Froma Harrop from Creators Syndicate

Close Down the Caucuses for 03/06/2008

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800

One can assume that the people brawling into the late hours of a weekday night are not representative of your broad electorate, even in Texas. Compare the orderly primary vote in Ohio — where the results were known by bedtime — to the weird "Texas Two-Step," which pasted a caucus onto a primary.

Actually, the primary part of the Texas process went smoothly. It was t ...

Updated: Thu Mar 06, 2008

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The Specter of McCain Democrats for 03/11/2008

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A significant slice of Hillary Clinton's supporters — that is, moderate Democrats — might prefer McCain over Obama, or so I speculated a few weeks back. It was a hunch based on conversations and some suggestive but hardly definitive poll numbers.

Critics of this view waved numbers showing more support for Obama than for Clinton among independents. And other polls have Obama a ...

Updated: Tue Mar 11, 2008

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At Least Admire Spitzer for His Foes for 03/13/2008

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A few good words for Eliot Spitzer. The resigned New York governor could be brutish, vindictive and, when it comes to sexual rectitude, a grand hypocrite. But in going after the depredations of Wall Street, subprime lenders and corporate looters, he was a rare crusader.

In its duty to regulate financial activity, the Bush administration has committed gross negligence. The result — ...

Updated: Thu Mar 13, 2008

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The Hooker Next Door for 03/18/2008

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The tale of the 22-year-old prostitute frequented by former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer dredges up an awkward memory. I once shared an apartment — it now amazes me to say — with a call girl who brought her johns home.

Let me explain.

While in my 20s, I advertised for a non-smoker to split the costs of my two-bedroom Manhattan apartment. The most attractive respondent w ...

Updated: Tue Mar 18, 2008

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Divides Obama Doesn't Bridge for 03/20/2008

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

In distancing himself from the heated remarks of his pastor, Barack Obama did as well as anyone could do in his position. The problem is his position, which is having sat in the reverend's pews for 20 years without thinking to pick up and leave.

The discussion of race in the Democratic contest — as in American life — runs along different tracks. Certain people can say certain ...

Updated: Thu Mar 20, 2008

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Bailouts -- Be Very Particular for 03/25/2008

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

If we're going to bail out Wall Street, shouldn't we also rescue homeowners? "Yes!" the Democrats answer. And faster than Roger Federer returns a tennis ball, conservative voices hit back with reasons — some rather odd — for helping the former and not the latter.

Here's a sensible compromise: Let's selectively help homeowners in trouble. These would be mortgage appl ...

Updated: Tue Mar 25, 2008

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Social Security Remains Star in the Gloom for 03/27/2008

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The stock market hasn't been this nasty since the 1970s. House prices continue their dive, and consumer confidence has gone splat. The rocketing federal budget deficit will probably orbit Mars by the time the government finishes cleaning up the mess left by the housing bubble it so blithely let fester.

Good job, fellas. The Bush administration doesn't have a heckuva lot of credibility le ...

Updated: Thu Mar 27, 2008

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Dems Can Go the Nine Innings for 04/01/2008

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

If the Democratic contest lasts until the convention in late August, so what? That leaves two months for Democrats to "coalesce" around their candidate and fight the Republican. And even that shorter time frame will seem a month too long for voters.

So why not go the nine innings? The great American pastime is not judged by time but by action in the field. That's how the game i ...

Updated: Tue Apr 01, 2008

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Obama and the Skeptic-Free Campaign for 04/03/2008

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Big-time political writers are busy people. With all the blogging, the parties and appearances on TV, skeptical examination of widely accepted beliefs seems a waste of time. The Obama campaign has done many a time-starved commentator a great service. It has composed the story for them — that Hillary Clinton can't possibly win the Democratic nomination and is a horrible person besides.

...

Updated: Thu Apr 03, 2008

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How Green Was NAFTA? for 04/08/2008

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

About 17 years ago, a New England business reporter answered the phone and found a friendly Texan on the other end. She had recently written about how local manufacturers were coping with Environmental Protection Agency rules that sharply curbed what they could throw down their drains. Compliance was costing them.

The caller hailed from McAllen, near the Rio Grande crossing to the Mexica ...

