Fox News may have missed Donald Trump. Its viewership was down to 11-13 million viewers, half what they got in the first debate last fall. (The Democrats' debates have had only eight million viewers, thanks to DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz's scheduling them at low viewership times to protect Hillary Clinton.) But, if the eyeballs were …
Category: Politics
The milkman’s son rises to the top
Ed Markey's 40+ year political career has come a long way. His biggest state legislative accomplishment (a bill eliminating part-time district attorneys) incurred the wrath of then-House Speaker Tommy McGee, who threw Markey off the Judiciary Committee and moved his desk into the hall. Markey, a tall and skinny 29-year old two-term state rep from Malden, went from …
Baker: boring is good
Charlie Baker says that some folks think he is boring, and that's fine, thank you very much. The style of his State of the State speech confirms that assessment. His delivery, while polished, was flat, with monotonous pacing and few tonal variations. The most significant exception was his discussion of the opioid crisis, in which he …
Marty Walsh hitting his stride
Halfway through his first term, the Mayor of Boston and the city are looking good. Both Marty Walsh and the city have grown significantly over the past two years, as reflected in his State of the City speech on Tuesday. Walsh's laundry list of accomplishments is real: record housing starts, including record affordable units; violent crime …
Dems debate hidden between football and Downton Abbey
You had to be a 32nd degree political junkie to find and watch the last Democratic debate before the Iowa caucuses. Thanks to Hillary godmother and DNC chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, last night's Democratic debate had 7.8 million voters, about half the audience for the first Democratic debate in October. While, as my friend Dan …
Continue reading Dems debate hidden between football and Downton Abbey
Tone trumps facts in State of the Union speech
The past and future came together in the nation’s Capitol last night. It was a Paul Gauguin moment: Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? The President of the United States gave the best State of the Union speech of his two terms in office, and South Carolina Governor Nikki …
Continue reading Tone trumps facts in State of the Union speech
Some headlines for 2016
Each year, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial page editor Tom Waseleski prepares for the New Year an aspirational list of headlines. Each year, I shamelessly borrow the idea and herewith present my own suggestions, with precious little expectation that we will see them atop newspapers, magazines or teasing newscasts in 2016. Please send your own in the comments section below. …
Dems debate: a well-kept secret
All three Democratic Presidential contenders were at the top of their games on Saturday night, but, given the time slot the Democratic National Committee had agreed to, relatively few people saw them. Early ratings indicate that only around eight million viewers watched the debate in real time, far fewer than the 18 million who tuned in …
Take-aways from GOP Presidential debate
Sometimes the answer to who wins a debate lies in what sticks with you two days after the event. In the case of Tuesday's CNN GOP Presidential debate out of Las Vegas, there were several sparks that still glow. After a bumbling start, in which Jeb Bush flubbed his opening remark (hasn't he found a …
Cellphones and cars: a lethal mix?
Not long ago, I was exiting Route 128 for Route 30 on the Newton/Weston line. Cars merging into Route 128 are supposed to yield (note to Massachusetts drivers: that means give the other driver the right of way). My path was about to cross that of a paneled truck belonging to a Portugese bakery. Not surprisingly, …
Marjorie Arons-Barron 