Politics
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Obama Negotiates Apology From Israel to Turkey
During his Middle Eastern diplomatic trip, President Obama facilitated a historic conversation between Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, reports CNN. Just before departing for Jordan on Friday, Obama scored a diplomatic coup when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to Turkey for a 2010 commando raid that killed nine activists…
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How Sriracha Explains the GOP's Problem
(The Root) — The Republican National Committee’s 100-page “Growth & Opportunity Project” report (pdf) came out this week, with the aim of diagnosing what went wrong for the GOP in 2012 and prescribing a fix for Republicans’ stark failure: Ninety-three percent of black voters, 71 percent of Latinos and 73 percent of Asian Americans cast…
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Michelle Obama: Why Her Presence at the White House Matters
Citing her poise, grace, intelligence and accomplishments, Clutch magazine‘s Zettler Clay says that first lady Michelle Obama’s presence at the Oval Office may be more impactful than that of her husband. When it’s all said and done, Michelle Obama’s presence in the Oval Office may rival her husband’s. To me, right now, she surpasses him. Many remember…
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Will Obama's Bracket Beat the 63rd Percentile This Year?
Last year President’s Obama’s men’s March Madness bracket ranked 2,347,421 out of 6.45 million entries, placing him in the 63.6th percentile. Not a bad number, but can he do any better this time around, in his fifth straight year sharing his picks with ESPN? He has picked Florida, Indiana, Louisville and Ohio State to reach…
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The CPAC Race 'Chaos' Had a Silver Lining
(The Root) — Before you call me crazy for trying to find the silver lining in the storm clouds that hovered over the “Race Card” panel last Friday at CPAC, keep one thing in mind. I was there. And it definitely was, as first covered by Talking Points Memo’s Benjy Sarlin, a “shouting match” that…
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11 Things About Tom Perez, Obama's Latino Labor Secretary Pick
On Monday President Obama nominated Tom Perez, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, as labor secretary in his first second-term nomination of a Latino Cabinet member. If confirmed, Perez — whom the president calls a consensus builder whose story “reminds us of this country’s promise” — will play a key role in the…
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Sarah Palin Mocks President Obama at CPAC
On Saturday, former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin brought her folksy charm to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland with a speech in which she made fun of President Obama for his support of gun control and background checks, reports USA Today. During her address to the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC,…
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Is TW Shannon the GOP's Next Big Star?
(The Root) — If you don’t know who T.W. Shannon is yet, you will. Sworn in as speaker of the Oklahoma State House of Representatives in January, Shannon will appear at the annual Conservative Political Action Committee convention Saturday on a panel of “10 Conservatives Under 40” as part of conservatives’ efforts to broaden their…
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A 'Good Guy With a Gun' Is Dead
(The Root) — If Wayne LaPierre’s claim that “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun” were true, Master Trooper Junius A. Walker of the Virginia State Police would be alive and well today. Instead, the 40-year veteran officer known for his gentle demeanor —…
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What Detroit Needs Is an HNIC
(The Root) — In her best-seller Dead Aid, noted African economist Dambisa Moyo said that what is needed for many poor countries suffering from corrupt, incompetent or ineffective leadership is a “benevolent dictator,” whom she defined as someone who is brave and powerful enough to push through necessary reforms. Despite the debate that ensued after…