What's the best strategy when your opponent lies? The obvious move is to call them on it, but analyses of viewers reveals that "he said, she said" arguments leave observers confused and apathetic.
Fascist writer Westbrook Pegler, an avowed racist who Sarah Palin approvingly quoted in her acceptance speech, expressed a fervent hope about my father, Robert F. Kennedy.
Here is a gem from a still embargoed portion of Washington Post reporter Barton Gelman's book on Cheney: the vice president turned down a request from Bush to take charge of the federal response to Katrina.
Everything gets slick in Alaska, I guess. Even the past. Palin didn't ask Wasilla's librarian to remove the books. She was sounding out on her feelings about an agenda. Of removing the books.
In just fifty days you will be, in theory, the most powerful man in the world. I say "in theory" because your first challenge will in fact be your country's decline in power. So, what is the reaction of a new America to a new world order?
The problem is everybody is writing down debt and these writedowns are what is leading to events like the Lehman collapse. There is no reason to think we are anywhere near done with these problems.
In a country that yearns for post-partisan change, the Obama campaign risks sounding too partisan and like more of the same.
He was a colleague and friend. I have no mind to try to pay adequate tribute to him here. Those should soar and will come later. What I want to note instead, just briefly, are a few personal recollections.
With cultures and traditions as old as any on the planet, island nations have survived colonization, world wars and nuclear testing. But they will not survive climate change.
At some point it becomes hard to blame the traditional media for its improper coverage. Clearly, the McCain/Palin lies have not gone unnoticed -- yet, there is barely a blip in the polls.
The next time the US physically invades Pakistani territory to take out suspected militants, it may meet the Pakistan army head on.
For most of us it is time to hunker down. Time to hope we don't get that phone call: "Are you OK?" The answer, for all of us in New York, is no, we are not.
The Millennials are far more interested in getting beyond party identification altogether and in focusing on cooperative efforts to make America and the world a better place.
