National Democrats
Sweet Caroline
I take a back seat to no one when it comes to being a John F. Kennedy hero-worshipper. I shook hands with him in 1960. I was 11 years old. He was campaigning with Terry Sanford, and they stopped at Glenwood Village to change cars. JFK was to me what Obama is to my kids.…
Read MoreBev’s All Ears
Governor-elect Bev Perdue has done a lot of listening lately. Maybe too much. The highly publicized public forums that her transition team held – and the 14 reports that were generated – may not help her a bit when it comes time to stop listening and start governing. They may make her job harder. The…
Read MoreSenate 2010
After the election, people would ask me: “Aren’t you glad the campaign is over?” Hell, no. I miss it. I miss the wall-to-wall attack ads. I miss the overheated blogs. I miss the sound and fury. Now all we have to talk about is policy and personnel. Yawn. So let’s get on with the 2010…
Read MoreLove and Politics
Obama’s now sailed into the seas called the Terrors of Victory;—after a fellow wins something as grand as a presidential election he’s just naturally tuckered out and feels he’s earned a few days rest. That’s when the trouble starts. While he’s resting, since he can’t personally appoint all the under-secretaries and deputy secretaries and assistant…
Read MoreObama’s First Crisis
Joe Biden warned us that Barack Obama would be tested. We just didn’t realize the test would come within six weeks and would come from crooks at home, not terrorists abroad. The “pay to pick” scandal in Illinois is getting so much attention we’re all going to learn how to pronounce Gov. Blagojevich’s name. Republicans…
Read MoreThe Great Grab
The Great Grab is on: American government is a treasure chest where anyone who needs cash – and has political clout in Congress – can reach in and help himself. Take shell-shocked CEOs facing Christmas without bonuses (which sounds a lot like bankruptcy to them). Like GM: Consumers are spending less, buying fewer cars, so…
Read MoreObama and Terrorism
Obama’s fleshing out his plan to whip terrorism. But I’m not sure about his new policy in Afghanistan. It comes down to this: We’re going to shower them with money – so by the time we finish pouring cash on them and building roads and schools and bridges and supermarkets they’ll love us and turn…
Read MoreTeam of Rivals
Presidents fight two wars. One to get elected. And one that starts the morning after the election. Only they may not know about the second war. Naturally, Barack Obama may think his authority (in the legal sense) as president gives him power to run his own government. But authority is a long way from control.…
Read MoreThe Great Skizzle
Once upon a time not so long ago Wachovia Bank, a hundred-year-old bank, was as solid as the rock of Gibraltar. What went wrong? It’s a tale of miscalculations and mistakes – by its own managers. As a result investors have seen their shares plummet and the bank put on the auction block not once,…
Read MoreThe Roads Ahead
Barack Obama is being hailed as a combination of Lincoln and FDR. The economic crisis is likened to secession and Depression. There seems to be a consensus on what he should do – among Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, Washington and Wall Street: Spend money! Spend billions of dollars! Trillions, even! Damn the deficit!…
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