The New York Review of Books

‘The premier literary-intellectual magazine in the English language.’

November 9th 2012

14 notes |#

Garry Wills, What Romney Lost

Posted at 2:56pm and tagged with: Garry Wills, The New York Review of Books, election 2012, mitt romney, politics,.

“
Many losing candidates became elder statesmen of their parties. What lessons will Romney have to teach his party? The art of crawling uselessly? How to contemn 47 percent of Americans less privileged and beautiful than his family? How to repudiate the past while damaging the future?
”

November 6th 2012

5 notes |#

Paul Volcker, The Next Four Years: Avoiding a Standoff

Posted at 6:09pm and tagged with: the new york review of books, paul volcker, election 2012,.

“
My point here is that we should look ahead. Where is the solid ground upon which to build, to restore some clear sense of national interest and national purpose, to restore confidence in the political process and in government itself? We don’t simply have a financial problem, a problem of economic balance and structure: we have a more fundamental problem of effective governance.
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November 5th 2012

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Nathaniel Rich: “There are few acts more debasing than knocking on a stranger’s door and asking for his vote. Picture the scene: early afternoon, an empty residential street in Cleveland, Tampa, or, in my case this past week, Virginia Beach. The canvasser stands on the doorstep bedecked like a jester in colorful stickers. The stickers, which bear candidates’ names, are important; without them he might be confused for a bill collector or traveling salesman.”

Hunting for Swing Voters in Virginia Beach

Photo: Vice President Joe Biden campaigning in Virginia, 2012 (Christopher Anderson/Magnum Photos)

Posted at 2:53pm and tagged with: the new york review of books, election 2012, nathaniel rich, canvassing, virginia beach,.

Nathaniel Rich: “There are few acts more debasing than knocking on a stranger’s door and asking for his vote. Picture the scene: early afternoon, an empty residential street in Cleveland, Tampa, or, in my case this past week, Virginia Beach. The canvasser stands on the doorstep bedecked like a jester in colorful stickers. The stickers, which bear candidates’ names, are important; without them he might be confused for a bill collector or traveling salesman.” Hunting for Swing Voters in Virginia Beach Photo: Vice President Joe Biden campaigning in Virginia, 2012 (Christopher Anderson/Magnum Photos)

November 5th 2012

3 notes |#

While it may be true that we’re unlikely to see another election in which the issues are more clearly drawn, it’s probably not too soon to declare dysfunction the likely winner, when we take account of the splurge of Super PAC dollars, the nature of our checks-and-balances system (which might be shortened to read simply “checks system,” or perhaps “check for checks system”), and the obsession of the media with the latest stumble rather than the underlying commitments of candidates.

Joseph Lelyveld, The Likely Winner

(Mitt Romney and Barack Obama drawing by John Springs)

Posted at 8:44am and tagged with: The New York Review of Books, election 2012, barack obama, mitt romney, joseph Lelyveld,.

While it may be true that we’re unlikely to see another election in which the issues are more clearly drawn, it’s probably not too soon to declare dysfunction the likely winner, when we take account of the splurge of Super PAC dollars, the nature of our checks-and-balances system (which might be shortened to read simply “checks system,” or perhaps “check for checks system”), and the obsession of the media with the latest stumble rather than the underlying commitments of candidates. Joseph Lelyveld, The Likely Winner (Mitt Romney and Barack Obama drawing by John Springs)

October 23rd 2012

10 notes |#

Jonathan Freedland, America Forgets the World

Posted at 2:47pm and tagged with: The New York Review of Books, jonathan freedland, election 2012, presidential debate, foreign policy, iran, iraq, Israel, china,.

“
Most of the time, the world outside America consisted of three Is and (toward the end) a single C: the threat of a nuclear Iran, the need to stand with Israel, the wisdom of going into Iraq nearly a decade ago and of maintaining a troop presence there now, and finally the menace of job-stealing, currency-manipulating China. Europe surfaced just once, and then only in a list of regions where the US had strong alliances, alongside Africa and Asia. India, home to a billion people and a rising power, was mentioned not at all.
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October 12th 2012

10 notes |#

Elizabeth Drew, Ryan Meets Reality

Going into the debate, Vice President Joe Biden needed to stop the talk of the first presidential debate and Paul Ryan needed to maintain the Republicans’ momentum. But Ryan never quite caught up with the whirling dervish at the top of the GOP ticket. Ryan staked out some positions that could bedevil Romney in the closing weeks of the campaign—on Medicare, Afghanistan, and taxes, among other things. But the most troublesome for Romney of Ryan’s departures from the script was on the inevitably consternating subject of abortion, on which Romney had just taken his umpteenth position.

Photo: Vice President Joe Biden and Representative Paul Ryan during the vice-presidential debate at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, October 11 (Charlie Neibergall/AP Images)

Posted at 6:44pm and tagged with: The New York Review of Books, Elizabeth Drew, election 2012, vice presidential debate, joe biden, paul ryan, politics,.

