Category Archives: Politics

The Things That Hold

I spend a lot of time in my classes and my scholarly writing trying to explore the legacy of European colonialism and the Atlantic slave trade in Africa. I think these are wide-open questions. Depending on my mood, I can … Continue reading

Posted in Africa, Politics | 3 Comments

Obama on Race

Come on, this is a great speech. I have no idea whether it’s a great speech tactically: clearly some people will hear or think what they want to hear. But this is one of the few speeches by an American … Continue reading

Posted in Politics | 8 Comments

Sharp Partisan

Matthew Yglesias has an interesting piece in the April Atlantic that argues that intense partisan differences between the two major American political parties are a good thing, on balance, that they allow voters to make clear choices and decrease the … Continue reading

Posted in Politics | 6 Comments

From the Desk of HRC

Dear White Pennsylvanians: Barack Obama is a Negro. We think maybe you hadn’t noticed. Yours, Geraldine Ferraro Ed Rendell Bill Clinton and other to-be-disavowed supporters yet-to-be-named.

Posted in Politics | 17 Comments

Naughty Number Nine

A rule of thumb: public virtue tends to reside most in elected officials who quietly go about the business of enforcing minimal standards of conduct and ethics on themselves and their colleagues, who make enemies reluctantly. Look for people who … Continue reading

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Choose Your Own Fairy Tale

Richard Dawkins really annoys the crap out of me sometimes. I was just listening to a rebroadcast of his interview on NPR’s Fresh Air about his book The God Delusion, and I found myself as irritated with him as I’ve … Continue reading

Posted in Politics | 35 Comments

“We’re Americans First”

The first job for the next President is not Iraq and not the economy. I don’t really hear any of the candidates talking to the key priority as forthrightly as I might like, but this is very much how I … Continue reading

Posted in Politics | 10 Comments

Puzzler

1. Hillary Clinton has more political experience than Barack Obama. By claiming this, I take it that she’s claiming her time as First Lady and as the wife of the governor of Arkansas as political experience, since otherwise she has … Continue reading

Posted in Politics | 4 Comments

I Wonder…

How long the NY Times has been sitting on this story on John McCain? I’m guessing there will be plenty of talk tomorrow about it.

Posted in Politics | 9 Comments

Uncharacteristically Brief Remarks

I’m very pleased by the vote in favor of open-access at Harvard. Not just because of open-access, but because it shows that it’s possible for faculty to choose dramatic changes or reforms in their way of business. I don’t know … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Books, Politics, Swarthmore | 2 Comments