Newt Gingrich’s Lost Marbles Speech: ‘The Sharians Are Coming! The Sharians Are Coming!’ Newt Gingrich’s Lost Marbles Speech: ‘The Sharians Are Coming! The Sharians Are Coming!’
A psychotic outburst at the American Enterprise Institute.
Aug 2, 2010 / Bob Dreyfuss
MEDIA FIX: Upcoming George W. Bush Memoir Eagerly Embraced By—The Democrats? MEDIA FIX: Upcoming George W. Bush Memoir Eagerly Embraced By—The Democrats?
(This guest post written by Nation intern Melanie Breault.) George W. Bush’s memoir Decision Points -- remember, he was "The Decider" -- is not set to be published by Crown until November 9th, the week after the 2010 midterm elections, but it's already raising alarms, and not just in the predictable places. The former president says his book is not an autobiography, but more of “an analysis of key decisions in his life, both before and after he was elected president,” according to the early pubilcity. That’s fourteen decisions to be exact. Already we know that Decision Points starts with an anecdote about the night Laura Bush asked her husband whether he preferred booze to fatherhood and how from that moment on, he quit drinking, cold turkey. Crown says the book gives "gripping, never-before-heard detail" about the disputed 2000 election, how he responded to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hurricane Katrina and the financial crisis. Bush will also write “honestly and directly” about his weaknesses and mistakes as president, as well as his path out of alcoholism. News emeged today that Bush would grant his first big interview for the book on November 8 with NBC's Matt Lauer. As Bush edits the final touches of his opus on his computer in Dallas -- it's already marked down from $35 to $18.90 at Amazon -- GOPers can’t decide whether they’re happy about this new release or depressed. Former aide to the president Matt Latimer says the publication date -- surely highlights from the book will be leaked before Election Day -- represents “monumentally bad timing.” Paging Julian Assange! Other conservatives call Bush “selfish and stupid” because of the timing, like Lebron James (but with less access to ESPN hype). Latimer titled his Daily Beast article, "The Bush Book Bomb." Bush is not on the ballot this time, making the midterms “a referendum on Barack Obama,” says GOP strategist John Feehery, in NPR's report. But still, nervous Republicans would have preferred a later release date. "Right before Christmas," Feehery suggests. "It would make a nice stocking stuffer." The Democrats have already started putting out the welcome mat for Bush era nostalgia, as Laimer describes in his piece for The Daily Beast: Rep. Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said: “The more flashbacks of the Bush era we have, the more people will be reminded about the huge mess that Barack Obama and the Democrats inherited." Democratic strategist Karen Finney says that the publicity surrounding the book is the perfect opportunity to refer to the Bush policies and “have it resonate with voters by linking Republicans still in office with those policies.” Which is exactly what the DCCC did last month when they unveiled a new web video ad that showed Rep. Pete Sessions telling Meet the Press, “we need to go back to the exact same agenda.” But Republicans like Sen. John Cornyn think this book is a great idea and that the GOP can use it as Americans become more dissatisfied with the increasing national deficit under the Obama Administration. He told C-SPAN, "I think a lot of people are looking back with a little -- with more fondness on President Bush's administration, and I think history will treat him well." Since Bush is no longer the president, voters are warming up to “Bush, the person,” so they may also be intrigued by his memoir, not resentful. Its Amazon page offers a "three-fer" with latest books by Bill O'Reilly and Laura Ingraham. Bush says he wants historians to use this book as a tool to evaluate his presidency. "I don't think you can come to a definitive conclusion about a presidency until the passage of time," Bush said. "I want to put you in my position."
Aug 2, 2010 / Melanie Breault
Congressman Weiner Will Not Yield Congressman Weiner Will Not Yield
New York Congressman Anthony Weiner is not going to take it anymore. And his fellow Democrats should take notice.
