Jon Cohn
Obama's Sainthood Won't Raise The Debt Limit
“A prince, so long as he keeps his subjects united and loyal, ought not to mind the reproach of cruelty; because with a few examples he will be more merciful than those who, through too much mercy, allow disorders to arise, from which follow murders or robberies; for these are wont to injure the whole people…” --N. Machiavelli, The Prince, Chapter XVII, “Concerning Cruelty and Clemency, and Whether It Is Better To Be Loved Than Feared.”President Obama seems to think that you win by demonstrating that you’re a more reasonable person than your opponents. It didn’t work too badly, I’ll grant, as an electoral strategy in the 2012 election. But when governing it is generally preferable to demonstrate that you’re willing to be an even bigger son-of-a-bitch than your opponents are. This wisdom has been widely disseminated for at least 500 years (see above), but it seems to elude the White House. Maybe we should blame the unwholesome influence of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, but for whatever reason this president often seems more interested in getting into heaven than in getting his way. READ MORE >>
Kill This Deal
"This miry slough is such a place as cannot be mended; it is the descent whither the scum and filth that attends conviction for sin doth continually run, and therefore it is called the Slough of Despond; for still, as the sinner is awakened about his lost condition, there ariseth in his soul many fears, and doubts, and discouraging apprehensions, which all of them get together, and settle in this place. And this is the reason of the badness of this ground." READ MORE >>
Exit Polls Can’t Explain Why Obama Won
We all know that President Obama won re-election last night. But why did he win? My colleague Jon Cohn makes a persuasive broad-brush argument, but when I try to identify, from exit poll data, the specific Obama policies that voters ratified, the exercise proves weirdly difficult. READ MORE >>
Cohn & Kirn Debate the “Real Romney”
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 whether we’ve finally seen the “real Romney;” why the rich are no smarter than anyone else; and Bill Kristol’s political maneuvers. Jonathan Cohn why don't you start- i gather you have a counterintuitive take on the 47 percent fiasco READ MORE >>
National Review, Race, And Me
Why I Don't Want Tax Reform
My new TRB column argues that 2012 is not 1986, and that tax reform is therefore not a good idea. Ezra Klein uses some of the same arguments to suggest that life without tax reform would be intolerable, but he doesn't explain why. READ MORE >>
Unemployment Reform: Still A Bad Idea
House and Senate negotiators have been meeting to work out an agreement on extending the payroll tax cut, which currently is due to expire at the end of February, through 2012. After last month's partisan battle over the issue, which proved costly to Republicans, everyone now is apparently on board with the extension. READ MORE >>
Another Bogus Attack on Obamacare
&c
-- Jon Cohn on that shaky McKinsey health care report -- Tim Pawlenty's insane tax proposals, now in chart form -- Mitt Romney sets new standards in candidate awkwardness READ MORE >>
