Auburn’s City Council and mayor seem determined to blow up the bridges between Auburn and Lewiston and have already sent out the sappers to lay the charges. I don’t recall any of them running for office on a pledge to do this. Nonetheless, the newly elected council has cut off Auburn’s share of funding for […]
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Hope in survivorship: Reflections on the Stanford rape case
I have read brilliant barings-of-the-soul from the Stanford victim and from too many other women; seen spot-on sound-bite memes that use gallows humor to give us a feeble smile through our tears; and viewed scathing rebuttals to the judge, to the father, to the young man, and to his friend, all of whom twist themselves […]
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Stop the scheming, Bernie, and let it go
“Drop your plans and schemes,” Thomas Cromwell advises doomed Queen Anne Boleyn in “Wolf Hall.” “Put down the burden of them.” Bernie Sanders could use similar counsel. He’s now behind Hillary Clinton by almost 400 pledged delegates and nearly 4 million popular votes. Spare us the commentary on the crowds, the passion and the noise. […]
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Weak employment report could affect campaigns
WASHINGTON — Suppose you are advising Hillary Clinton, now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. What worries you? Well, probably the stubbornness of Bernie Sanders, who won’t admit he’s lost. And, of course, the unpredictability of Donald Trump, whose outlandish pronouncements defy conventional political wisdom. But what really ought to frighten you is the government’s […]
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Getting to know Hillary Clinton
WASHINGTON — The five days in 2008 between the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary were Hillary Clinton’s crucible. They showed what she’s made of and that she should never be underestimated. After Barack Obama’s overwhelming victory in Iowa, the polls all suggested he was about to deliver the second shot of a one-two […]
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Opposition grows to China expansion
On June 4, in a speech given at Singapore’s annual Asia Security Summit, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter proposed Asian and Pacific nations increase defense cooperation. Ashton suggested nations with common security interests should expand on an already existing “security network” that has emerged during the past 25 years. Ashton phrased his request carefully, […]
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Trump ready to take on Hillary
NEW YORK — If there is one explanation for Donald Trump’s success it is this: Unlike most Republicans, he fights back. He may not have the late Muhammad Ali’s finesse, but he sees himself as more than capable of dealing a “knockout” punch to Hillary Clinton in November. That ought to be the goal of […]
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A history lesson Paul Ryan didn’t take
In 1933, Franz von Papen was hungry for revenge. Having been ousted as chancellor of Germany through political subterfuge, he wanted payback against the former ally who had succeeded him. So he struck a new alliance, this one with Adolf Hitler, leader of a rising popular movement called the Nazis, and maneuvered to have him […]
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Ryan forgets that integrity and courage matter
Out of the corner of his eye, Paul Ryan must frequently see the Robert A. Taft Memorial and Carillon at the base of Capitol Hill. The bell tower memorializes a senator who so embodied his party that he was called “Mr. Republican.” He was the son of a president, wanted desperately to be one himself, […]
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Abandoning globalization would be a mistake
WASHINGTON — Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO of General Electric (2015 revenues: $117 billion), gave an interesting speech the other day that illuminates some pressing questions about the future of globalization. This involves politics as much as economics. It should be no surprise that the three remaining major presidential candidates (Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Donald […]