So, Donald Trump did not spend 90 minutes calling for a civil war last night. That was nice. After the assassination attempt, his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention – and the entire week – easily could have become a literal call to arms. (Literally literally, not figuratively literally.) Instead last night, we got […]
In a podcast with Tim Miller on the Bulwark Podcast, New York Times writer Ezra Klein said many Democrats privately tell him Biden should leave the presidential race, while publicly supporting him. In a New York Times podcast, Democratic U.S. Representative Adam Smith of the 9th Congressional District in Washington said the same thing. Other […]
An interesting sub-story to the fallout from Biden’s debate performance – well, interesting to me as a journalism professor and journalist – is why his capabilities, or lack thereof, came as such a shock to so many people (including me). One explanation often put forward is “the media”. A side note – I teach my […]
He’s staying in the race. That’s the message that Biden has delivered several times now, from the ABC News interview on Friday to recent campaign appearances to an interview on Morning Joe on Monday to a letter he sent to Congress. And there’s no way he will get replaced by the Democratic Party, either. There’s […]
So, I don’t consider myself a partisan – that is to say, not a Democrat or a Republican. It’s true – I vote overwhelmingly Democratic. I mean, come on – in a democracy, you’ve got to vote for somebody*. But I’ve never been much of a joiner. And while passion for any issue makes you […]
Before the debacle with the Iowa caucuses this week, many people – including myself – questioned the wisdom of having the state continue to hold the first primary contest each presidential cycle. Candidates to replace Iowa are already coming forward. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker made his pitch for why the Land of Lincoln should be […]
Even though I consider myself a journalist, I refuse to let that deprive me of the privileges of citizenship. So, when an issue clearly has one answer – gun control, for example – I’ll make my support known. Also, I vote. Living abroad as I do, I vote by mail. Today, I shipped my ballot […]
While Trump has always been erratic – adjusting his message to suit his audience and mood and reflecting the last person he talked to – I’ve begun to worry about his stability more and more. With Hicks leaving, Kushner on the ropes, Mueller progressing, and ongoing tension with his staff and cabinet secretaries, he will […]
In a comment on a recent post of mine, I was called a “domestic enemy”. I realize that emotions are running high in the presidential campaign, but we need to work hard to avoid this kind of thought and language on all sides of the political debate. When you face enemies, you engage in war. War, […]
Bill Poorman 