James Fallows
Cohn & Kirn Debate the First Debate
In a new feature, Jonathan Cohn, TNR’s longtime policy wonk, and Walter Kirn, a novelist covering his first presidential campaign, debate the week’s big political stories via Google chat. This week, they discuss Obama's disdain for Romney; Romney's talent for closing deals; and what roles the candidates would play on Sesame Street. Jonathan: Hi, Walter. So tell me - how did the debate play out in real America - by which I mean, not Ann Arbor – or Washington? READ MORE >>
Why Political Reform Should Be Priority Number One
Yes, we know we’re tempting fate. But we figure there’s a 50 percent chance Obama will get reelected, and in any case he needs an agenda to campaign on. So we’ve asked a number of TNR writers to explain what they think Obama should focus on for the next four years if he wins in November. Click here to read the collected contributions. READ MORE >>
James Rowe’s Advice To Barack Obama
The best part of James Fallows’s excellent new evaluation of Barack Obama’s presidency (“Obama, Explained” in the March Atlantic) comes at the end. That’s when Fallows quotes at length a memo that the New Deal lawyer James H. Rowe, Jr. wrote for Truman after the House and Senate went Republican in 1946. The memo’s basic message is, “It’s impossible to cooperate when the other party controls Congress. Don’t even try. READ MORE >>
Why Apple Went to China, Con'd
Were the Recess Appointments Constitutional? The Case for Yes
Should President Obama use the recess appointment power when Republicans in Congress refuse even to consider his nominees? You better believe it. Not only are Republicans blocking Obama’s nominations at a record rate. They are doing so in order to impose their own ideological agenda and, in some cases, to undermine duly passed laws they don't like but can't repeal. READ MORE >>
Now Fallows Is Mad as Hell
Another day, another mild-mannered journalist is having a tizzy. As well he should. READ MORE >>
