The Persistence of Hope

Barack Obama’s Presidency is less than a year old, and he has already found himself on the roller coaster ride of American politics, media and celebrity. It must have been a pleasant surprise to wake to the news on October 9th that he had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. While it will be derided Read More

Self Interest as the Driver of National Climate and Energy Policy

This weekend found President Obama hitting every Sunday TV talk show to talk up health care policy. For some environmental advocates, this focus deepened their concern that the United States would lose this moment and punt on climate policy. However, take heart, this week the U.N.’s climate summit begins in New York and the President Read More

Siegel on Giuliani’s Machiavellian Qualities

Here's a lengthy interview with Rudy Giuliani adviser and biographer Fred Siegel up on Commentary magazine’s blog in which he explains that the former mayor is like Niccolo Machiavelli — in a good way.

“Most of what Giuliani did was Machiavellian in the best sense. People forget Machiavelli believed in virtue. Not quite our Read More

The Second Time Around, It Doesn't Seem So Brave

By the time former New Jersey Governor James McGreevey took the podium to make his spectacular resignation speech a little over two years ago—the one where he declared to a room of at least publicly stunned reporters, aides and family members that he was a “gay American”—he’d already made a mess of New Jersey’s government. Read More

‘No Bouquet For My Grandmother, I Really Mean It.’

GABRIELLE: Saturday.

I wake up feeling sick today, nauseous and tired. I dry heave off the side of the bed uncontrollably. Todd rouses, “You OK?”

“I’m fine, just need to eat.” I scamper to the kitchen and open the fridge. Nothing looks appealing so I grab a cold Poland Spring and head to Read More

Dylan Brings It Home: Memoir Is a Ballad to the Beat Village

Thaddeus Stevens? Who knew? One of the least-understood of Dylan mysteries has to do with influences: His music seems to come from everywhere, and from nowhere but him. You can listen to endless droning folk balladeers, and you can listen to Buddy Holly, Robert Johnson, Hank Williams. You can read Milton and Keats, as Christopher Read More