August 15, 2011
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The Bush I knew is a kind man with a gentle heart
Opinion Column
In a reprieve from the horror of the most recent terrorist attack, the nation’s attentions turned to the man who declared the war on terrorism, George W. Bush.
The governor, the soul mate and ... The End
Opinion Column
As the reporter said to the novelist: Why bother to make stuff up?
Fear comes back again the day after tragedy
Opinion Column
You know the feeling. You wake up filled with dread but, still groggy, you can’t put your finger on the reason. Possibilities flitter across the landscape of near-consciousness: An exam? A deadline? A speech? What day is it? Oh my God, Boston.
Dissecting Hillary Clinton shows positive traits
Opinion Column
No matter what Barack Obama does, he cannot escape the shadow of his former political opponent.
Little empathy is left in our American youth
Opinion Column
The recent rape conviction of two teenagers, one of whom also distributed a photo and sent cruel text messages about their victim, has captured the “bystander effect” in graphic and nauseating detail.
Hargitay remains silent on rape no more
Opinion Column
Mariska Hargitay, better known as “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” Detective Olivia Benson, is the human intersection of life and art.
The White House shows contempt for dissent
Opinion Column
To the world beyond the Beltway, it might not mean much that Bob Woodward of the famed Watergate duo went public with his recent White House run-in.
Droning on about feelings
Opinion Column
First they came for the drones. No, not the unmanned kind that kill strangers from a safe distance but the sort who sit in meeting rooms and repeat slogans until they absorb the proper way of thinking. The killers, figuratively speaking, are the diversity trainers who numb the human mind with slogans and rote instruction on emotional correctness.
Bowling for sanity a popular sport
Opinion Column
When President Obama said in his State of the Union address that “This time is different,” referring to his push for tighter gun-control laws, he wasn’t just whistling Dixie.
What did take place in Benghazi and why?
Opinion Column
We may never know exactly what happened in Benghazi the night Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that our response was short of optimum.
Four ladies from Burma
Opinion Column
Imagine living under a military dictatorship where free speech is punishable by incarceration, torture or worse. Imagine sitting in an 8-by-8-foot cell alone for 11 years with nothing but a small water jug, a “sink” for waste, and a 15-minute daily break for a cold bath in a communal tub. rker.
From I don't to I do
Opinion Column
More than perhaps anyone else in America, David Blankenhorn personifies the struggle so many have experienced over same-sex marriage.
The sirens of the Pentagon are blaring loudly
It must be true what they say about women — that they are smarter, stronger, wiser and wilier than your average Joe.
Lance Armstrong’s fallen as far as he can
To the world-weary, Lance Armstrong’s confession to Oprah was just one more in a series.
Guns without roses
Opinion Column
Unlike many who recently have joined the debate about gun rights, I have a long history with guns, which I proffer only in the interest of pre-empting the "elitist, liberal, swine, prostitute, blahblahblah" charge.
Plots and clots cause hysteria
Opinion Column
To be deemed a serious analyst at the moment seems to require a lot of hand-wringing and sneering over how awful Congress looked over the last few days as it rushed a fiscal cliff deal into law.
Some things are better left unsaid
‘Tis the season when columnists write mea culpas, make predictions and list their resolutions.
Life through a lens, lightly
In today’s world of social media, where everyone’s every little thing is on display, it is sometimes difficult to recall a time when exhibitionism wasn’t ubiquitous and was, in fact, not admired.
Un-hitching the middle class
Opinion Column
As politicians compete to prove who loves the middle class more, they’re missing the elephant and the donkey in the room.
The initiation of Susan Rice
Opinion column
A variety of insults have been deployed in opposition to Susan Rice's likely nomination for secretary of state: She is not qualified; she's too aggressive; she "misled" the public following the lethal attack on the American consulate in Libya.
The fly sees all at Obama, Romney power luncheon
Much speculation has followed the private luncheon between President Obama and Mitt Romney, about which little is known.
Fat lady’s aria opening act for new show
No matter which man you preferred, there is something unsatisfactory about the end of this race.
