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Stephen Schlesinger
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Stephen Schlesinger is an Adjunct Fellow at the Century Foundation in New York City. He is the former Director of the World Policy Institute at the New School University in New York City (1997-2006). Mr. Schlesinger received his BA from Harvard University and his JD from Harvard Law School. In the early 1970s, he edited and published The New Democrat Magazine. Thereafter he spent four years as a staff writer at Time Magazine. For twelve years, he served as Governor Mario Cuomo’s speechwriter and foreign policy advisor. In the mid 1990s, he worked at the United Nations at Habitat, the agency dealing with global cities. He is coeditor of Journals 1952-2000 by Arthur Schlesinger Jr. published by Penguin in 2007. He is also the author of three books, including Act of Creation: The Founding of The United Nations which won the 2004 Harry S. Truman Book Award; Bitter Fruit: The Story of the U.S. Coup in Guatemala (with Stephen Kinzer), which was listed as a New York Times "Notable" book for 1982 and has sold over 100,000 copies; and The New Reformers. He is a specialist on the foreign policy of the Clinton and Bush Administrations. He is a frequent contributor to magazines and newspapers, including The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Nation Magazine, and The New York Observer. In 1978, he was a finalist for the National Magazine Award. He has appeared on CNN, Fox TV, NPR and other media outlets. His website is: stephenschlesinger.com. He can be reached at schlesinger@tcf.org.

Entries by Stephen Schlesinger

Obama's Impeachment Fear Over Surveillance

(263) Comments | Posted June 11, 2013 | 6:26 PM

As regards the newly revealed surveillance program, there is one matter not addressed by political critics and media commentators: the issue of impeachment. The argument is as follows: President Obama is caught in circumstances somewhat similar to what President Truman faced over the atomic bomb. The programs presided over by...

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Obama's Tenure, So Far

(94) Comments | Posted May 31, 2013 | 9:05 AM

One of the strengths of a great leader is his or her ability to change the national conversation on issues of importance. Whether one agrees with President Obama or not, one has to concede that he has introduced subjects over his five years in office that have been neglected or...

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Ex-State Dept. Advisor: Obama Too Deferential to Military

(12) Comments | Posted February 27, 2013 | 10:47 AM

The Holbrooke/Obama controversy is heating up again. As Obama's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan from 2009 until his death in 2010, Richard Holbrooke, the renowned hard-charging American diplomat, stirred up considerable controversy in the administration by strongly pressing for negotiations with the Taliban over the objections of Obama's White...

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Who Speaks for the UN?

(6) Comments | Posted February 12, 2013 | 1:17 PM

In his 1961 inaugural address, John Kennedy called the United Nations one of the most important pillars of American security. He devoted an entire paragraph to the organization, saying:

To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments...
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The Ordeal of Chuck Hagel

(1) Comments | Posted February 1, 2013 | 7:11 AM

When has a nominee for Secretary of Defense had to prepare a 120-page summary of his views on foreign and defense policy? Well, the nomination of a former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel has come to this after bitter criticism from right-wing Republicans and some Democrats demanding explanations of some words...

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A Lull in the Iranian Crisis?

(84) Comments | Posted January 15, 2013 | 9:20 AM

Ever since last year's U.S. presidential election race ended, the much-discussed concerns over Iran's nuclear build-up have vanished from the national debate. Yes, there are occasional press reports about Iranian machinations -- for example, is Iran tinkering with new nuclear production techniques or is it conducting...

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Axelrod: Obama Never Considered Rice for Secretary of State

(73) Comments | Posted January 8, 2013 | 12:22 PM

There is one curious fact that still remains unsettled since the now-famous Susan Rice imbroglio of last December which led to her withdrawal from consideration for the job as U.S. Secretary of State -- namely did President Obama ever really consider her seriously for the position? We know that Obama...

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Obama's Greatest Legacy

(39) Comments | Posted December 13, 2012 | 7:32 AM

The saga of Obamacare is turning out to be the success story of the Obama presidency. What a ride it has been! The tale begins with President Obama in the throes of the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression deciding to put forth a plan for extending health coverage...

