Offthebus

Putting The Dream Ticket To Bed

Joshua Roman | Posted 03.24.2008 | Home


Joshua Roman

With Hillary Clinton gaining ground in national polls and head-to-head projections, yet hopelessly behind in the delegate count, she has every reason to again raise the possibility of a "Dream Ticket". How should Obama respond?

Can We Talk? A Conversation About Racism And Reconciliation In America

Celeste Whiting | Posted 03.24.2008 | Home


Celeste Whiting

Last week, Obama asked Americans to acknowledge racism's divisive presence and enduring impact in our society and individual lives, and to join a conversation. He invited us to participate in a process of reconciliation.

Two Years of "The Israel Lobby," Part 1

Jordan Michael Smith | Posted 03.23.2008 | Home


Jordan Michael Smith

Two years ago this week, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt released their essay "The Israel Lobby" and kick-started a much-overdue discussion of America's relationship with Israel - and then all hell broke loose.

Watch: 140 Arrested In San Francisco Iraq War Protest

The Uptake | Posted 03.20.2008 | Home


The Uptake

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A Pledge Worth Keeping

The Brennan Center for Justice | Posted 03.20.2008 | Home


The Brennan Center for Justice

If Obama is the Democratic nominee, both he and McCain should rapidly agree to accept public money in the general election, as sound campaign policy and as a statement of principle.

Barack Obama's Woes Open Door To Hillary Clinton Nomination

Daniel Nichanian | Posted 03.20.2008 | Home


Daniel Nichanian

The series of nine general election polls that I chronicled yesterday showed Barack Obama declining in general election numbers, but the first questio...

Maryland Superdelegate Discusses Florida, Michigan And Breaking With Pledged Delegates

Chip Collis | Posted 03.20.2008 | Home


Chip Collis

Michael R. Steed is a member of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from Chevy Chase, Maryland, and as such is also a "superdelegate." As the f...

Our Fascination with Christopher Hitchens

Jordan Michael Smith | Posted 03.20.2008 | Home


Jordan Michael Smith

There is no other living writer on Earth that attracts the strange attention -- from the press and from allegedly celebrity-hating intellectuals -- that Hitchens does.

Obama's More Perfect Union: More Than a "Race Speech"

Doug Russell | Posted 03.19.2008 | Home


Doug Russell

Commentary on Obama's speech has focused largely on his main theme of racism, yet the more perfect union he envisions is not merely about race relations becoming warm and fuzzy.

Obama on Race vs. Romney on Religion

James Freedman | Posted 03.19.2008 | Home


James Freedman

Many in the media noted Barack Obama's speech yesterday morning was reminiscent when Mitt Romney tried to address concerns about his Mormon faith. But is that comparison actually warranted?

Iraq: An Unhappy Anniversary

Carlotta Cooper | Posted 03.19.2008 | Home


Carlotta Cooper

According to a CNN poll 71 percent of Americans now think that our spending in Iraq is partly responsible for the economic troubles in the United States. Only 32 percent now support the war. What took them so long?

Racial Unity: How Will It Play In Pennsylvania?

Carlotta Cooper | Posted 03.19.2008 | Home


Carlotta Cooper

Barack Obama spoke with eloquent words about our need to overcome the racial stalemate that exists in this country. But how will voters in Pennsylvania react to the issue of race being inserted into their primary?

Obama Channels Jefferson

Denise Clapsaddle | Posted 03.18.2008 | Home


Denise Clapsaddle

Obama has tapped into a deeply felt societal sentiment that now is one of those moments that calls for something more than progress at the rate of one step forward, two steps back. Is he the one to lead us?

Time To Put Rezko To Rest

Elaine Meyer | Posted 03.18.2008 | Home


Elaine Meyer

The reporting on Rezko has actually taken a similar pattern to past reporting on Clinton "scandals" like Whitewater. Now that Obama has outlined his relationship with Rezko in great detail, it is time to put the story to rest.

Elton John Takes The Stage For Hillary Clinton

Erin Medlicott | Posted 03.18.2008 | Home


Erin Medlicott

March 18, 2008 (New York City): Barack Obama may have Oprah Winfrey pulling in big audiences to his fundraisers, but now Hillary Clinton's gotten int...

Barack, Jeremiah and Jesus

Mayhill Fowler | Posted 03.18.2008 | Home


Mayhill Fowler

If Obama can help white America understand why he sat in the pews of Trinity Church in Chicago for twenty years, then he may be able to hold his near-grasp of the Democratic presidential nomination.

Huckabee Hillary

Nathaniel Bach | Posted 03.18.2008 | Home


Nathaniel Bach

Hillary Clinton has adopted the role of the erstwhile Republican candidate, Mike Huckabee. She has nothing to lose by continuing her campaign and hoping that Obama makes a severe-enough misstep to effectively remove him from contention.

The Democrats - Snatching Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory

Tom Douglas | Posted 03.17.2008 | Home


Tom Douglas

The fat lady hasn't started singing yet, but she has been spotted in the parking lot of the Pepsi Center in Denver, falling down drunk with a corndog in each hand.

The Pursuit of Public Happiness

Kelly Nuxoll | Posted 03.17.2008 | Home


Kelly Nuxoll

Saturday I marched in the St. Patrick's Day parade in Harrisburg, PA with former U.S. Senator Harris Wofford. As metaphors go, a parade is the best I can think of for a public that is feeling its way along a better course.

HBO to John Adams: We Think You Were a Slob

Jordan Michael Smith | Posted 03.17.2008 | Home


Jordan Michael Smith

Unlike the critics, apparently, I liked the debut episode of the John Adams miniseries on HBO. But even I balked at having Adams portrayed by Paul Giamatti.

Rev. Wright's Not That Wrong

Dennis Perrin | Posted 03.17.2008 | Politics


Dennis Perrin

Jeremiah Wright's supposedly inflammatory statements about 9/11 and the ongoing specter of racism are uncontroversial to those following the real world.

Queen Of The Hidden Dollar

R.T. Eby | Posted 03.17.2008 | Home


R.T. Eby

With regard to earmarks, Sen. Hillary Clinton is the queen of the hidden dollar. She went so far as to vote against an amendment last year which would have required public disclosure of earmark requests.

Reverend Jeremiah Wright: Anti-American Or A Man Speaking Truth To Power

Lecia Shorter | Posted 03.17.2008 | Home


Lecia Shorter

Rather than acknowledge the truth about the dark past of America, and in some instances the present, we are quick to charge anyone who removes the veil of our history as being racist and/or anti-American.

A Closer Look at Clinton's Foreign Policy Experience

Mayhill Fowler | Posted 03.17.2008 | Home


Mayhill Fowler

Why has Hillary Clinton said she did more than she did, and what has compelled her to do so? What does this resume inflation suggest about any American future with her at the helm of our foreign policy?

Clinton's Iraq Vote -- Five Years Later

Jon Wiener | Posted 03.17.2008 | Home


Jon Wiener

The fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war is an appropriate moment to revisit Hillary Clinton's argument in favor of authorizing Bush's use of force, and to contrast it with the case made at the time by Bush's opponents.