Submitted to a Candid World

Bill Clinton’s message to America, putting a complete end to fears that he would stand in the way of, or not wholly support, Barack Obama. Immediate media spin - Clinton united the party. Good. The comparison he evoked between himself, who the Republicans called inexperienced and unqualified in 1992, and the spin around Barack Obama, [...]

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Today, Barack Obama has done two things right. First, he’s played down expectations for his speech tomorrow, and promised to speak substantively, rather than more of the same “YES WE CAN HAS.” Underhyping one’s self is always a good idea, and this has been an inordinately fluffy convention. Returning to policy isn’t just a good [...]

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Though mostly for porn, social scientists agree that the internet can, in select situations, bring together intelligent people for strong and meaningful political discussions.
I know, right? Shocking.
Mainstream, commercialized media, as I’ve argued before, threatens the utter subversion of the marketplace of ideas. If networks are rewarded for pandering to a demographic (*coughcough* Faux News), [...]

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Judge Wilkinson of the Fourth Circuit, dissenting, on the plurality’s decision to hold military detention improper in the case of Al Marri: “I disagree with the result reached here, but I do so in the belief that my colleagues have helped in some small way to demonstrate the good and earnest values that animate this [...]

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According to some Republican sources, McCain has, as of last week, all but settled on Mitt Romney as his running mate, the Jack Kemp to his Bob Dole, possibly explaining Romney’s Times-reported burst into overdrive, attacking Obama & Biden on their home ground. Jon Stewart should be ecstatic.

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Earlier this month, I wrote about how conservative pundits have selectively quoted (”quote mined”) Barack Obama’s answers to Rick Warren’s questions at the Saddleback Civil Forum to make him sound more radical than he actually is. Sadly, The Economist has jumped on board.  Blissfully, the Good Lord provides recourse: letters to the editor. Mine, which [...]

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