Hillary: a moving milestone

It took more than two centuries for the United States to have its first woman representing a major party as its presumptive presidential nominee. Last night, when it happened, when history was made, it was deeply affecting. To Hillary Clinton's many detractors, I concede her flaws, but I will not let you spoil the significance of …

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Sanders risks undoing his contribution

Bernie Sanders deserves credit for putting issues of economic inequities, Wall Street greed, Citizens United distortions, and the self-serving Washington establishment on the front burner. His  cranky old man persona was even mildly endearing when he was railing against the rigged system, helping give voice to the unbridled aspirations of young people and the frustrations of the struggling middle …

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Some advice for Clintonites: lay off Sanders

If I feel sick to my stomach at the thought that Donald Trump is the presumptive nominee of the Grand Old Party, I can't fathom how I will feel on the morning of November 9 if he is the President-elect of the United States. This just can't be. How can so many millions of people …

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Can you say President Trump?

I hope Les Moonves is happy.  The head of CBS said that Donald Trump is great for business."Donald's place in this election is a good thing,"  Moonves said at a conference Monday in San Francisco. Trump's circus-like antics have been great for ratings, and that means business for the media.  "Bring it on, Donald. Keep …

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Democratic race a battle of heart versus head

Bernie Sanders has given Democrats what they needed and what many wanted: a healthy debate on issues. Not just stock positions on this or that, because he and Hillary Clinton agree on most goals. His willingness to take on the presumptive nominee has provided an exploration of philosophy and style of governance and a choice between leading …

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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 …

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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 …

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It’s Hillary: get over it

With Joe Biden announcing it was too late for him to get into the Presidential campaign, her effective performances at last week's debate  and  yesterday's Benghazi hearing,  former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton seems the inevitable nominee of the Democratic Party---unless the ongoing FBI investigation leads to an indictment. Given the  sour public mood and  upside-down …

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Gun safety: Doing nothing is not an answer

President Obama was lamenter-in-chief in the wake of yet another mass gun murder, last week at Umpqua Community College in Oregon. But his basic message was that he had gone as far as he could without the backing of Congress.  The only thing left for him to do, he told a press conference, was to keep talking about the …

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Last night’s winners and losers

Would Donald Trump tone down his junior high school playground bombast? Or, for that matter, would he say anything substantive in response to a policy question? Would Jeb Bush show some "cojones" in confronting Trump?  Would Carly Fiorina get in Trump's face, stand up to the braggart who had dissed hers? Would John Kasich be able …

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