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End Game: The Carnival Barker Loses His Marbles
Donald Trump's surrogates faced something of a challenge in the aftermath of last week's presidential debate, obliged to insist that things had gone well for him, all evidence to the contrary. And there was plenty of contrary evidence provided by the former president's responses to questions posed by the moderators, as Kamala Harris displayed ...Read more
Crazy Talk, Crazy People and Guns Everywhere
One evening, just over a week ago, I was walking in Midtown Manhattan when dozens of police cars, sirens blasting, lights flashing, descended on the area. Cops cut off entire avenues to traffic. Soon a phalanx of police vehicles, followed by a column of identical black SUVs, whooshed past red lights.
They were taking former president Donald ...Read more
Trump’s Hate is No Joke
The second apparent attempt on Trump’s life — yesterday at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida — occurred just over two months after he was wounded during an attempt on his life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. “They’re not coming after me, they’re coming after you,” Trump said after the first attempt. “I’m just ...Read more
Harris Makes the Most of Her Chances, While Trump Phones It In
Many, many moons ago, my family elders advised me: “Son, prepare yourself, because you never know when the doors of opportunity are going to open up. And when they do, you need to be ready to step inside.”
That was good advice, although I didn't immediately take it to heart. I had to learn the hard way that walking through those doors meant...Read more
Does Donald Trump Really Believe He Won the Debate?
Ever since he walked into the "spin room" at the conclusion of Tuesday night's debate, Donald Trump has been claiming that he won the debate. Does he really believe that? Are his advisers so cowed, or delusional themselves, that they are feeding his own delusions? And what does that say about them -- and him?
The overnight polls -- the ...Read more
Millions Have No Home. You Don't Need Two.
Responding to polls that show that voters are worried and angry about the high cost of housing, both major parties are floating plans to make buying a home more affordable. Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democrats want to encourage new housing construction and subsidize first-time homebuyers by $25,000, which economists worry would have ...Read more
Exploiting Fear Is What They Do
Of all the falsehoods, evasions and plainly loony remarks by former President Donald Trump during his ill-fated debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, perhaps it was to be expected that his ridiculous lie about the endangered pets of Springfield, Ohio, would go super viral.
While the Republican candidate declared himself the winner "by a ...Read more
The Second Amendment Is the Hill We Are Literally Willing To Die On
Gun violence is not just an urban issue. As rural community members along I-75 near Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky say things like "this is unheard of here" after a gunman shot at cars driving on the highway, they are forced to grapple with the fact that this American atrocity has found their door.
Gun violence does happen there. It ...Read more
Old Girlfriends and Donald Trump
The funniest, or the saddest, thing about this week's presidential debate is that it occurred the night before Sept. 11, a holy holiday of death that's been forgotten by everyone except politicians looking to be seen at the remembrance ceremony, firefighters, unindicted police officers and the families of the dead, whose aching sadness cannot ...Read more
After Debate, Election is Over – or Should Be
You can bet the farm on this one: In every future campaign, for any office, political strategists will prep candidates for campaign debates by having them watch one video and one video only: Kamala Harris’ performance against Donald Trump.
On Sept. 10, Harris not only destroyed Trump, she gave a master class in political debate. Rule #1: ...Read more
After Debate, Section is Over – or Should Be
You can bet the farm on this one: In every future campaign, for any office, political strategists will prep candidates for campaign debates by having them watch one video and one video only: Kamala Harris’ performance against Donald Trump.
On Sept. 10, Harris not only destroyed Trump, she gave a master class in political debate. Rule #1: ...Read more
Nurse Harris Ratcheted It Up on Trump
As we tuned into the big debate, the Trump camp was peddling the claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating people's dogs and cats. When the debate turned to the subject of immigration, Donald Trump jumped on that hallucination without prompt.
"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs!" he howled. "The people who came, ...Read more
Where Is America?
Is America so angry that they will vote for an undisciplined liar who vows to turn back the clock?
Or is the country ready to turn the clock on negativity and polarization and take a chance on a new leader promising to bring about change for the middle class?
Right now, the answer is that America is divided.
We know exactly who Donald Trump...Read more
A Scorching Political Summer -- Not Over Yet
WASHINGTON -- "Summer's lease hath all too short a date," wrote Shakespeare, but the Bard didn't know what the summer of '24 had in store.
The cicadas are still singing, but they won't be for long. The days are getting shorter, the nights fall faster. And the garden knows it; the last batch of zinnias displayed its colors, and the gold black-...Read more
Why Are We Letting Corporate Profiteers Write America's Farm and Food Policy?
A farmer was asked what he'd do if he won a million-dollar lottery. "Well," he said, "I guess I'd just keep farming 'til the money runs out."
Trying to make a living as a farmer is not for the fainthearted. You have to take out high-interest loans from cold-eyed bankers to put in a crop and buy supplies. Then you're also at the mercy of ...Read more
Sinwar's Helpers: Foolish Pols and Useful Fools Give Hamas Reason to Smile
Last week, the German newspaper Bild broke a story that was too unsurprising to be much of one. According to Bild, a document seized from a computer used by Hamas strongman Yahya Sinwar summarized Sinwar's strategy for pressuring Israel into a ceasefire deal that would enable Hamas to promptly prepare for the next iteration of Oct. 7.
The ...Read more
Gas Prices Could Actually Help Harris
Americans focused on inflation seem especially tuned into the price of gasoline. While inflation has been fading away, many prices remain higher than they were two years ago.
But not for gasoline. That's getting cheaper.
The average price at the pump is now about $3.26, which is down $1.73 from the high in June 2022. MAGA will note that it ...Read more
What Kamala Harris Must Do To End Abuse in the Criminal Legal System
If elected president, Vice President Kamala Harris would bring extensive experience to the role from her work in the criminal legal system as district attorney, attorney general, senator and vice president. In these roles, her commitment to reforming the criminal legal system has been mixed. In some areas she has taken positions that have ...Read more
Trump’s Woman Problem
If Kamala Harris wins in November, American women will deserve a lot of the credit. Polls suggest women will vote in record margins for Kamala Harris.
The ABC News/Ipsos poll released Sept. 1 found Harris leading Trump by a whopping 54% to 41% among women.
Donald Trump has a yuge woman problem. Below, I first examine why; then discuss how ...Read more
No Party Has a Monopoly on Patriotism
If you don’t tell a lie, my father used to say, you won’t have to worry about which version of your story you told last.
Right, I agreed, but, with an attitude like that, ol’ Dad was well advised to avoid going into politics.
That advice came to mind amid the unfolding saga of an unfortunate altercation at Arlington National Cemetery on ...Read more