David Schrag examines his navel and the world around it
This was McCain Chief Strategist Steve Schmidt, speaking today on Meet the Press, on the definition of victory in Iraq: Here is what victory means in Iraq: It means an Iraqi government that is able to protect its borders and it means an Iraqi government that is able to protect its people, that moves forward [...]
Great roundtable discussion on today’s This Week. It’s so refreshing to hear smart people talking about important issues without simply yelling at one another. It’s too bad that our presidential candidates can’t look us in the face and explain why we can’t have everything we want. They ought to play this tape before the next [...]
Take a look at John McCain’s proposal for health care reform: While still having the option of employer-based coverage, every family will receive a direct refundable tax credit – effectively cash – of $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families to offset the cost of insurance. Families will be able to choose the insurance provider [...]
Honestly. Is there any job anywhere that can adequately prepare someone to be President of the United States? Any combination of jobs? Any life experience? No. The answer is simply no. Senator? One voice in a hundred. Governor? No finger on the button. Fortune 100 CEO? Wait ’til you have to deal with separation of [...]
Another great read from the New Yorker. Packer shows that while Republicans have been able to win recent elections by tapping into voters’ conceptual dislike of taxes and politicians, they are losing their places in government because they don’t care much about governing. Just as Americans hate Congress but love their own senators and representatives, [...]
As I noted recently, lots of people like to talk about the importance of the economy in this election, even though very few people have the slightest understanding of economic theory or important economic truths. One way to improve the situation would be to force everyone to read James Surowiecki’s columns in the New Yorker [...]
If this election turns out once again to be about “The Economy, Stupid,” I’m afraid the “stupid” label will apply more to the voters than the campaign staffers. How, exactly, is the average voter supposed to decide which candidate’s plans for the economy make the most sense? Or even to know how to define “makes [...]
My college classmate and one-time tenant Michael Pahre writes an excellent neighborhood blog. Tonight he informs me that there was a “dungeon” right down the street from me. Its “mistress” and her husband (the master?) were arrested last week for, according to the Allston-Brighton Tab, “sexual conduct for a fee and allowing a premise to [...]
Congress is working on an energy bill, and yesterday the Senate agreed to a provision that would mandate higher fuel efficiency for automobiles. Fuel efficiency is not a bad thing, but this is not the best way to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels. It would be better to let gas prices go up, or [...]
Most of what Matt Miller says makes sense. He’s the author of The Two Percent Solution, which just makes too much sense for it to have any impact. Here’s what Miller has to say about Republican anti-tax rants.