Elizabeth Drew, Ryan Meets Reality Going into the debate, Vice President Joe Biden needed to stop the talk of the first presidential debate and Paul Ryan needed to maintain the Republicans’ momentum. But Ryan never quite caught up with the whirling dervish at the top of the GOP ticket. Ryan staked out some positions that could bedevil Romney in the closing weeks of the campaign—on Medicare, Afghanistan, and taxes, among other things. But the most troublesome for Romney of Ryan’s departures from the script was on the inevitably consternating subject of abortion, on which Romney had just taken his umpteenth position. Photo: Vice President Joe Biden and Representative Paul Ryan during the vice-presidential debate at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, October 11 (Charlie Neibergall/AP Images)

October 3rd 2012

1,503 notes |#

Two long reads on the campaign from our correspondents:

At the Republican convention, Jonathan Freedland found “a brand of raw Social Darwinism, a cult of the winner that believes the success of the few renders the system legitimate, even sacred, regardless of the fate of the many who are less fortunate. ‘I’—or more accurately—‘my parents have made millions,’ the argument seemed to run, ‘so that proves the system works and is just.’ Scarcely a word was said about the plight of the many millions of Americans who have seen their wages stagnate or decline over several decades.… The Republicans seek a world in which the fittest will be free to run fastest, and as for the rest, well, the success of the strong will somehow help them too.” — The Republicans: Behind the Barricades

While at the Democratic convention, Joseph Lelyveld saw a president who “seemed to have been caught flatfooted by the gall of his opponents, unable to find plain language to do a Harry Truman and give ’em hell, irritated on occasion by the need to spell out obvious facts and knock down obvious distortions.… He needed to find a way in Charlotte, finally, to recapture ‘the narrative’: to stand on his record without sounding defensive, to offer a believable future consistent with past promises. He needed to be memorable again.” — What the Democrats Have to Show

(Drawings by John Springs)

Posted at 11:18am and tagged with: Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, election 2012, politics, drawing, Joseph Lelyveld, Jonathan Freedland, conventions,.

Two long reads on the campaign from our correspondents: At the Republican convention, Jonathan Freedland found “a brand of raw Social Darwinism, a cult of the winner that believes the success of the few renders the system legitimate, even sacred, regardless of the fate of the many who are less fortunate. ‘I’—or more accurately—‘my parents have made millions,’ the argument seemed to run, ‘so that proves the system works and is just.’ Scarcely a word was said about the plight of the many millions of Americans who have seen their wages stagnate or decline over several decades.… The Republicans seek a world in which the fittest will be free to run fastest, and as for the rest, well, the success of the strong will somehow help them too.” — The Republicans: Behind the Barricades While at the Democratic convention, Joseph Lelyveld saw a president who “seemed to have been caught flatfooted by the gall of his opponents, unable to find plain language to do a Harry Truman and give ’em hell, irritated on occasion by the need to spell out obvious facts and knock down obvious distortions.… He needed to find a way in Charlotte, finally, to recapture ‘the narrative’: to stand on his record without sounding defensive, to offer a believable future consistent with past promises. He needed to be memorable again.” — What the Democrats Have to Show (Drawings by John Springs)

October 3rd 2012

6 notes |#

Jeff Madrick, Our Crisis of Bad Jobs

“When one counts all those looking for full-time jobs and unable to get them, the true unemployment rate is close to 17 percent. Median household income—the midpoint income of all American households—was reported by the Census Bureau (whose data is a year or so behind) to be down in 2011 compared to 2010. At 15.1 percent—some 46 million people—the proportion of Americans in poverty is now at its highest level since 1993.”

Photo: Mercedes-Benz car show, Washington DC, 2005 (Bruce Gilden/Magnum Photos)

Posted at 8:23am and tagged with: election 2012, the new york review of books, economy, jobs, Jeff Madrick,.

Jeff Madrick, Our Crisis of Bad Jobs “When one counts all those looking for full-time jobs and unable to get them, the true unemployment rate is close to 17 percent. Median household income—the midpoint income of all American households—was reported by the Census Bureau (whose data is a year or so behind) to be down in 2011 compared to 2010. At 15.1 percent—some 46 million people—the proportion of Americans in poverty is now at its highest level since 1993.” Photo: Mercedes-Benz car show, Washington DC, 2005 (Bruce Gilden/Magnum Photos)

October 1st 2012

44 notes |#

Michael Massing, What Do Swing-State Voters Think? Why We Don’t Know

Posted at 12:21pm and tagged with: the new york review of books, election 2012, political journalism, swing states, ohio, michael massing,.

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Even when venturing into the field, most reporters stay inside the bubble. They follow the candidates, speak with their handlers, interview consultants, quote think-tank analysts, pore over polling data. Looking over a recent week of coverage in the Times, for instance, I found plenty of stories on PACs, campaign strategy, political operatives, Romney’s tax returns, and the polling data in Ohio and other battleground states. Only one featured extensive interviews with ordinary Americans.
”

September 22nd 2012

63 notes |#

Elizabeth Drew, Voting Wrongs

Posted at 9:58am and tagged with: election 2012, republicans, voting, Elizabeth Drew,.

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The Republicans’ plan is that if they can’t buy the 2012 election they will steal it.
”

September 18th 2012

19 notes |#

Andrew Hacker, Can Romney Get a Majority?

40 percent: Number of Republicans who support a social safety net, according to a Pew study.

“In 1987, fully 62 percent of Republicans favored some kind of social safety net and 58 percent saw some good in unions, signs of a then moderate majority. Today, only 40 percent and 43 percent hold those views. As recently as 1992, a hearty 86 percent were saying they favored environmental regulation of some sort. Today, with a purer party, it’s down to 47 percent.”

Mitt Romney drawing by John Springs

Posted at 5:25pm and tagged with: election 2012, mitt romney, news, politics,.

Andrew Hacker, Can Romney Get a Majority? 40 percent: Number of Republicans who support a social safety net, according to a Pew study. “In 1987, fully 62 percent of Republicans favored some kind of social safety net and 58 percent saw some good in unions, signs of a then moderate majority. Today, only 40 percent and 43 percent hold those views. As recently as 1992, a hearty 86 percent were saying they favored environmental regulation of some sort. Today, with a purer party, it’s down to 47 percent.” Mitt Romney drawing by John Springs