Tag Archives: 2016

2016: The year when confidence in America is restored?

It is becoming increasingly clear that people are losing confidence in this country. They’re losing confidence in our government to solve our problems here at home. They’re losing confidence in both political parties’ ability to lead. They’re losing confidence in our ability to lead the world, as the globe’s lone remaining superpower. This decreasing confidence […]

Cain’s announcement reveals the emptiness of her rhetoric on bipartisanship

Earlier this week, when I saw the news that former congressional candidate Emily Cain would again be running in Maine’s 2nd District, I had to do a double take. It wasn’t that Cain’s second run was such a galloping shock; indeed, it was pretty much a given. What I had to check was the calendar, […]

Muddled 2016 field offers opportunities to Republicans

In the past, Republican presidential primaries have been fairly orderly, especially in contrast to the Democrats’. GOP nomination fights have frequently come down to the “insider” candidate versus the “outsider” candidate. Sometimes the insider choice was more conservative (see, for example, Bush vs. McCain in 2000); other times they were seen as more moderate (see […]

Obama offers campaign planks, not solutions

In his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday night, President Obama attempted to invoke the unity theme of his 2004 Democratic National Convention speech and 2008 presidential campaign. However, on Tuesday — as in the past — this hyperbole was not reality-based, but was soaring rhetoric designed to win enough support to […]

It’s time to take Rand Paul seriously

Though speculation and prognostication about the presidential race may seem all-consuming to those of us who obsess over such things, in fact most voters have barely begun to pay attention to the 2014 election, let alone 2016. While some of us have spent hours considering the flaws and advantages of all the potential candidates, many […]