News

Duck, Mrs. Clin— Uh, Mrs. Nixon

Col. Gene Boyer, middle, escorting Pat Nixon in Vietnam, 1969 Gosh, it would be fun to be an eyewitness sitting in the Clinton War Room today, hearing the Official Explainers duck and dodge the latest round on Mrs. Clinton's "misspeak" of her dangerous arrival in...

John McCain — A “Realistic Idealist”

Much has been made ---and rightly so--- over Senator Obama's speech last week about race. One would hope that the important speech Senator McCain made yesterday to the World Affairs Council in Los Angeles will receive similar attention. Senator McCain declares himself...

The Non-Return Return of John Hughes

Yesterday's LA Times featured an article by Patrick Goldstein pointing out that the current release starring Owen Wilson, is based on an old treatment written by John Hughes, the man who gave us 1980s (and early 1990s) classics like The Breakfast Club, Pretty In Pink,...

Is Michael Gerson Right About Obama?

The Times of London today has an interview with Michael Gerson, the former speechwriter for President Bush, now a Washington Post columnist, in which he repeats the argument, frequently found in his recent Post columns, that Barack Obama would be a more formidable...

Forty Years On

Tariq Ali is sixty-four years old. But instead of asking age appropriate questions like “Will you still need me?” and “Will you still feed me?” he is asking “Where Has All the Rage Gone?” Prompted by a TV show called “Revolution 68”, he asked that very question last...

Tuesdays with Franklin

When FDR arrived, the sunlight was already reflecting off the perfectly polished silver coffee pot sitting in the center of the table. He greeted his tablemate heartily. “Good morning, Dick. What’s that you’ve got there?” he asked, pointing to a round red object...

The New Nixon’s Man in Taipei

This Saturday, I had the pleasure to observe the presidential elections in Taiwan. The country’s fourth direct presidential election, it was a historic moment seeing the Kuomingtang (KMT) return to power in a landslide victory after eight years in opposition to the...

Nixon and Race

Senator Obama's Philadelphia speech has prompted a New York Times article on how politicians talk about race.  It includes an attack on President Nixon: Race did not disappear entirely from presidential campaigns; it went under cover. It lay buried in code phrases...