David Swerdlick
ARTICLES:
Mr. President, Get a Handle on the Scandals
With the Benghazi flap on top of the IRS scandal, Obama has to act now or risk an ugly second term.
The Other Reason GOP Won't Work With Obama
Back when congressional Republicans actually made a deal with the president, he got the credit.
Ben Carson's Gay-Marriage Misfire
Equating it with pedophilia and bestiality is the exact wrong way to launch a political career.
Of Course, Ben Carson Will Never Be President
The GOP's hunger for fresh faces once again ignores the obvious in a new star -- and about Obama's appeal.
How Sriracha Explains the GOP's Problem
The rising popularity of the condiment shows why Republicans are out of touch with 2013 America.
The CPAC Race 'Chaos' Had a Silver Lining
A debate breaks out at a conservative gathering over "disenfranchised" whites and slavery. Progress?
Is TW Shannon the GOP's Next Big Star?
At CPAC, the Oklahoma House speaker told us why they can't "become the party of old white men."
Obama's State of the Union Must-Do List
The president should focus on sequestration, immigration and gun control -- and leave the rest alone.
Good Job Stepping Aside, Susan Rice
On BET.com, columnist David Swerdlick argues that the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations was actually smart to bow out of the combative confirmation hearings.
Obama's Inauguration Address Was Conservative
If the president's speech was judged to be the opposite of conservative, then conservatism is in worse shape than we thought, David Swerdlick writes at the Hill.
BLOG POSTINGS:
Romney Adviser on Medicare, Job Crisis
Blogging the Beltway: Jonathan Burks told us his candidate would make "no benefit cuts" to Medicare.
And Now We're Post-Biracial
“Cablinasian” was the Tiger Woods brand—and it sold.
Mad Men's "I Have A Dream" Sequence
If you really wanted to stretch the allegory, Carla and Betty’s relationship is the relationship between black and white America.
Mad Men: Pete Campbell's FUBU Moment
After watching the scene with Pete and Hollis a few times, I got the sense that Pete is just the sort of habitual line-stepper to corner the black elevator operator to ask him an unsophisticated, yet still probing question about the shopping preferences of “Negroes.”
White Skin, Black Masks
Mad Men is better off taking a smaller cut at race issues and really nailing the way they portray black characters, as opposed to weaving in a major racial theme and risking either overdoing or underdoing the nuance.
Not Too Late for an Obama ‘Staycation’
Conservatives will find a way to raise hell about the first black first family living lavish on The Vineyard with Secret Service in tow.
Are We Mad About Mad Men?
It’s more important for Mad Men to get it right on race in those few instances that it does take on racial issues, than it is to have racial tension be a major theme in the show’s overall arc.
Sotomayor: A High-Tech Cinching
The U.S. Senate confirmed Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the next member of the U.S. Supreme Court, and it’s first Latina Justice by a vote of 68-31.
Double-Edged Steele
RNC Chair Michael Steele’s antics are a lot easier to explain if you consider the possibility that he’s a double agent working for President Barack Obama—ponder this... A few months back, CNN reported that Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ house slave, William Jackson, was an agent for the Union army. Davis spoke with his generals openly in Jackson’s presence—thinking of Jackson as a mere “piece of furniture.” Meanwhile, Jackson absorbed key military information, then escaped in 1861 and delivered what he knew to Union commanders. Maybe Steele is Jackson’s heir apparent.
He's Going Back to Indiana
My generation never can say goodbye to Michael Jackson.