Recent Articles
Revisiting Obama’s ‘A Promised Land’
"In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope."
That's maybe the best line from Barack Obama's infamous 2008 "Yes, We Can" speech.
The one that Will.I.Am set to music, with a host of celebrities in black and white earnestly reading the lines with their eyes locked on the camera. Reading the speech again now, it seems naive at best. At worst, it betrays the kind of delusional optimism that came to define the former President's time in public life.
Who should the democrats nominate?
Last weekend, Michael McDowell argued that the democratic party must select a “manifestly mainstream” candidate to face Trump in 2020. I was horrified (though not surprised) to see such a prominent commentator calling for people of colour to stand aside and keep quiet in the interest of the party.
Joe Biden is not a strong candidate. Let’s stop focusing all our attention on him.
There’s a long way to go before the democratic candidate for the 2020 election is chosen but most Irish media headlines have focused on former vice-president Joe Biden.
This is a mistake.
America 2020 - first impressions
I’m getting excited about the 2020 democratic presidential race. Here are my thoughts on the candidates I’ve been watching (not all of them - there are 24 and I have a busy life) and one candidate I wish would run.
Revisiting the Clinton/Lewinsky affair
There have been a bunch of projects reexamining Bill Clinton’s affair with a White House intern in the late 1990s.
What the 2016 election taught us about women, power and “authenticity”
One of the most frequent criticisms of Hillary Rodham Clinton is the suggestion that she's inauthentic. Questions about “authenticity” have dogged her thirty years in public life, from First Lady and Senator to Secretary of State and presidential candidate. But, HRC has been “authentic” all along. We just weren’t listening.
The Trump horror reading list
In the aftermath of Trump’s shocking victory, I dove into a bunch of articles/podcasts/videos trying to understand what happened. These were some of the best
What Happens When a Spiritual Leader Runs for Congress
Marianne Williamson, the spiritual guru, is running for congress. On June 3rd, she stands as an independent candidate in the primary election for California’s 33rd district.
