President Obama woke up. In last night's debate, he was feisty and factual, conveying that he actually wants another four years and that he is engaged enough to do the job. Mitt Romney, stylistically, didn't give an inch. He was aggressive, bordering on rude and offensive (to the President and the moderator) but, on most issues, …
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Controlling the quality of dying
When it comes down to the last weeks and days of an excruciating dying process, it's all about options. If I am terminally ill, determined by my physician to be within six months of dying from an incurable and irreversible disease, then I want my physician to be able to prescribe medication that will allow …
Biden, Ryan debate reassuring to bases
Last night's vice presidential debate, expertly moderated by ABC's Martha Raddatz (a former Channel 5 colleague), was engaging, high energy, substantively revealing, stylistically contrasting, and reassuring to partisans on both sides. (David Brooks' piece in today's NY Times see this as a generational divide.) Vice President Joe Biden had facts, passion, authenticity, and an often …
Tilting yes on medical marijuana referendum
For years, as an editorialist, I supported the medical use of marijuana. I anguished when a cancer-stricken friend, deathly ill from the side effects of chemotherapy, was afraid to smoke pot because it was illegal, notwithstanding reports that doing so could significantly alleviate her symptoms. That's just not fair. Access to marijuana for medical purposes …
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Warren, Brown face to face for first time
She listened, she learned, and took a big step forward. For weeks, many sympathetic to Elizabeth Warren’s US Senate candidacy have expressed exasperation at her campaign and her candidate skills. In this, the important first debate against her often affable opponent, incumbent Scott Brown, she more than held her own. Brown, in an overbearing (television …
Looking ahead to Red Sox 2013
Trudging up to Yawkey Way from the Kenmore Square T stop last Friday, I tasted bile in contemplating the horrors of the 2012 team, a performance that defies description by all but the Globe's Dan Shaughnessey. I consoled myself that it was a picture perfect summer night for a ballgame and, besides, I hadn't been to Fenway yet this season. A …
Senate hopeful Todd Akin’s gift of gaffe
A gaffe has been defined as when a politician accidentally tells the truth. Not that the content of Rep. Todd Akin's statement about rape is the truth, but that what he said is what he really thinks. It's obvious. And he's not about to get out of the all-important race against Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri just …
Public opinion polls: take with grain of salt
Last week I was surveyed by the Gallup organization, confirming two things: first, that the venerable public opinion survey actually talks to real people, and second, that the results of questions they ask can't possibly be a reliable reflection of, er, public opinion. One problem is that the questions are designed to force choices, elicit simple …
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Gaming the games: the real Olympic spirit
One of my favorite childhood stories was the tale of Phidippides, the man who in 500 BC ran from Marathon to Athens, delivered the good news of a victory over Persia, and dropped dead from exhaustion. As the story goes, that's how the modern marathons got their name, and they've been Olympic sports for more than a century. For me, …
Three strikes to improve public policy: the legislative process works
Governor Patrick's decision to sign the crime bill, the passage of a health cost containment bill, and a renewable energy boost are three healthy signs that the legislative process works. Never mind that they waited till the eleventh hour to get it done. They did what they were elected to do. The crime bill prevents habitual …
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