Updated: Tue Apr 08, 2008

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Score One for Consumers for 04/10/2008

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

To anyone who has felt trapped in a circle of bad service: If you haven't heard the story of Mona Shaw, pull up a chair.

The 75-year-old Virginian had ordered a much-advertised package of services from Comcast, her cable company. The installers failed to show up at their appointed time. They came by two days later but didn't finish the job. Comcast subsequently cut off all her service.
Updated: Thu Apr 10, 2008

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The Young and the Departed for 04/15/2008

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

In South Korea, companies sell mock funerals for college students. The young people write their wills, put on the traditional Korean burial clothes and have themselves nailed into a coffin — temporarily, of course. The point is to have them imagine their death, and in so doing, reorder their priorities in life.

Americans are loath to think about death, especially of the young. And ...

Updated: Tue Apr 15, 2008

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McCain's Economics: Pass the Dramamine for 04/17/2008

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

John McCain admits that economics are not his passion, and that's fine. His past instincts were mostly good. He voted against tax cuts not paid for by savings elsewhere. He fought earmarks, earning the wrath of big-spenders in his own Republican Party. As president, he could hire some economic brain to do the big thinking about money.

But he really shouldn't wait for this. His economic p ...

Updated: Thu Apr 17, 2008

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Long Hot Summer in Minnesota for 04/22/2008

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

ST. PAUL, Minn. — This city will be hosting the Republican National Convention starting Labor Day. In the interests of showing Republicans a good time, the Minnesota state legislature voted to let bars here and in Minneapolis stay open until 4 a.m. during the convention. The closing time is now 2 a.m.

But the very Democratic St. Paul City Council voted against extending the bar hou ...

Updated: Tue Apr 22, 2008

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Osama Crashes the Democratic Party for 04/24/2008

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

What was so shocking, terrible and unfair about flashing Osama bin Laden's ugly mug on a political advertisement? Hillary Clinton's TV spot was the first Democratic ad to make pictorial reference to the al-Qaida terrorist. It was about time.

How much the ad helped Clinton achieve her impressive victory in the Pennsylvania primary is hard to tell. It was a vague message touting her abilit ...

Updated: Thu Apr 24, 2008

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Codependent Addicts: States and Casinos for 04/29/2008

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Loath to tax the citizenry based on income, many states have increasingly turned to cigarette smokers and gamblers for revenues. Gamblers are often smokers, and both groups tend to be of modest or low income.

So after taxing the daylights out of the working class's cigarettes, states can go for a second helping from the quarters the little people dump into the slot machines. This raises ...

Updated: Tue Apr 29, 2008

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The Change That Can't Be Changed for 05/01/2008

Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The Serenity Prayer, written by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, hangs on countless American walls. I grew up with it. Whatever the reader's religious belief, or lack thereof, the prayer packs a world of comfort in a few simple lines. The most popular version goes:

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the ...

Updated: Thu May 01, 2008

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Cosby Is the Real Prophet, Not Wright for 05/06/2008

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Jeremiah, you're no Jeremiah. Although Barack Obama's controversial former pastor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright puts himself at the center of a prophetic tradition of the Afro-American church, he's not much of a prophet. The prophet in the Biblical mode often tells his people what they don't want to hear. Wright only mimics the prophet in his fiery condemnations of America. When it comes to the feel ...

Updated: Tue May 06, 2008

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A Perfect Calm for John McCain for 05/08/2008

Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

John McCain has used these weeks of Republican calm to dive into the Democratic lunch pail. This strategy clearly assumes a Barack Obama candidacy. If demographics are destiny — as the political sages keep telling us — Democratic demographics may offer some choice cuts to the presumed Republican nominee. By dumb luck, Republicans have chosen their one candidate who projects a modera ...

Updated: Thu May 08, 2008

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Obamicans Pile on Clinton at Own Peril for 05/13/2008

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Many in the Obama camp, having outfoxed the apparently not-so-formidable Clinton machine, can't seem to get the hang of winning gracefully. They feel a need to drive a stake in Hillary Clinton's reputation, then dance. If they were smart, they'd heap praise on Clinton and let her finish out the race, however she chooses to do so.

That's sage advice, even though offered by Republican mast ...

Updated: Tue May 13, 2008

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