Tag Archives: Obama

The First Ten Years, Part II

Posted on May 25, 2020 by hessd

The first pass I made over my first ten years of blogging considered the foundational questions. Why blogging? Why the “dilettante” theme? Today I want to review what the political arc of the first decade has been. You wouldn’t think I … Continue reading →

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Black Quarterbacks

Posted on January 29, 2016 by hessd

How do blacks act? I think that is a genuinely stupid question. I wouldn’t put it in this essay at all if I didn’t hear it on the radio most days.  Ordinarily it isn’t said; it is presumed. Last weekend, … Continue reading →

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The President and March Madness

Posted on September 5, 2014 by hessd

It’s early September today.  Teachers have just celebrated their New Year’s Eve, the last evening before “the year” starts for them.  Students have finished shopping for back to school clothes and backpacks and tablets—I meant the paper ones; with the spiral … Continue reading →

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“Flopping”

Posted on May 21, 2014 by hessd

John Dickerson asked on the Slate Political Gabfest recently what should be done about all the floppers.  I had never heard that expression applied to politics, but I understood what he meant right away. He had a political application in … Continue reading →

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Does Democracy Actually Work?

Posted on November 6, 2013 by hessd

There are a lot of reasons why it might not.  I have lectured for many years about why democracy might not work anymore or why it never really did, although it seemed to at the time.  When you approach the … Continue reading →

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How are the prospects for President Obama’s second term in office?  Pretty good, I’d say, all things being considered.  The President is duly aware of what he calls “locusts”—unforeseen events that swarm the political landscape and destroy the prospects for … Continue reading →

Posted on January 21, 2013 by hessd | Leave a comment

“Next to our liberties, most dear”

Posted on November 11, 2012 by hessd

Here’s the way I picture it.  It is April 13, 1830.  President Andrew Jackson and his Vice President, John C. Calhoun were attending a Jefferson Day dinner.  Jackson was a proponent of national dominance; Calhoun of the states’ right to … Continue reading →

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What Was It All About?

Posted on November 8, 2012 by hessd

The recently concluded—mostly concluded—election of 2012 is over.  What was it about?  As I look at the results and the arguments that led to them, it seems to me there are really only two questions involved.  The first is a … Continue reading →

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What Will the General Election Be About?

Posted on February 19, 2012 by hessd

New York Times CBS Poll Feb 3—13, 2012  Registered Voters 1064 Registered Republicans 316 Registered Democrats 368 How is President Obama Doing? Pretty well, all things being considered. His numbers are nowhere near where they were when he was elected, … Continue reading →

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Obama’s Policy on Israel and Palestine

Posted on September 23, 2011 by hessd

How shall we approach the decades-long standoff between Israel and Palestine?  In our rush to establish one position or another, we blow right by the general questions which the positions purportedly address.  Any set of comparable positions lines up on … Continue reading →

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