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 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 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)

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

May 18th 2012

4 notes |#

Garry Wills: Why Is This Man Laughing?

Everyone has noticed by now the non-laugh laugh of Mitt Romney, a kind of half-stifled barking. But what does it mean? It is blurted out as abruptly as it is broken off. Is it a kind of punctuation, part comma, part full stop, part interrogatory mark? What, if anything, is it trying to convey? Why does it seem more like coughing or burping than laughter?

Image: AP Photo/Stephan Savoia

Posted at 4:25pm and tagged with: Garry Wills, Mitt Romney, laughing, politics, Milan Kundera, comical,.

Garry Wills: Why Is This Man Laughing? Everyone has noticed by now the non-laugh laugh of Mitt Romney, a kind of half-stifled barking. But what does it mean? It is blurted out as abruptly as it is broken off. Is it a kind of punctuation, part comma, part full stop, part interrogatory mark? What, if anything, is it trying to convey? Why does it seem more like coughing or burping than laughter? Image: AP Photo/Stephan Savoia