politics

OPINION

Mar 3, 2010 12:04 PM CST

How the Wackos Think

Five kinds of political thinking that don't lead anywhere sane

(Newser) - Our political discourse hasn’t exactly seemed logical or intellectually sound lately, has it? Michael Weiss, writing for Reason Online , sees five lines of bad political thinking poisoning the water. They are:

Tragic Manicheanism: These see everything the government or society does as evil, everyone who opposes it as good.

...

Palin: I Joined
Fox for
Fairness,
Balance

Mar 3, 2010 5:36 AM CST

Palin: I Joined Fox for Fairness, Balance

She also rips White House on Leno appearance

(Newser) - So now we know why Sarah Palin joined Fox: to boost "fairness and balance" in the media. That's what she told Jay Leno in his second night back at the helm of the Tonight Show. "The mainstream media is quite broken and I think there needs to be...

Stop Being
So Wimpy,
Mr. President

OPINION

Feb 27, 2010 9:48 AM CST

Stop Being So Wimpy, Mr. President

He plays the '98-pound weakling' too often, says Dana Milbank

(Newser) - President Obama may be the world's most powerful man, but he "too often plays the 98-pound weakling," writes Dana Milbank. George Bush pushed through his agenda not with tact but through sheer political initimidation, and even Britain's Gordon Brown has been accused of throwing a Blackberry or two....

Rangel: I'm Not Guilty, Just Been 'Admonished'

UPDATED

Feb 25, 2010 7:02 PM CST

Rangel: I'm Not Guilty, Just Been 'Admonished'

Rep. denies ethics panel finds he broke travel rules

(Newser) - Though House ethics committee sources say Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel knowingly accepted Caribbean trips in violation of House rules that forbid hidden financing by corporations, the New York congressman tells Politico tonight he’s merely being “admonished” by the committee. I’m satisfied that when you...

How Paul Krugman
Became a Liberal

Feb 22, 2010 2:20 PM CST

How Paul Krugman Became a Liberal

New York Times economist wasn't always political

(Newser) - Believe it or not, Paul Krugman once worked for Ronald Reagan. It’s not that Krugman was conservative; it’s that he just wasn’t political. He was an academic, and only vaguely aware of the growing right-left divide. “I feel now like I was sleepwalking through the twenty...

The View Brings
Politics to Daytime TV

trends

Feb 8, 2010 10:47 AM CST

The View Brings Politics to Daytime TV

Goodbye, celebrity gossip, recipes—hello, health care, gay marriage

(Newser) - The View is bringing politics to the daytime talk show, once the realm of cooking tips and fashion advice. Discussion of topics like health care is "one of the reasons I watch it," an audience member tells the Los Angeles Times . "When they do the fashion stuff,...

Assessing John Edwards'
Comeback Chances

ASK THE SPIN DOCTORS

Feb 7, 2010 9:59 AM CST

Assessing John Edwards' Comeback Chances

Atlantic polls image-makers on how to repair the damage

(Newser) - John Edwards’ public image hit new lows the past week, but the likes Richard Nixon, Eliot Spitzer, and Michael Milken have made successful comebacks, the Atlantic notes, in polling political spin doctors about Edwards’ comeback chances:

Bob Shrum: "The reality is so contrary to the image that he projected,

...

Obama Turns Into a
'Deficit Peacock'

paul krugman

Jan 29, 2010 10:40 AM CST

Obama Turns Into a 'Deficit Peacock'

His gimmicky idea to cut spending doesn't bode well for the nation

(Newser) - President Obama's gimmicky idea to keep the budget in check by freezing non-defense spending shows he's fallen into the "deficit peacock" camp, writes Paul Krugman. The camp abounds with politicians who support superficial—but politically popular—methods to present the illusion of fiscal discipline. It won't work, and "...

Brown's Wife
Takes It Off
in Video

Jan 22, 2010 6:12 AM CST

Brown's Wife Takes It Off in Video

Some politicians like it hot

(Newser) - Stripping off clothing appears to be a family trait of one-time centerfold and new Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown. Wife Gail Huff struts in a barely-there black bikini then whips off her top in a newly surfaced 1984 music video The Girl With the Curious Hand by Digney Fingus. The vid,...

SF Pol's Resolution: I'll Drop F-Bomb at Every Meeting

SWORN IN

Jan 10, 2010 6:14 AM CST

SF Pol's Resolution: I'll Drop F-Bomb at Every Meeting

Colleagues, bloggers just shake heads at Chris Daly

(Newser) - After being taken to task by a local alt-weekly for his off-color language, a San Francisco city supervisor has made it his New Year’s resolution to use “f---,” or a variation thereof, at every board meeting this year. Chris Daly, the 37-year-old representative of the city’s...

