The Puzzle of Obama’s Unpopularity
President Obama’s popularity, measured in opinion poll approval ratings, has been sagging badly lately, to the considerable benefit of the Republicans’ election prospects this year. Democratic candidates are almost universally avoiding identification with the president and his policies; one Senate ...
Read MoreHamas: An Added Note
A friend of mine has reacted to my post of 10/7 with the correct observation that there is, indeed, a basis for believing that Hamas is dedicated to the destruction of Israel—that objective is in Hamas’s charter. I didn’t discuss ...
Read MoreMidterm Elections 2014
I don’t have any special insights to offer about the upcoming elections. I see no basis, other than wishful thinking, to challenge the consensus of the prognosticators that the Republicans are likely to win control of the Senate. That would ...
Read MoreWhat Does Hamas Want?
Once again I find myself taking issue with a generally admirable op-ed column by the NY Times’ Roger Cohen. Lamenting the inability of many Israelis and other Jews to recognize the humanity of the Palestinians, Cohen mentions in passing that ...
Read MoreIn contemplating evil, to understand is not to justify
How are we to make sense of a phenomenon like ISIL? A group of human beings who engage in acts of unspeakable cruelty with no apparent compunctions whatsoever. In a powerful column yesterday, the NY Times’ Roger Cohen argues that ...
Read MoreThe Syrian Illusion
Once again I find myself in the unusual position of favorably citing the NY Times’ Ross Douthat. In his column yesterday Douthat nicely debunked the plan, proposed by President Obama and now approved by Congress, to arm the so-called “moderate” ...
Read MoreObama, the US and ISIS
The President’s speech to the nation Wednesday can be reduced to two essential points: ISIS does not pose a present threat to the United States, but it does pose a potential long-term threat. We must therefore act against it. But ...
Read MoreVictory in New York
I didn’t say it here, but a week or so ago I was thinking (honestly, I was) that if Zephyr Teachout managed to win a quarter of the Democratic primary vote against incumbent governor Andrew Cuomo, it would be a ...
Read MoreElection Season: New York
A week from today, New York State voters will decide on the Democratic and Republican nominees for state office. Andrew Cuomo will win the Democratic primary for governor, and Rob Astorino will win the Republican. Cuomo will beat Astorino in ...
Read MoreFerguson and New York
The other day a friend remarked with surprise that I hadn’t done a post on the recent events in Ferguson, Missouri. I hadn’t because I mostly limit my blogging to topics on which I feel I have something to say ...
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