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One Election Result: No US Attack on Iran

(130) Comments | Posted November 7, 2012 | 12:47 PM

There will be no war with Iran in President Obama's second term. As a result of his reelection, Obama is now in an unassailable position to prevent the outbreak of any conflict with Tehran and, as a leader averse to further wars (as in Afghanistan and Iraq), he will not...

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Winners: Romney on Style, Obama on Substance

(0) Comments | Posted October 4, 2012 | 12:53 PM

The consensus among media commentators has been that Mitt Romney won overwhelmingly last night's debate with Barack Obama. Yet in the cold hard light of today, there is a new and more accurate reality -- namely that, yes, Romney won on style, but he lost badly to Obama on substance....

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Romney's Choice: It's Birther From Here to Eternity

(13) Comments | Posted August 24, 2012 | 3:23 PM

Mitt Romney's turn to the right grows sharper with every new campaign day.

At week's end, Romney cracked a birther-type joke at a campaign appearance, making a play for the deep crazies of his party who might still be harboring doubts about his ultra-conservative credentials.

He...

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Raul Ryan -- Sarah Palin Redux?

(150) Comments | Posted August 11, 2012 | 3:19 PM

The choice of Paul Ryan is a sign of weakness not of strength. With the election less than 90 days away and the popular vote now trending away from him, Romney apparently now feels the need to select a highly speculative vice-presidential nominee who, yes, can enrapture his often-doubtful conservative...

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Romney's Panic Attack

(184) Comments | Posted August 10, 2012 | 8:46 PM

Republican candidate Mitt Romney told Chuck Todd of NBC on Thursday that he was upset by the attacks of President Obama's campaign on him. He now wants "an agreement" that both campaigns refrain from "attacks on business or family or taxes or things of that nature." What planet does Mitt...

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FDR's 1936 Lessons for Obama

(838) Comments | Posted July 13, 2012 | 8:47 AM

A Democratic president is in trouble. He is seeking a second term in the midst of a grim economic crisis -- one of the worst ever to hit the United States. The average unemployment rate is an astonishing 16.9% -- although it has dropped from an equally astounding 24.9%. The...

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An Emerging Leader

(4) Comments | Posted June 29, 2012 | 10:39 AM

I hosted a luncheon last week for David Maraniss, author of the new book, Barack Obama, The Story at the Luncheon Society in New York City. Maraniss's book traces Obama's childhood, teenage years and his twenties with meticulous detail and exceptional insight. He interviewed hundreds of people who knew Obama...

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The Grating Gecko

(0) Comments | Posted June 7, 2012 | 2:35 PM

In March, the New York Times reported that the Geico Corporation was planning to run a new ad campaign on behalf of its insurance company with its unusually ubiquitous, increasingly talkative and remarkably bothersome gecko who is now slated to be traveling across America.

The little green...

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The Republican Nightmare: A Third and Fourth Party?

(277) Comments | Posted January 29, 2012 | 2:47 PM

As one assesses the Republican primary race, it seems increasingly evident that Mitt Romney will win the party's presidential nomination. But he will be inheriting a fractured party.

The Tea Party activists have over the past months all but declared that they detest Romney and won't forgive him because of...

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Holbrooke's Saga

(3) Comments | Posted January 12, 2012 | 3:16 PM

A remarkable book has just been published about one of America's most brilliant diplomats, Richard Holbrooke, entitled The Unquiet American (PublicAffairs Press). Holbrooke, who tragically died last year at age 69 trying to complete his last and perhaps most important mission -- ending the US war in Afghanistan -- was...

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A Memoir at Age 99

(0) Comments | Posted December 20, 2011 | 2:23 PM

My mother is an extraordinary human being. At age 99, she is still an active and alert woman, full of interest about the upcoming presidential election, an inveterate watcher of TV news and Rachel Maddow and The Ed Show, an avid reader of The New York Times and best-sellers.

But...

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Keaton's Confessions

(4) Comments | Posted November 18, 2011 | 9:27 AM

My wife and I saw Diane Keaton speak about her new book, Then Again, which is her memoir about her mother, her upbringing and her career and her private times. Many of us now in our sixties carry the indelible image of Keaton from her movies roles reminding us of...

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