Lyndon Johnson

Lyndon Johnson, His National Security Advisor and His Secretary of Defense Say All

Norman Lear | Posted 11.23.2009 | World


Norman Lear

Was the Vietnam War an act of prescience, or simply a prelude to today? You decide. The first 1000 people who respond to this blog will receive a free DVD copy of last Friday's PBS show, Bill Moyers Journal.

Bill Moyers Plays LBJ Tapes, Draws Similarities With Obama And Afghanistan War

Posted 11.21.2009 | Politics


On Friday night, Bill Moyers played clips from the Lyndon B. Johnson tapes on his PBS television show. Moyers drew correlations between the factors f...

Health Care Reform Struggle Will Not End This Year

Chris Weigant | Posted 11.17.2009 | Politics


Chris Weigant

No matter what healthcare bill passes, it is not going to remain static. It is going to be revisited again and again over the next few decades. That's how lawmaking works.

Hold the Hofstadter: Why the GOP Is Winning 2010

John R. Bohrer | Posted 11.12.2009 | Politics


John R. Bohrer

Over the last few months, a number of prominent political columnists have pointed to historian and social critic Richard Hofstadter to explain what is happening to the Republican Party. Here's why they shouldn't.

The "Goldilocks Principle" and Afghan War Options

Joseph A. Palermo | Posted 11.09.2009 | Politics


Joseph A. Palermo

General McChrystal's recommendation for more troops and material has a distinctly Westmorelandian flavor to it. If approved, it could create an additional $40 to$80 billion per annum in war costs.

Dem Leaders in 1965: "Filibuster Threat Is Too Daunting -- So Let's Just Drop This Civil Rights Crap"

Martin Lewis | Posted 11.10.2009 | Politics


Martin Lewis

It's March 16, 1965. We have a Democratic President. We have large Democratic majorities in both the House and the Senate. It's long been part of the progressive and liberal platform...

What Obama Is Up Against

Russ Baker | Posted 11.04.2009 | Politics


Russ Baker

We Americans harbor a quaint belief that a new president takes charge of a government that eagerly awaits his next command. But that's not how things work at the top, especially where "national security" is concerned.

Keeping Afghanistan Safe from Democracy

Robert Scheer | Posted 11.04.2009 | World


Robert Scheer

The most idiotic thing being said about America's involvement in Afghanistan is that the best way to protect the 68,000 U.S. troops there now is by putting an additional 40,000 in harm's way.

The Kennedy Assassination: New Details About the Transfer of Power

Steven M. Gillon | Posted 11.03.2009 | Books


Steven M. Gillon

Exactly when did doctors give up their efforts to save Kennedy's life? And when did Lyndon Johnson learn that JFK was dead?

A New Wrinkle in the JFK Assassination Story

Steven M. Gillon | Posted 10.30.2009 | Books


Steven M. Gillon

A recently declassified oral history by Brigadier General Godfrey McHugh, President Kennedy's military aide on the Dallas trip, sheds new light on the critical hours after the shooting.

Obama Should Tear Up Matthew Hoh's Afghan War Resignation Letter

Earl Ofari Hutchinson | Posted 10.27.2009 | World


Earl Ofari Hutchinson

Matthew Hoh told Obama exactly what he needs to hear about Afghanistan: that the war is a failed, flawed, no-win war. That it's a sinkhole for billions of tax dollars and a death trap for US troops.

Getting the Vietnam Analogy Right in Afghanistan

Leon T. Hadar | Posted 10.21.2009 | World


Leon T. Hadar

The ghosts of the Vietnam War seem to be hanging around the White House Situation Room as President Obama and his national security aides debate a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan.

Wall Street Is More of a Threat to Obama's Domestic Agenda than Afghanistan

Joseph A. Palermo | Posted 10.20.2009 | World


Joseph A. Palermo

Whatever Obama decides to do in Afghanistan is of little consequence compared to Wall Street's ongoing "plutonomy."

Health 'Opt-Out': Brilliant Maneuver or Crippling Compromise?

RJ Eskow | Posted 10.09.2009 | Politics


RJ Eskow

The opt-out is a hard blow to the public option, and potentially a crippling one. When a solution sounds too good to be true -- we can compromise and still get everything we want! -- it probably is.

Because Bipartisanship Is Dead Until 2011: A Defense of Senate Moderates

John R. Bohrer | Posted 10.01.2009 | Politics


John R. Bohrer

The GOP cannot even claim credit for bringing the bills to the middle of the road -- the Democrats are hogging all of it. And that is a good thing, despite what some may think.

New Rule: If America Can't Get it Together, We Lose the Bald Eagle

Bill Maher | Posted 09.25.2009 | Comedy


Bill Maher

If America can't get its act together, it must lose the bald eagle as our symbol and replace it with the YouTube video of the puppy that can't get up. As long as we're pathetic, we might as well act like it's cute.

The Time The President Didn't Intervene

John R. Bohrer | Posted 09.25.2009 | New York


John R. Bohrer

In the first year of his first elected term, Lyndon Johnson made the presidency look easy. Landmark bills on education, health care and civil rights were flying through Congress. But he stayed out of New York politics.

To Succeed, Obama Needs to Channel His Inner LBJ

Steven Hill | Posted 11.21.2009 | Politics


Steven Hill

When it comes to Obama lining up votes from recalcitrant members of his own party, LBJ's brawling, Southern style of trench politics is the one best suited for the current health care reform challenge.

Taylor Branch To Reveal "The Clinton Tapes"

GQ | Wil S. Hylton | Posted 11.17.2009 | Politics


It has been nearly forty years since three young Democratic activists named Bill Clinton, Hillary Rodham, and Taylor Branch moved into a small apartme...

Robinson: Obama Should Just Ignore "Spoiled First Graders" In GOP

Washington Post | Eugene Robinson | Posted 11.11.2009 | Politics


Anyone who watched Wednesday night as President Obama explained his health-care reform proposals to Congress saw a chief executive making what sounded...

Weeping for the Kennedys

Reese Schonfeld | Posted 10.19.2009 | Politics


Reese Schonfeld

The Kennedys knew how to strive for noble causes, step by step. They would make deals, but only to benefit the best causes.

When Will GOP Leaders Denounce the Pyromaniacs?

Robert S. McElvaine | Posted 10.18.2009 | Politics


Robert S. McElvaine

The parallels between the hate speech of the early 1960s and today are numerous and disturbing. But there are also important differences. So, where does the Republican leadership stand on playing with matches?

Why Democrats Are Losing on Health Care

Thomas Frank | Posted 10.18.2009 | Home


Thomas Frank

If universal health insurance goes down to defeat, Democrats will have to live with the shame of having been beaten by arguments that a novice debater would have no trouble putting down.

Obama's Meaningless War

Robert Scheer | Posted 10.17.2009 | Politics


Robert Scheer

Meaningless is the right term for the Afghanistan war, because our bloody attempt to conquer this foreign land has nothing to do with its stated purpose of enhancing our national security.

It's Time for Barack Obama to Take a Lesson From Lyndon Johnson

Josh Rosenblatt | Posted 10.17.2009 | Politics


Josh Rosenblatt

Even with right and reason on their side; even with a filibuster-proof majority on their side, the Democrats have again found a way to lay down and cower.