November 4, 2009 – 12:23 pm
Time for President Obama to move the smiley face upside down after the only two governorships up for grabs yesterday – both currently held by Democrats – went over to the dark side. Chris Christie, proving that only Republicans named Christie can win in New Jersey, knocked off both incumbent governor Jon Corzine and an […]
November 1, 2009 – 11:33 am
Funny people, people who appreciate funny people, people who wonder how funny people got so funny — check out my colleague Jeff Nussbaum’s review of “And Here’s the Kicker” in today’s Washington Post. A preview: “When Al Gore was vice president and saw on his schedule that he would have to speak at an event […]
October 30, 2009 – 10:07 am
Former president George W. Bush deployed his down-to-earth charm and humor to wow a crowd gathered for a speech in Fort Worth the other day. According to the Washington Post, “Bush did not appear to have an overarching theme, but strung anecdotes and jokes together and frequently mentioned his faith in God.” No overarching theme? […]
October 27, 2009 – 7:58 am
Former vice president Dick Cheney continues to be the most effective opponent of the Obama Administration’s foreign policy. Last week, receiving the “Keeper of the Flame” award from the Center for Security Policy, he again laid out a case for why President Obama is misguided on Iran, relations with Russia, missile defense and our allies […]
October 25, 2009 – 1:25 pm
One of West Wing Writers’ founders, Tom Rosshirt, has a thoughtful piece in the San Francisco Chronicle this weekend, entitled “Making Hatred a Virtue.” Tom argues that the spread of hatred is the greatest danger to society, and that the most alarming development today is not the rise of hateful ideas, but the silence, acquiescence, […]
October 16, 2009 – 12:05 pm
British Conservative leader David Cameron delivered the capstone address at last week’s party conference in Manchester. The speech was designed to reassure British voters, who seem ready to vote out Gordon Brown and his Labour majority next year, that Mr. Cameron – a rather youthful 43 – is ready to lead. He also, of course, […]
October 11, 2009 – 4:17 pm
My colleague Jeff Nussbaum was quoted in a piece in this morning’s New York Times, regarding late night comics’ increasing willingness to poke fun at the president. Exhibit A: Jay Leno calls Obama’s Nobel Preace Prize his biggest accomplishment as president so far. Key passages below: …from the outset, Mr. Obama has been praised as […]
October 7, 2009 – 1:09 pm
A few weeks ago, in the days of Joe Wilson II vs. the president and Kanye vs. Taylor Swift, I spoke to a college communications class. Having seen so many recent public apologies, one of the students asked me how I’d go about writing a convincing apology for someone. Frankly, I have no idea. I’ve […]
October 3, 2009 – 4:13 pm
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Peggy Noonan should be blushing right now. On Friday, in her Wall Street Journal column, Noonan lamented the recent passing of the greats of the media and commentariat – Safire, Irving Kristol, Walter Cronkite. “The Elders” she called them, and asked if anyone angling to replace them […]
October 2, 2009 – 11:19 am
Like most Americans, I have been charmed and beguiled by President Obama’s presence on the stump. His winning persona and powerful rhetoric are his best weapons. But is that all there is to him? President Obama’s decision to go for broke in Copenhagen was reckless and unpresidential. It betrays a confidence in his rhetorical power […]
September 29, 2009 – 5:39 pm
Last night, I ran into a friend of mine who works for our ambassador to the United Nations. Before we’d even said hello, I blurted out, “I need to see a transcript of Qadhafi’s speech.” I wanted to look at it, not as a policy document, but as a speechwriter. What makes a speech an […]
September 29, 2009 – 2:41 pm
Wesley Pruden has a column quoting WHWG’s own Clark Judge at the Global Security Review conference in Geneva. Clark said he was surprised by the depth of the skepticism about the President abroad. “The impression emerged for me,” Clark says, “that Mr. Obama’s riveting rhetoric is in danger of turning from a plus to a […]
September 29, 2009 – 11:34 am
The Today Show had a segment this morning that brought forward family members of the three hikers who wandered into Iran and still remain in custody. The hikers have been imprisoned for months now. Their understandably distraught families brought a predictable element of pathos to this interview that seems to supercharge ratings. But this story […]
September 28, 2009 – 2:40 pm
When the Gray Lady hired William Safire, it set off a lot of nabob-nattering about the propriety of giving a column to a former PR flack who had worked for Nixon. Many speechwriters have become columnists, but none has matched Safire for his tenacious dedication to uncovering the truth. Over the years, Bill Safire proved […]
September 25, 2009 – 11:34 am
It’s Friday. Perhaps you don’t have any social plans this weekend. Perhaps you’d like to find someone special to spend your weekends with. Perhaps Mike Gerson’s been freaking you out. Podium Pundits is here to help. Online hooker-upper OkCupid presents a helpful analysis of which words win hearts and which words turn potential lovers cold. […]
