Columns, pieces and posts
The question going into Bill Clinton’s farewell speech last night was this: Is this the last speech of the Clinton presidency, or the first speech of the new Clinton era? It was very much the latter, which is why he never said the word “goodbye” or “farewell.” There was a time—it lasted more than 200 […]
And so it begins, one week and one day from today. On that bright morning—well, at just about 11:59:59 a.m.—you will place your left hand on the King James Bible your father and George Washington before him used for their swearing-ins, and take the oath of office. I wonder if when you finish you will […]
I return from 10 days away to find on the front page of every newspaper in America the official swearing-in of Hillary Clinton, Sen. Clinton, dressed in a pantsuit of robin’s-egg blue, her right hand raised, a radiant smile upon her face. Moments later, Strom Thurmond rose and asked if he could hug her, which […]
At the end of the week in which President-elect Bush finally came to Washington, the reports are: So far, so good. From public cabinet appointments to private meetings, those who see Mr. Bush in action respond with one word: Good. Colin Powell? Good. Condi Rice? Good. Mel Martinez? Good. When Paul O’Neill was nominated for […]
America now knows who its next president is, and this is cause for joy. But think how hard it was to end the Clinton-Gore era. It may well be that hard for the next president to get out from under its shadow. One of the biggest things George W. Bush has in his favor is […]
To: Vice President Al Gore From: Communications Staff, Gore-Lieberman 2000 Sir, we understand from a friend of Mrs. Gore who was overheard this morning talking on the phone with a cousin of Drew Schiff that you are going to drop out. If this is true, sir, we’re here to help. Our thoughts: First, you’re obviously […]
Let’s not talk about Florida and Bush and Gore. That story is stuck. It’s as if we’re all living in a big muted mosaic. The lawyer gesturing at the lectern on CNN is a piece, and the legal scholar commenting on the lawyer’s arguments on Fox is another. The headlines and cartoons and editorials are […]
The scene: Midnight, Tuesday, in a mansion in the city. Inside, on the second floor, a handsome man with dark hair and sharp but fleshy features thrashes about on a king-size bed. He can’t sleep. It’s the noise. They’re chanting outside, across the street—”GET OUT OF DICK CHENEY’S HOUSE! GET OUT OF DICK CHENEY’S HOUSE!” […]
The scene: Midnight, Tuesday, in a mansion in the city. Inside, on the second floor, a handsome man with dark hair and sharp but fleshy features thrashes about on a king-size bed. He can’t sleep. It’s the noise. They’re chanting outside, across the street—“GET OUT OF DICK CHENEY’S HOUSE! GET OUT OF DICK CHENEY’S HOUSE!” […]
We must fight. And we all know it. And it’s fine. We like to complain, those of us of a certain age, that history has never given us the gaudy challenges it gave our parents and grandparents. But we’ve had our traumas, and from the time we were children: assassinations, riots, Vietnam, Watergate, the ayatollah, […]