Ineffective Activism: Don’t Be An Asshole
Being an asshole is not going to garner sympathy. In fact, being a destructive asshole can end up garnering support for the other side.
Tagged: debate
Maybe Today I’ll Debate George Carlin
Why do I have to be silenced if you are so unequivocally correct? I should be fodder. You should relish the debate and crush me and hold me up as a warning to others, but the urge is to silence.
The Debate, Or Whatever That Was, And That Old Familiar Feeling
What we now have before us in this debate is the distilling of President Donald J. Trump to his purer, concentrated form.
Writing the Lead on the Way to the Ballpark: Debate Edition
Pictured is the Versailles rail accident in 1842, perhaps a preview of the coming debate when the candidates will be almost as old as the painting
About Last Night: Fifty Shades of Fearful Beige in Democratic Debate
Joe Biden in the front, with others thinking, wishing, and hoping it wasn’t so, but no one in the Democratic field actually doing anything about it.
But Now Sit in Silence
While the country appears more divided than ever, I wonder if there are families like ours-those who felt that divide at one point. But now sit in silence.
Briefly, on the STEM vs Humanities debate
It’s one thing to be critical of some of the excesses. It’s quite another to suggest that there’s something inherently wrong with people who work within STEM disciplines.
Democratic Debates: Biden in the Middle
Night two of the second Democratic Debate has come and gone with a very simple dynamic: Joe Biden was center stage both in where he was standing and in being the focus of incoming fire.
Debatable: The Slog in South Beach Part 1
10 candidates, almost as many moderators, 2 languages, 1 glaring technical glitch, and a whole lot of crosstalk: Night one of the Democratic debates is in the books.
2016 Presidential Debate No. 1
We knew it would eventually come to this. It had to. And now, here it is. Also, what Burt Likko plans do be doing during the debate, and chances are, you’re going to be jealous of him when you learn it.
President Obama Reintroduces Himself
The night of October 16 was a good one for President Obama. After more than a month of sounding, looking, and acting like a tired man who resents being made to undergo the electioneering...
Paul Ryan Was Right (I’m Serious)
As much as I’d love to revel in Ryan’s tax-evasion during last night’s Vice Presidential Debate, I have to—oh it hurts!—agree with him. I’ve written in the past about why exactly I loathe Paul...
The Campaign Is a Performance
I maintain that Barack Obama was terrible during last week’s debate and that many liberals — goaded on by a political media desperate for a new storyline and thrilled with the prospect that November’s election...
What Happened to Barack Obama?
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jebDlVAcpGo] Perhaps the most commonly asked question in the wake of last night’s debate is, What the hell was wrong with Barack Obama? Some ideas are more plausible than others. My sense is...
The Romney Rebound
The first thing that should be said before any estimation of tonight’s debate is that, historically, presidential debates are not the “game-changers” all of the hype would lead one to believe. That doesn’t mean...
My Advice for Both Candidates in Tonight’s Debate
In a way, Romney and Obama both need to do the same thing tonight. And no, I’m not talking just about winning. Both Romney and Obama need to make the case for why their...
While David Brooks Is Not Mitt Romney, He Very Much Remains David Brooks
Have you seen today’s David Brooks op-ed yet? It’s a little weird; but, then again, he’s been a little weird ever since the campaign began in earnest (and, not incidentally, Romney began losing). In...
In Which I Dissect One Harvard Professor’s Tabloid Cover Story (…At Length)
I won’t waste time giving you the context. Niall Ferguson wrote the cover story for Newsweek’s August 19th issue. It is an affront to sound reasoning, intellectual curiosity, and charitable discourse. Here’s why.
“An Incompatible Combination”
I’ve watched every presidential debate thus far in the Republican primary. And I’ve done more than my fair share of laughing, weeping, and sometimes just staring blankly at the television screen. In a way,...
Political Trolls: What the GOP Hath Sowed
Scott’s post last week attacking the Republican behavior before, during and after the health care debate generated quite the lively discussion in the comments thread. Scott and many primarily left-of-center commenters argued that the...
