WASHINGTON — “The best darn change-maker I ever met in my entire life.” So said Bill Clinton in making the case for his wife at the Democratic National Convention. Considering that Bernie Sanders ran as the author of a political revolution and Donald Trump as the man who would “kick over the table” (to quote […]
Op-Eds
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Dislike of Hillary palpable, puzzling
What if Hillary Clinton were a man? What if she were a 68-year-old man rather than a 68-year-old woman? Would we think differently of her? Her raised voice would be lower. She would be better at physically commanding the stage. Her indomitability might be seen as manly. If she were taller and bigger, might she […]
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Many are feeling ‘voiceless and invisible’
WASHINGTON — Columnists get complaints. After my last column (which argued that maybe the economy is better than we say), I got one from Alice Lang of Spartanburg, South Carolina. She accused me (politely) of ignoring the long-term unemployed, of which she is one. After our conversation, I asked her to put her thoughts in […]
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Bernie zealots disrespect their own candidate
One hesitates to discuss the small group of Bernie Sanders followers throwing tantrums at the Democratic convention. Some 90 percent of Sanders backers say they have already moved their support to Hillary Clinton. But when a tiny number — some with duct tape on their mouths saying “silenced” — marched out of the hall and […]
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Corruption stains Mexico’s president
The word “impunity” haunts President Enrique Pena Nieto of Mexico. It may well scar his historical legacy. For angry and disenchanted Mexican citizens across the political spectrum, “impunity” means two things simultaneously. It signifies the deep and embedded injustice within their nation’s governing institutions and society. When shouted by protestors, it expresses deep distrust of […]
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Bill Clinton’s most important speech
PHILADELPHIA — It was hard to imagine that Bill Clinton could make as powerful a speech on behalf of his wife as he did on behalf of Barack Obama four years ago. Advocating Obama’s re-election required an extended argument about public policy, a persuasive mobilization of facts and figures, and a series of pokes at […]
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Why are so many people afraid of black people?
We’re not going to spend a lot of time talking about what happened. Not that Austin Police Officer Bryan Richter’s June 2015 takedown — let’s not dignify it by calling it an “arrest” — of 26-year-old school teacher Breaion King is not worthy of discussion. As seen in a dashcam video unearthed last week by […]
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Trump rides tide of unmet expectations
WASHINGTON — It’s the revolution of rising expectations again. Watching Donald Trump last week, I thought of Alexis de Tocqueville, the French political philosopher whose “Democracy in America,” published in the 1830s, remains the most insightful study of our national character. But it was de Tocqueville’s other masterpiece, “The Old Regime and the French Revolution” […]
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Trump dynasty takes over the GOP
Watching the GOP convention, you could be forgiven for believing that almost all the brightest stars in the Republican firmament are Trumps. Members of the Trump family were among the best, most high-profile performers. During the first two nights of the convention, the hall began to empty as soon as the Trumps left the stage, […]
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Notes from Cleveland: A rebellion and acquiescence
WASHINGTON — The main purpose of the modern political convention is to produce four days of televised propaganda. The subsidiary function, now that nominees are invariably chosen in advance, is structural: Unify the party before the final battle. In Cleveland, the Republicans achieved not unity, but only a rough facsimile. The internal opposition consisted of […]