Politics

I wish William Julius Wilson were as evocative a writer as he is a thinker. Over the past 30 years, the legendary Harvard sociologist has done more than any other social scientist to illuminate the desperate plight of the poor. But he buries his brilliantly nuanced analysis in such flat, academic prose that his insights…

Looking at the radiant Michelle Obama smiling from the covers of every major magazine in America, it’s not hard to imagine that the unquestionably foxy Supriya Jindal could make a very elegant first Indian-American first lady one of these days. But she’ll never get that chance if her husband doesn’t tighten up his game. Republicans…

If there were ever a time for the average American to pay close attention to a president’s trip to an international summit, this would be it. Hopefully, this week’s G-20 summit in London will help to turn around the ailing global economy, but also, it may remind the American people—understandably preoccupied with domestic economic woes—that…

Does anyone still remember Roger and Me? Michael Moore’s 1989 film chronicled the filmmaker’s attempts to interview GM chairman Roger Smith, whose efforts to streamline and downsize had shattered GM’s hometown of Flint, Mich. Back then, shutting down plants, cutting benefits, and throwing workers on the proverbial street was depicted as the epitome of corporate…

It was a whirlwind affair. Europe’s love-at-first-sight attraction to Barack Obama grew quickly into a serious courtship in the weeks before and after his election. His inauguration signaled the promise of a healthy relationship: common interests, similar goals, mutual respect and a commitment to make it work. Consider this week the first major post-honeymoon dust-up.…

Through her combination of cunning, empathy and resilience Michelle Obama embodies the blue steel level of revelation that’s central to the blues itself and to the tragic optimism of Americana at its best. Even though she is from Chicago, the urban blues capital, and her husband has the same birthday as Louis Armstrong, it is doubtful…

Recently, I got a call from a Republican National Committee member from the Mid-Atlantic. She was worried that Michael Steele may be ousted from his RNC chairmanship before he ever gets started. She told me that she had received repeated calls from concerned committee members in Georgia, Tennessee and some Midwest states about Steele’s foibles and…

I almost didn’t recognize Buckwheat when he walked into the breakfast room at the Home for Retired Racial Stereotypes. Instead of the customary tangle of pigtails and ill-fitting T-shirt, his hair had been neatly trimmed, and he was dressed in a dark-blue suit, crisp white shirt and red striped tie. An American flag pin adorned his…

Don’t get caught slippin’. That’s the lesson for anyone who wants to put forth any malarkey about a post-racial nation. If you haven’t heard by now, NFLer Ryan Moats and his wife were pulled over while rushing to the hospital to see her dying mother. Before you fly off the handle, try to put yourself…