WASHINGTON — Welcome to what I’ve called “the politics of self-esteem.” By this, I mean that increasing numbers of people, on both the right and left and most with good intentions, have become politically engaged because it makes them feel better. It raises their self-esteem. This phenomenon predates Donald Trump’s candidacy, but it helps explain […]
Op-Eds
Posted inOp-Eds
GOP candidates try to come across mean
WASHINGTON — It was billed as a foreign policy debate, but the latest encounter among Republican presidential candidates was in large part an acting competition over who could convey the impression of being the baddest, meanest foe of the terrorists — and of Hillary Clinton and President Obama. Before his re-election as governor of very […]
advertisement
Posted inOp-Eds
Cruz strategies have him leading Trump
If there’s any lesson from Tuesday’s debate, it’s that six months after his entry into the Republican presidential race, no one has any better idea of how to handle Donald Trump than when he first got in. Las Vegas highlighted how Trump has established alpha-dog dominance in the Republican field. He’s not only the front-runner […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Terrorists don’t walk around wearing signs
Terrorism is not going away. We saw that in the closing of the Los Angeles schools after what was deemed a “credible” threat. The threat turned out to be not real, but with the country under heightened alarm, local authorities have become hyper-vigilant. That was 650,000 students sent or kept home. When a good piece […]
Posted inOp-Eds
GOP debate didn’t settle major issues
Each of the Republican presidential candidates brings something good to the race for the GOP nomination and some things not so good. In the fifth and final GOP debate of the year, the candidates on the main stage, and even a few on the “undercard,” presented ideas and positions that many Republican voters would consider […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Paris climate accord follows pattern of useless agreements
WASHINGTON — A week ago Saturday, Barack Obama gained the second jewel in his foreign policy triple crown: the Paris climate accord. It follows his Iran nuclear deal and awaits but the closing of Guantanamo to complete his glittering legacy. To be sure, Obama will not be submitting the climate agreement for Senate ratification. It […]
Posted inOp-Eds
West should encourage the forces of reform
NEW YORK — Radical Islamic terrorism. Apparently, the phrase — if you can actually say it — has mystical powers. At Tuesday’s Republican debate, the candidates once more took pains to point out that they would speak the dreaded words that President Obama and Hillary Clinton dare not. “We have a president who is unwilling […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Trump does not speak for America
WASHINGTON — Among the many maddening aspects of Donald Trump’s domination of American political discourse are the twin challenges he poses to clear thinking. You can overstate his significance and the power of the forces he is unleashing. You can understate them, too. We have heard the words “Trump leads in the polls” for so […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Ohio newspaper editor fired, but not silenced, over NRA
Five days after the shootings in San Bernardino, California, Jan Larson McLaughlin sat down in her home office on her day off and wrote her weekly editorial for the Sentinel-Tribune, circulation 9,000, in Bowling Green, Ohio. McLaughlin has worked for the newspaper for 31 years, the past 2 1/2 as editor-in-chief. She usually writes her […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Startup slump contributes to sluggish economy
WASHINGTON — There’s more discouraging news about American business — specifically about entrepreneurship. We confidently assume that we have the world’s most entrepreneurial nation, and the proof seems overwhelming. Google, Facebook and Twitter are but three (relatively) recent startups that have become corporate titans. Before them, there were others: Microsoft, Intel and FedEx. We seem […]