Third Way Perspectives
Posts Tagged ‘Ronald Reagan’
2012 is not 1976
February 3rd, 2012
This piece originally appeared in Politico.
Newt Gingrich thinks he’s Ronald Reagan and 2012 is 1976.
In 1976, Reagan ran a tough, scrappy primary campaign. It was a conservative insurgency against President Ford, the titular, but unelected, leader of the Republican Party. Reagan never gave up, even after he lost Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida and Illinois. South Carolina did not have a Republican primary in 1976. Reagan came back to life by winning North Carolina in late March. He then started winning the late Southern and Western primaries. It was not enough to defeat Ford, but Reagan went all the way to the Republican convention.
Obama: Politics vs. diplomacy
February 7th, 2011
This piece was originally published in Politico.
Diplomacy is subtle. Politics is not.
President Barack Obama is under pressure right now to pursue a subtle, delicately nuanced diplomacy in trying to influence the course of events in Egypt. That can be politically hazardous.
To keep the 2010 midterms from repeating 1994, Democrats can learn from Reagan
September 20th, 2010
This piece was originally published in The Washington Post.
“We are going to lose the House and the Senate.”
Those were the opening words of a memo that I faxed to my then-boss, Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), on Labor Day in 1994. Schumer was still in the House, I was his legislative director, and my prediction was based on one overarching idea: The Democratic Party had lost its way. Our national agenda had been hijacked by the parochial agendas of aggrieved special interest groups. And as a result, we were badly misfiring with the middle class.
High-minded Obama lacks fear factor
February 23rd, 2010
This piece was originally published in Politico.
Why does President Barack Obama strike so many voters as an elitist? Because he is, by style and temperament, an “NPR Democrat.” He’s smart, cool and rational — “All Things Considered.” Conservatives do not consider all things. They consider only what they damn well want to consider. Sarah Palin got off a zinger when she told the tea party convention, “We need a commander in chief, not a professor of law standing at a lectern.”
Ouch.
A Populist Eruption In Massachusetts?
January 15th, 2010
This piece was originally published in National Journal.
Imagine this OMG moment for Democrats: a Massachusetts Republican wins Edward Kennedy’s Senate seat.
What an upset that would be. It’s JFK’s old seat, for goodness sake. After JFK won the presidency in 1960, the seat was occupied for two years by his former Harvard roommate until Edward Kennedy was old enough to run. He won the seat in 1962 and held it for 47 years. Massachusetts has not elected a Republican to the Senate since 1972. Right now, the state’s congressional delegation does not include a single Republican.
Obama’s Aces Over
January 5th, 2010
This piece was originally published on The Huffington Post.
In Washington, the conventional wisdom says that President Obama has spent his last nickel of political capital. His quick and substantial action to steady the financial markets, stimulate the economy, reset the war in Afghanistan, and, most of all, to reform health care, have all been bold and, to varying degrees, controversial. These mega-battles have left his political allies exhausted and his political coffers bare. His approval rating has steadily bled to an all-time Obama low. The outlook for 2010, the CW says, is for no further action in Congress and a grim midterm election for Democrats.
But such thinking fundamentally misunderstands the nature of political capital – it isn’t spent on big initiatives, it’s gambled. Right now, the President may appear to have a meager stack of chips in front of him, but it’s because his entire bankroll is in the pot. And as it turns out, he’s holding a couple of aces.