Critics busy exhausting the insignificant slip-ups
Oh, to be 12 again, the better to enjoy the presidential debates.
Obama gets knocked out in Denver debate
Contrary to conventional wisdom that debates are rarely, if ever, game-changers, the first presidential debate was a demolition derby.
Once upon a disappearance
I've written variations of this column a couple of times during the past 20 years, but certain occasions bear revisiting -- and surely the disappearance of a friend is one.
Now introducing President MSNBC
They came, they were adored, they conquered. I'm talking about the media -- and especially MSNBC, whose presence and influence in Charlotte were nearly as grand as the president's. They came, they were adored, they conquered.
The other war on women rages on
By now most sentient Americans have heard about the war on women. That is, the so-called Republican war on women, which has been framed as a battle waged by stodgy old white guys who want to deny women reproductive freedom.
Sharing the stage helpful to president
All the world's a stage, all right, and never so much as when presidential politics are in play.
Cory Booker's problem teaches lesson
The past several days of Newark Mayor Cory Booker's life have been painfully amusing to watch.
Justice Roberts unfairly under fire
Novelist John Grisham could hardly spin a more provocative fiction: The president and his surrogates mount an aggressive campaign to intimidate the chief justice of the United States, implying ruin and ridicule should he fail to vote in a pivotal case according to the ruling political party's wishes.
Campaigns push real issues aside
This past week’s news cycle has produced two narratives: One, Barack Obama is an evolutionary,
America right to protest others' plight
News that Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng and his family might be allowed to leave China for a university fellowship in the U.S. brought relief not only to Chen, but also to dissidents around the world.
Obama situation recalls story of Icarus
Either President Obama has wings of Kevlar -- or he has the most incompetent scheduling staff in White House history.
American politics gone to the dogs
I think it is fair to say that the shark has been permanently displaced by the dog.
Political 'girl fight' akin to playground tiff
For reasons that don't interest me much, "girl fights" have always had a particular tug on our imaginations.
Whispering campaigns
All it takes is one little twit. Or a tweet, as the case may be -- not that the two are mutually exclusive.
Martin case filled with appalling facts
There are so many appalling aspects to the Trayvon Martin case that it's hard to find a permanent home for outrage.
Moderation is good, moderately speaking
As the sun rises and dabs Caesars Palace with morning rouge, irony struts down the strip of casinos, shops and nightclubs.
Name reflects self image and perception
What's in a name? Most of us, perhaps regrettably, do not get to select our own names and are saddled with our parents' projections of what we might be. It is entertaining to consider what name we might select for ourselves and what that name might suggest about us. Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum recently got this chance when they selected their Secret Service code names.
No excuse for inappropriate language
In the wake of "Slutgate," the operative argument seems to have devolved into a barnyard taunt: "My pig isn't as bad as your pig."
Obama's getting his way out of GOP
Let me be blunt: If Republicans nominate Rick Santorum, they will lose.
Underneath it all, Romney cares
Mitt Romney's recent losses to Rick Santorum in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota revealed a truism that Romney might want to study -- but not too much!
Football player unjustly condemned
A Friday New York Times story that essentially indicted and convicted a 22-year-old star football player on an alleged sexual assault charge by an anonymous accuser should have begun as follows: "We know absolutely nothing about this rumor except what six people told us anonymously about this guy who they say sexually assaulted this girl. We don't know who she is or what she said, or really anything, but here's HIS name and what 'they' say about him."
The cruel gaze of inspection stings
My recent column about Michelle Obama, which I wrote to counter the negative responses to Jodi Kantor’s new book, “The Obamas,” apparently has been misinterpreted by some.
Women should be angry at insulters
I can’t speak for Michelle Obama, but call me an angry white woman. If the first lady isn’t angry, she certainly has every right to be.
Some more qualified than others
Sometimes people need to be fired and sometimes they shouldn’t be hired at all. That’s reality. The further, obvious reality is that several of those who do not deserve to have the jobs they seek are running for president of the United States.
