News
The Story That He’s Sticking With
The Wall Street Journal today editorializes about Senator Obama's reticence regarding his time at Columbia University. Although he has, as someone or other recently pointed out, written two autobiographical books, he has paid scant attention to the years spent on...
OK — My Bad — But I Get To Keep My Job
“I really don’t believe making mistakes means you have to give up your career,” Representative Charles B. Rangel said at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday. Already dealing with the backdraft from several other scandals, eternal Harlem Congressman and...
A Conversation with Khrushchev
I had a conversation recently with Sergei Khrushchev, son of the late former Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, as part of my work with the Smithsonian-affiliated Cold War Museum. Mr. Khrushchev is a member of the museum’s advisory board. Our discussion was...
“Nixon In Hollywood” On WNYC Tomorrow
Tomorrow at noon EST, the Leonard Lopate show at WNYC radio (93.9 FM or 820 AM in the New York area, also streamed live at www.wnyc.org and downloadable via podcasts soon after broadcast) will air a segment on the subject "Nixon In Hollywood." The films to be...
Nixonland Nitpick 9
This one is less about a factual error than an unwarranted inference. On page 602, Nixonland discusses RN's speech to the nation on economic policy: "He then named the desperado they would slay together, with a hint of anti-Semitic code: 'We must protect the dollar...
The New Two Americas And The Edwards Zone
Yesterday brought some news that was surely welcome in Democratic circles. When last heard from, former senator and 2004 vice-presidential candidate John Edwards was ready to visit the campuses of America, starting next Monday at Hofstra University, and continuing to...
Past And Present
On Fresh Air today, Terry Gross talked with New York Times reporter David Kirkpatrick, who has been writing a series of biographical profiles of Senator McCain. The whole hour is devoted to their discussion and they cover a lot of interesting ground. Mr. Kirkpatrick...
WWRNS?
Speculation regarding WWRNS --- What Would RN Say? --- is generally a mug's game. (With, of course, notable exceptions.) That said, I can guarantee you that he would have said the following three things: (1) Whoever slipped Rudy whatever it was that resulted in that...
The “Do As We Say, Not As We Do” Party
One of the things that bothers me about the current Republican Party is their “do as we say, not as we do” philosophy. The latest case in point is the actions as Governor of the VP nominee. Now, we are all aware of the controversy surrounding Sarah Palin’s daughter’s...
It Didn’t Start With Palin
Sarah Palin hit a home run with her acceptance speech at the RNC Wednesday night. She was poised, confident, eloquent, witty, and her delivery matched that of any politico or communicator in recent memory. Fred Barnes of Fox News said it best, in his post-speech...