Aug 2, 2010 / John Nichols
On the Anniversary of Medicare Comes a Renewed Call for ‘Medicare for All’ On the Anniversary of Medicare Comes a Renewed Call for ‘Medicare for All’
As we celebrate the 45th anniversary of the popular Medicare program, let's remember that Harry Truman's original plan was to cover all Americans. That's what Senator Sanders and C...
Aug 1, 2010 / John Nichols
This Week At TheNation.com: The WikiLeaks Documents. Plus: Five Videos and More This Week At TheNation.com: The WikiLeaks Documents. Plus: Five Videos and More
Christian Parenti on a big green buy. Plus: three appearances on The Rachel Maddow Show.
Jul 30, 2010 / Katrina vanden Heuvel
Slacker Friday Slacker Friday
On Shirley Sherrod and the Republicans' great future hopes.
Jul 30, 2010 / Eric Alterman
Media Fix: Obama In ‘View’ — Survives Mockery from Palin, Colbert, Fox News Media Fix: Obama In ‘View’ — Survives Mockery from Palin, Colbert, Fox News
(This guest piece written by Nation intern Melanie Breault, who also contributes items every day to the Daybook.) If you had the opportunity to sit down with President Obama and four of your girlfriends, what would you talk about? Immigration reform, the Gulf oil crisis, the WikiLeaked Afghanistan war documents? How about Snooki, Mel Gibson and the president’s iPod playlists? This morning, Obama made history as the first sitting president to appear on a daytime talk show when he appeared on The View, and the show’s hosts took full advantage. Without wasting any time, Barbara Walters asked him, “Do you really think that being on a show with a bunch of women, five women who never shut up, is going to be calming?” His response: “Look, I was trying to find a show that Michelle actually watched.” The hosts of the show actually did quiz the president on political issues including the economy, the war, as well as race relations in reference to the Shirley Sherrod episode. Still, Sarah Palin tweeted this afternoon: “President w/ no time to visit porous US/Mexican border to offer help to those risking life to secure us, but lotso' time to chat on The View?” A few days before the show, FOX News criticized the president for choosing the ladies over the Boy Scouts' 100th anniversary Jamboree. An article there pointed out that “organizers had invited the president to speak to the 45,000 scouts in attendance” and “all three of Obama's predecessors have made it to one Jamboree while in office.” Stephen Colbert didn’t waste an opportunity to laugh at its absurdity, by claiming that the president was “once again disrespecting our boys in uniform.” As the day went on, media outlets picked which part of the interview they want to focus on, whether the headline reads “Flustered by Mel Gibson & Snooki” or “I Wasn’t Invited To Chelsea’s Wedding." Tonight The Daily Show opened with some choice clips from the media protests (Fred Barnes, Michelle Malkin, even Ed Rendell)--with some claiming that Obama had destroyed the "dignity" of the office. Jon Stewart then showed George Bush's sit-down in 2004 with....Dr. Phil. The hot blog topic, naturally, was his claim that he didn't know who Snooki is, even though he had name-checked her in a speech. We'll expect calls for impeachment over that by daybreak. Then there was the inevitable what's-on-your-iPod query and reply: "You name it. You name a song, I've got it on there. I've got Jay-Z on there. I've got Frank Sinatra on there. I've got Maria Callas on there." "Justin Bieber!" proposed Sherri Shepherd. "I do not have Justin Bieber on there," said Obama. Good thing those under-18 still can't vote.
Jul 29, 2010 / Melanie Breault
On the JournoList, Journalists and Journalism On the JournoList, Journalists and Journalism
I was never a fan of private Listservs. I'm still not. But it is time to put this overblown discussion in perspective.
Jul 29, 2010 / John Nichols
Why You Should Stop Drinking Bottled Water Why You Should Stop Drinking Bottled Water
No matter who you are, no matter what your politics, it makes environmental, capitalist and ethical sense to ditch the bottled water habit.
Jul 29, 2010 / Peter Rothberg
Do You Know Who Eric Alterman Is? Do You Know Who Eric Alterman Is?
On Nascar, the Pentagon Papers and the mail.
Jul 29, 2010 / Eric Alterman