Nice guys clashing, but Romney best bet
Iowa front-runners Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum have a little problem. Both are too nice to be mean to each other.
Temptation of Callista Gingrich revealing
Callista Gingrich has done something she might come to regret — succumbed to the Twitter fairy and opened the door to unwelcome scrutiny.
Hitchens made an incredible impact
The Republicans’ final debate preceding the Iowa caucuses is suddenly uncompelling. There is nothing to do but write about Christopher Hitchens, whose death has made the world immeasurably less interesting.
The GOP must have a death wish
"Anybody but Mitt" has become a familiar mantra throughout the Republican primary campaign. It is also weird and self-defeating.
Who ends up winning GOP nod unclear
Things sure do change fast around here. One week it’s Rick Perry, the next it’s Herman Cain. Now it’s ... Newt Gingrich?
Romney thoughtful about flip-flopping
When the Democratic National Committee circulates an ad attacking Mitt Romney even before the Iowa caucuses — and long before his presidential nomination is clear — one can be fairly certain that Romney is considered the greatest threat to a second Obama term.
Career advice for would-be presidents
Which brings us finally to Michele Bachmann and Mitt Romney, one of whom will be the nominee and very possibly the next president. Although both candidates have perfect hair, the nominee will not be a woman.
Ignorance is not always bliss
The headline on Democratic strategist Paul Begala’s recent Newsweek essay dodged subtlety: “The Stupid Party.”
Romney uniquely kind in political world
Humility is a tough trait to communicate in a presidential campaign that requires confident self-promotion, though it is often apparent in Romney’s debate face. He looks at others respectfully when they are speaking and his expression portrays patience and even a hopefulness that they will do well. Romney isn’t shy in reminding voters of his own accomplishments, but there are stories out there that tell another side to his character. Here’s one related to me recently by someone close to the campaign:
Cain's ad a lucky strike for campaign
Herman Cain's craggy-faced Chief of Staff Mark Block took a drag off a cigarette, blew smoke at the camera and sent the political class into coughing fits.
What the world needs now is music
Davi may not have the world on a string, but he may be on to something. In the wee small hours of the morning, nice ’n’ easy, Congress could take a trip to the moon on gossamer wings. This would be too marvelous for words.
Earning least contempt key to nomination
The operative maxim in cable television can be summed up as follows: Is it good teevee?
Vote for policies, not race or gender
This country has transcended much that was hideous and painful in the course of our evolution. It would be a shame to turn back now.
Failure teaches us more than success
By the time Steve Jobs' Wikipedia page had been adjusted to past tense, eulogists had added a footnote to his biography of success. Failure.
It’s a presidential, not ideological, race
Rather than worrying about whether Mormons worship the right God in the right way, Republicans should insist that only Mormons run for president.
Obama, Hitler, Hank Williams Jr. tie odd
Obama, Hitler and Hank Williams Jr. is not a group I’d have ever considered weaving together in one column. But then, who could have thought that the world would become so idiotic?
Saving the world one finger at a time
Unless you are an NPR loyalist, you may have missed a political drama unfolding far beneath the radar of human consciousness having to do with -- OK, open your eyes -- table saw safety.
Countdown to death riles emotions
I stayed up late Wednesday night in hopes that the U.S. Supreme Court would call off the execution of Troy Davis. Instead, at 11:08 p.m., he was pronounced dead.
Leaving behind a legacy of hysteria
The legacy of 9/11 can't be fully measured even now, but perhaps the most damaging aspect can be found in our national discourse.
U.S. politicians becoming celebrities
Americans are a fickle lot. They create celebrities out of those they adore, and then hate them for acting like celebrities.
What's wrong with these bleeping people?
Public profanity is nothing new, of course, but it inarguably has gotten worse.
Is it time to 'untrend' Sarah Palin?
The latest trend in the media world is "trending." That is, monitoring what people are buzzing about and directing coverage accordingly.- Kathleen Parker, syndicated columnist
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