The Political Mind: Commentary

Special Section: The Second Term. The Inaugural Address [Read] The State of the Union [Read]

The Center:

Christian Science Monitor: World media: Bush inaugural a jolt
Emphasis on freedom still takes unilateral road alienating foreign press.

Foreign Affairs:
Grand Strategy
in the Second Term
By Prof. John Lewis Gaddis

The Left:

The Right:

The Washington Times:
The inaugural address
Bush's Freedom Speech
By William Safire
National Review:
Bush Bids for Greatness:
By Micahel Novak

On Tyranny: George W. Bush's Second Inaugural was a powerful and subtle speech. It will also prove to be historic.
by William Kristol

Dancing the war away
By Bob Herbert

The Doctrine That Never Died
By TOM WOLFE
January 30, 2005

From London:

The Gaurdian:
Fireworks in Washington, Despair around the world
"The Bush administration is in denial about its disastrous failure in Iraq"
by Robin Cook

And now ... four more years Bush pleads for unity as clear victory consolidates power.
By Julian Borger

PROGRESSIVE:

The Iraq Election:
Common Dreams:
"The Future of Iraq and U.S. Occupation
by Noam Chomsky, [2/03/05]

Mother Jones:
"Election Day
By many accounts, the vote was a success. But don't celebrate too soon."
By David Enders, [1/30/05]

Slate:
"Birth of a Nation?
Iraq is still a mess, but today's election was a dramatic step in the right direction.
By Fred Kaplan [1/31/05]

watchingthewatchers.org
Iraqi Elections/Vietnam Elections
An interesting historic parallel

Social Security:
Washington Post:*
"THE OTHER AMERICA'
MAY BE COMING BACK"
By Harold Meyerson, [1/5/05]

New York Times:*
"THE ICEBERG COMETH"
By Paul Krugman, [1/11/05]

DNC Chair:
The American Prospect
"Butler Did It
The DNC chair rarely matters. But it did in the 1950s, and it could today.
By Harold Meyerson

Iraq:
Common Dreams:
Why the Children in Iraq Make No Sound When They Fall
by Bernard ChazelleOn

The Nation:
WMD Hunt Ends;
Bush's Spin Goes On
Capitol Games: David Corn

Yes, you must pull out,
but also pay for the damage
"The US isn't protecting or feeding Iraqis,
it's stoking violence and hardship."
by Naomi Klein [12/27/04]

Taxes:
Center for American Progress
"Conservative Rhetoric on Tax Cuts Does Not Match Economic Reality."
by Christian E. Weller

2004 Election Post-Mortem:
New York Times
"Winning Cases, Losing Voters."
by Paul Starr, Co- Editor of
American Prospect

Washington Monthly
"WHAT NOW?
A discussion on the way forward
for the Democrats."
by a Panel of Experts

Mother Jones
A GATHERING SWARM
by Todd Gitlin
"The mobilization to defeat George W. Bush was innovative, passionate ... and ultimately insufficient. But its fusion of movement and machine could yet transform the political landscape."

Washington Monthly
"Bob in Paradise
How Novak created his own ethics-free zone."
by Amy Sullivan

Richardson Named Head of
Democratic Governors Assoc.
NPR, Morning Edition
Dec. 3, 2004

CONSERVATIVE:

Iraq Election:
National Review:
"Freedom over Cynicism
Bush and the Iraqis get it.
Peggy Noonan doesn't.
By Larry Kudlow

American Spectator:
"The Iraqi Election"
By Jed Babbin

National Review:
"The Stuff Nations Are Built On
Iraqis now have their own
heroic story of resistance.
By Jonah Goldberg

Foreign Policy:
National Review:
"Spreading freedom is more strategically important in some areas than in others."
An Editorial

2004 Election Post Mortem:
Washington Post:
"IT'S HER PARTY AND SHE'LL
CRY IF SHE WANTS TO"
Fmr. NJ Gov. Christine Whitman writes
about the importance of moderates
Link to Book

Social Security:
Weekly Standard
Social Security Snares & Delusions
How not to squander political capital.
by Irwin M. Stelzer

National Review
The editors discuss reform:
"AGAINST THE DOUBTERS"

Iraq & Don Rumsfeld:
Weekly Standard
"FIGHTING THE WRONG WAR"
"What Rumsfeld's defenders
don't want to admit."
by Frederick W. Kagan

Intellectual Conservative
Meditations on the War & Rumsfeld
by Nicholas Stix
"Taking out Rumsfeld would leave the President exposed to direct fire and would leave Rumsfeld’s successor chastened by the awareness of the price of aggressively doing his job."

Culture Wars:
Washington Times
"PRESIDENT OUTLINES ROLE
OF HIS FAITH"
President Bush gives an exclusive interview to the Washington Times

Washington Times
Christianity in Retreat
by Helle Dale
The Merry Christmas "debate"

United Nations:
Washington Times
U.N. without shame
by Arnold Beichman
"Shouldn't President Bush be asking if it isn't time to dump the United Nations and to start anew?"

CENTRIST:

Special Section: The Second Term [click here]

Week in Review: 1.24-1.30

N.P.R: Analysis by Cokie Roberts:
How the Iraqi Elections Will
Affect U.S. Policy

State of the Union Address
Read State of the Union transcripts from President Truman to President Bush on the C-Span website. [LINK]

Politically Speaking:
Columbia Journalism review:
Politics and the English Language, Part Two
Social Security Semantics, Continued
[January 2005]

Watergate:
LA Times:
Do we Jail Deep Throats?
By John Dean

Obituary Follow Up:
The New York Times:
Form Follows Fascism
By MARK STEVENS
Philip Johnson's role in American culture is a darker one than many have thoughts

Gay Mariage: Views from Boston:
Washington Times:
Gays make taxing choice
As if tax season isn't stressful enough, homosexual "newlyweds" in Massachusetts have a new question to consider: Do they check "married" or "single" on their federal tax forms?

NPR:
How Straight Couples Are Riding on the Coattails of Gay Rights
Private employers are phasing out their domestic partner benefits over the next few years, on the logic that since gays can now marry in Massachusetts, there is no need for benefits for unmarried partners - gay or straight.

International Relations:
The Guardian:
Blair optimistic over Bush
The Guardian reports on an interview the Prime Minister gave to the Financial Times

Iraq & the Middle East:
The New Yorker:
THE COMING WARS
What the Pentagon can now do in secret.
by Seymour M. Hersh
Jan. 30, 2005

New York Times*:
"DIPLOMACY THAT CAN'T
BE DELEGATED"
Israel and the Middle East.
By Warren Christopher
Dec. 30, 2004

US Economy:
The Economist:
"THRIFT IS A FOREIGN CONCEPT"
The falling dollar has failed to narrow America’s trade deficit, which set another record in November. But foreign investors are still eager to plug the gap"

Obituary:
Susan Sontag
"Remembering an intellectual hero."
By Christopher Hitchens
As published in Salon.com

Iraq:
Foreign Affairs Magazine
"WINNING THE UNWINNABLE WAR"
by James Dobbins