In Rod LurieÁ¢€â„¢s first political potboiler, Deterrence, a U.S. president audaciously entered a nuclear confrontation with a newly aggressive (and surprisingly well-armed) Saddam Hussein. While hardly an original concept in…
Political Culture
128 Articles
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
ItÁ¢€™s been a giggle this week watching Democrats paint Rush Limbaugh as the Á¢€Å“bloated, drug-addledÁ¢€ head of the Republican Party, as Paul Begala put it the other day. ItÁ¢€™s been…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
The last couple weeks have served as a brilliant, if butt-ugly, reminder that governance should be judged not on the back and forth of day-to-day events, but on outcomes. When…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Like most people I know, my favorite feature in Us Weekly is the Á¢€Å“Stars — TheyÁ¢€â„¢re Just Like Us!Á¢€ spread. You know, Brad Pitt with his fly down, Ryan Phillippe…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
As of last night, absolutely nothinÁ¢€â„¢. (Legislatively speaking, at least.) But you gotta give Barack Obama points for trying. Presidents donÁ¢€â„¢t often do what Obama did on Tuesday. A week…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Á¢€Å“Tomorrow is some shit, people,Á¢€ Adam Yauch declared matter-of-factly Monday night, after searching for an appropriate way to close out the Beastie BoysÁ¢€â„¢ fearsome inaugural-eve Rock the Vote gig in…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Sometime in the early afternoon next Tuesday Á¢€” after Barack Obama takes the oath of office, and before the new President and First Lady take the traditional stroll up Pennsylvania…
Jon Cummings
3 Min Read
We white folks are feeling pretty good about ourselves these days. And why not? A couple months ago, almost half of us voted to put a black guy into what…
Ted Asregadoo
2 Min Read
The optimistic adage that a rising tide floats all boats is less sanguine when one contemplates the obverse. As the Great Recession of 2008 spills over to 2009 with what…
Jon Cummings
3 Min Read
Á¢€Å“Eighty percent of success in life is just showing up.Á¢€ Á¢€” Woody Allen For a few years there Á¢€” as George Bush “won” a pair of shady elections and then…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
The other day my Popdose colleague Ted Asredagoo posed the question of how President-Elect Obama — once he is wrapped up in the business of actually, you know, governing —…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
I didnÁ¢€â„¢t cry for an hour and a half. I watched dozens of other people weep and shout and wail and fling themselves to the floor with happiness; I watched…
Ted Asregadoo
1 Min Read
Today, Americans are asked to choose which candidate best reflects our political point of view and authorize him or her (remember: Cynthia McKinney is running) to lead the country for…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
On Tuesday, citizens of California will have an opportunity to place our indelible stamp on the forward progress of civil rights in the United States. IÁ¢€â„¢m not talking about the…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
DoesnÁ¢€â„¢t it seem like just a decade since the protagonists of our current national melodrama began taking the stage? John McCain announced his candidacy on David Letterman Á¢€” only to…
Jon Cummings
3 Min Read
Last night I had a dream Á¢€¦ of long-faded memories, and basic-cable infomercials: Voiceover: RememberÁ¢€¦this? John McCain: Á¢€Å“Who is Barack Obama?Á¢€ VO: ThatÁ¢€â„¢s right Á¢€¦ they’re the hits youÁ¢€â„¢ve come…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Jon Cummings: Why am I so bummed that the debate season is over? Please, Barack, take McCain up on his pleas for a dozen more town halls! I know, I…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Make no mistake: The new right-wing comedy, An American Carol, is just as bad as you imagine it to be, if not worse. Even as I walked into the theater…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Bill MaherÁ¢€â„¢s aversion to religion is well documented, thanks to his regular, tangential diatribes on Real Time and the occasional scripted bit in his Á¢€Å“New RulesÁ¢€ segments. This weekend, however,…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Jon Cummings: My junior year at college I took a creative writing class in which all the students received copies of each otherÁ¢€â„¢s short stories and offered critiques in a…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
What a confluence of events this week! A few hours after this column posts, Sarah Palin takes the stage for what might turn out to be her one unscripted, real-time…
Ted Asregadoo
2 Min Read
Close of the market, 9/29/08 My political/economic socialization came during the heady days of free market zealotry.Á‚ 1984 was a year when it seemed like many of my friends —…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
This past Sunday, in a coordinated effort to flout a federal law banning political endorsements from the pulpit, 33 evangelical and fundamentalist pastors in 22 states used their sermons either…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Once again John McCain has chosen chaos over constancy as his presidential campaign Á¢€¦ Oops, I forgot: McCain currently doesnÁ¢€â„¢t have a presidential campaign. ItÁ¢€â„¢s been Á¢€Å“suspended,Á¢€ even as he…
Ted Asregadoo
2 Min Read
If journalism is the first draft of history, and history is argument without end, then Matt Taibbi has fired the opening salvo of a new argument about the current political…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
John McCain and Sarah Palin enjoy a light moment on the campaign trail, between feedings. From yesterday’s New York Times: “Laura Chase, the campaign manager during Ms. Palin’s first run…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Though my head is exploding over the lunacy of John McCainÁ¢€â„¢s increasingly cowardly and dishonorable presidential campaign, it seems imperative that I join the rest of the political culture in…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Dw.: Well, John McCain is in a pickle now, isn’t he? Last week he chose a running mate that would satisfy certain weak sectors of his ticket – the Christian…
Jon Cummings
2 Min Read
Dw. Dunphy: Yes! I have been waiting for this all week: Palin Time! Do you think they’ll do the Dead Parrot sketch? Maybe even … the Cheese Shop?! I can’t…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Dw. Dunphy: I thought IÁ¢€â„¢d start things off tonight with a joke: So Á¢€¦ Judas, Benedict Arnold, and the dude from Raiders of the Lost Ark who gets the spikes…