sense of cooperation back to Washington.
But in his news conference this week, President Obama had clearly had enough of trying to make nice with Republicans—or even, for that matter, with Congress in general, which he chided for heading back to their districts for constituent work periods instead of staying in town, as he has done, to work on the debt crisis.
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Sarah Palin Is LIke LeBron James, Not Michele Bachmann
Tweet Share on Facebook June 29, 2011 Comment (9)Sarah Palin is sometimes compared to other candidates and political figures in a way that is often unfair, unwarranted, or downright sexist. The comparisons to Hillary Rodham Clinton, for example, were absurd, since the two women are dissimilar in both ideology and approach to politics. The comparisons to GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann are a little less out of right field, since they are, at least, both conservatives. But Bachmann is more appropriately compared to fellow Minnesotan and GOP primary rival Tim Pawlenty than she is to Palin; linking the two women reduces both to sex symbols—or rather, gender symbols. And comparisons to Republican heavyweights such as Ronald Reagan are also inappropriate, since while Palin has a devoted following, she has not displayed the consistent galvanizing power of someone like Reagan. Surely, there is no reason to believe she will have such an historical impact.
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Blagojevich, Trump Show Politics and Reality TV Don't Mix
Tweet Share on Facebook June 28, 2011 Comment (3)In a world where entertainment and politics are becoming too intimately aligned, there have been some hopeful signs of sense and justice besting the powerful strength of reality TV.
Donald Trump’s departure from the presidential race (if he was ever seriously considering a candidacy) was the first sign that Trump’s "brand," while profitable in bad TV, doesn’t translate to political power or popularity. And the conviction of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges deals another blow to bad-behavior-as-celebrity.
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Time to End the Wave of Campaign Pledges
Tweet Share on Facebook June 27, 2011 Comment (12)Here’s a pledge worth considering as election season heats up: no more pledges.
Presidential candidates for many cycles have been asked to "take the pledge" in New Hampshire, the site of the first primary. That pledge has been not to raise taxes, although it’s not always been kept.
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Sarah Palin Is Becoming the Paris Hilton of the GOP
Tweet Share on Facebook June 23, 2011 Comment (70)It seemed unremarkable, at first, that Sarah Palin would abandon her much-covered subsidized family vacation-slash-presidential exploratory tour halfway through. After all, that’s how she approached her commitment to the governorship.
Now, Palin tells us the real reason—she’s been called back to her home state for jury duty. And in true Palin form, the former half-term governor used the speculation about her abbreviated trip to slam the media (of which she was once a member).
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FDA's New Cigarette Warning Labels Won't Stop Smokers
Tweet Share on Facebook June 22, 2011 Comment (9)The images are so distasteful that television outlets reporting on them issued an advance warning that small children might want to look away. There was a person smoking through a hole in his throat. Another showed a stomach-churning picture of lungs made black by chronic smoking. The most jarring was the cadaver, with stitch marks on his chest to show where the autopsy had been done.
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Poll: Romney and Huntsman Face the Voters' Mormon Problem
Tweet Share on Facebook June 21, 2011 Comment (21)What do Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman have to do to convince voters they would not force Americans into polygamy, ban alcohol, or impose other social conditions some people (often wrongly) associate with the Mormon faith?
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Corporate Tax Cuts Don't Stimulate Job Growth
Tweet Share on Facebook June 20, 2011 Comment (5)Prevailing conservative wisdom dictates that businesses need tax cuts—and investors need capital gains tax cuts—to get the economy moving. But two very well-executed articles on wages and taxes published recently suggest that targeting tax cuts at business executives may do little to improve the dismal unemployment picture.
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The Deeper Meaning Behind the Canuck Riot
Tweet Share on Facebook June 16, 2011 Comment (38)Globalization is a painful transition for many people and on many levels—and it’s not always economic.
Witness the behavior of the Vancouver Canucks fans (and, perhaps, some malcontents more interested in making trouble than appreciating great hockey). When the Canucks, a truly talented team which had boasted the best record in the NHL during the season, lost the Stanley Cup to the Boston Bruins Wednesday night, the Canadian fans were something less than gracious. There were some boos, some throwing of items on the ice as the cup-awarding ceremony began. And afterward, hooligans rioted in the streets, turning over a car and setting it on fire.
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Sexist, Racist Ad Targets Democrat Janice Hahn
Tweet Share on Facebook June 15, 2011 Comment (11)For those who wondered what campaigns would look like in a post-Citizens United world, we may have our answer in a horribly offensive ad a group has produced to smear and insult California Democratic congressional candidate Janice Hahn.
