From the Left
/Politics
Trump’s Woman Problem
If Kamala Harris wins in November, American women will deserve a lot of the credit. Polls suggest women will vote in record margins for Kamala Harris.
The ABC News/Ipsos poll released Sept. 1 found Harris leading Trump by a whopping 54% to 41% among women.
Donald Trump has a yuge woman problem. Below, I first examine why; then discuss how ...Read more
Why Giant Mergers Harm Workers
In front of the Federal Trade Commission building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., where I used to work, stands a giant sculpture of a runaway horse being reined in. It’s called “Man Controlling Trade.” The allegorical sculpture by Michael Lantz is one of a pair installed in 1942, part of a New Deal-era program administered by ...Read more
The Real Fight, Now
I’m feeling optimistic about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
I want to put this extraordinary moment into context.
Like many of you, I’ve worked my heart out during elections. (My first one was in 1968, when I went “clean for Gene” — Eugene McCarthy — shaved off my beard and organized volunteers to go door-to-door for the anti-Vietnam ...Read more
We Thank You, Joe
Tonight’s opening of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago will be an opportunity for the Democratic Party and the nation to take stock of Joe Biden’s term of office and thank him for his service.
He still has five months to go as president, of course, but the baton has been passed.
Biden’s singular achievement has been to change...Read more
The Trump Crack-Up
As the Harris-Walz team soars (polls are already showing Kamala taking the lead), Trump is cracking up.
His ego can’t take it. He is freaking out that his opponent — a Black woman — has more energy and momentum behind her than he has.
Last Thursday, after 10 days of Kamala in the limelight, Trump was so desperate for attention that he ...Read more
Why We Need Nauseous Optimism
For the first time in years, I’ve been walking around with a smile on my face. Maybe you have, too.
The positive energy unleashed by Kamala Harris over the last two weeks is in such stark contrast to the negative energy unleashed by Trump for the last nine years that it feels as if America has had a new beginning.
Complete strangers come up ...Read more
The Torch is Passed: from MAGA Throwbacks to America’s Future
Joe Biden didn’t just pass the torch to another generation. He passed it from white MAGA men to America’s future.
Consider that women now compose remarkably almost 60% of college undergraduates. And that by 2050, it’s estimated that America will consist mostly of minorities — 30% more Black people than today, 60% more Latinos, and ...Read more
What We Must Do Now
Trump swiftly reacted to President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 election, with typically nasty vitriol. Biden was “not fit to run,” “he wasn’t capable of being President,” “the Worst President, by far, in the History of our Nation,” who “just quit the race in COMPLETE DISGRACE!”
We all know that Trump projects ...Read more
How Are You Coping?
I want to ask you, candidly: How are you doing?
The last two weeks — beginning with the Biden-Trump debate when Biden looked and sounded even older than his years and Trump lied even more than usual, followed by the Democrats’ public agonizing over whether Biden should drop out, and then Saturday’s attempted assassination of Trump at a ...Read more
Why Isn’t the Media Reporting on Trump’s Growing Dementia?
A few weeks ago, at a rally in Nevada, Trump told his followers that boat manufacturers are now required to use electric engines. He claimed that someone at a boat company in South Carolina told him, “It’s a problem, sir. They want us to make all-electric boats.” (There is no such requirement.)
Trump then said the South Carolinian warned ...Read more
May I Have a Word With You?
I want to try to reassure you about this country.
I know that you’re worried and upset. You have every reason to be. Donald Trump is a vile human being, and he got away with a tsunami of lies Thursday night. Joe Biden didn’t come across with the vitality he needed to show.
I have no idea whether Biden will get his mojo back or the ...Read more
Why I’m scared about Thursday
I’m 78 today, and I’m terrified about what might come down Thursday evening when the oldest candidates ever to compete in a presidential race debate each other.
I’m less worried that Biden will suffer a mental lapse or physically stumble than I am that Biden will look weak and Trump appear strong.
One of Trump’s most successful ploys ...Read more
The Lies That Undermine America
Speaking at a rally on Saturday, Trump repeated his lie that the last presidential election was stolen from him, and again raised doubts about the integrity of the upcoming election. “We need to watch the vote. We need to guard the vote. We need to stop the steal,” he said.
How can we conduct a presidential election when one candidate and ...Read more