Right-Wingers
Go Ballistic
Over Avatar

SCREEN SCREEDS

Jan 5, 2010 7:55 AM CST

Right-Wingers Go Ballistic Over Avatar

Anti-military sci-fi 'hippies' giving conservatives fits

(Newser) - Here's one more thing that's sure to rocket hyper-popular Avatar to even greater heights: right-wingers hate it. America's "prickly cadre of political conservatives" can't stand its eco message, negative portrayal of vicious military contractors and its "can't-we-all-get along counterculture vibe," writes Patrick Goldstein in the Los Angeles ...

Upheaval Looms as White Majorities Fade

Voting districts morph as minority power grows

(Newser) - A sea change in American politics looms as white majorities are fading in a burgeoning number of voting districts across America. Nearly half of House members represent districts with at least 30% minority populations, double the rate in the 90s, and a fraction of what's bound to occur in the...

How Obama Screwed Up

OPINION

Nov 27, 2009 3:39 AM CST

How Obama Screwed Up

Lack of bipartisanship undercuts campaign promises

(Newser) - It's polarized, lobbyist-laden business as usual in Washington, and President Obama is largely to blame despite his campaign pledges to change the way business is done in the capital, writes Fred Barnes. Obama mistook his personal election victory for a victory for liberalism and failed to try hard enough for...

What Is it
About Palin?
Hard to Say

'EPITOMe OF CONSERVATIVENESS'

Nov 24, 2009 4:17 AM CST

What Is it About Palin? Hard to Say

'Issues? Where are you going with that?' fan asks interviewer

(Newser) - What it is exactly that captivates supporters of Sarah Palin? That's hard to say, especially for them. They gush about their gal because she stands for "freedom" and "realness," and because she's the "epitome of conservativeness" in a video by the New Left Media. But when...

In Piling On Palin, Liberals Make Fools of Themselves

OPINION

Nov 19, 2009 5:30 PM CST

In Piling On Palin, Liberals Make Fools of Themselves

...and legitimize her as a true rogue

(Newser) - Watching liberals vilify Sarah Palin all over again bothers Lee Siegel. He finds her terrifying as a political prospect—"some of her positions, like her religious opposition to health-care reform and her opposition to stem-cell research, strike me as just shy of sociopathic"—but as an American story,...

Is Palin Seeking
Job on LinkedIn?

THE UNEMPLOYED

Oct 19, 2009 6:46 AM CDT

Is Palin Seeking Job on LinkedIn?

Poster's also open to 'business deals'

(Newser) - Guess who's joined LinkedIn and is eager for gainful employment? A poster identified as always-surprising GOP rogue Sarah Palin is actively seeking "job inquiries" on the Internet network for professionals. Anyone interested can peruse the posted resume, which touts "Governor, State of Alaska" as the most recent gig....

9-Year-Old to Obama:
'Why Do People
Hate You?'

Oct 15, 2009 9:45 PM CDT

9-Year-Old to Obama: 'Why Do People Hate You?'

Replies prez: 'Some of it is just what's called politics.'

(Newser) - President Obama took some heat today in New Orleans for continued slow progress in rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina, but perhaps the most pointed question he got all day came from a 9-year-old. “Why do people hate you?” Tyren Scott asked Obama, microphone in hand, during a public meeting. “...

Conservatives' Intellectual Savior? Try Glenn Beck

Oct 2, 2009 11:20 AM CDT

Conservatives' Intellectual Savior? Try Glenn Beck

He doesn't always resort to sound bites

(Newser) - Today's conservative movement is largely brain-dead, complains Steven F. Hayward. The deep thinkers of yesteryear have given way to shallow sloganeers from the mass media. Who will be the movement's intellectual savior? Hayward sees hope in an unexpected person: Glenn Beck. Yes, he weeps on cue, but he alone is...

Berlusconi
Adds Michelle
to His 'Tan
Obama' Dig

Sep 29, 2009 2:35 AM CDT

Berlusconi Adds Michelle to His 'Tan Obama' Dig

'Even his wife is suntanned,' Italian leader chuckles

(Newser) - Daffy Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi thought his first joke about President Obama being "tan" was so funny he repeated it —and this time included Michelle in the fun. "I bring greetings from a man, what's his name? Some tanned guy—Barack Obama," Berlusconi said...

Five kinds of political thinking that don't lead anywhere sane

She also rips White House on Leno appearance

He plays the '98-pound weakling' too often, says Dana Milbank

Rep. denies ethics panel finds he broke travel rules

New York Times economist wasn't always political

Goodbye, celebrity gossip, recipes—hello, health care, gay marriage

Atlantic polls image-makers on how to repair the damage

His gimmicky idea to cut spending doesn't bode well for the nation

Some politicians like it hot

Colleagues, bloggers just shake heads at Chris Daly

Anti-military sci-fi 'hippies' giving conservatives fits

Zooey Deschanel, Al Franken among two-field stars

Voting districts morph as minority power grows

Lack of bipartisanship undercuts campaign promises

'Issues? Where are you going with that?' fan asks interviewer

...and legitimize her as a true rogue

Poster's also open to 'business deals'

Replies prez: 'Some of it is just what's called politics.'

He doesn't always resort to sound bites

'Even his wife is suntanned,' Italian leader chuckles