In my latest for The Guardian, I dismiss the notion — put forth by the dean of the Massachusetts School of Law — to put President Bush and other top officials on trial for war crimes. But if Nuremberg II isn’t the answer, surely there must be some way of holding him — and us — accountable for the past seven and a half years.
Tag: Guardian
Fear itself
In my latest for The Guardian, I take a look at the unfavorable political landscape that Barack Obama will have to traverse this fall: the very public trial of alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed; heightened tensions, and possibly war, with Iran; and a determination on the part of the Bush White House once again to use terrorism as a cudgel with which to bludgeon the Democrats.
Scott McClellan’s 16th minute
In my latest for The Guardian, I explore the odd staying power of Scott McClellan’s critique of the Bush administration, a phenomenon that has far more to do with who he was than it does with anything he has to say.
Mirror, Mirror, not on my wall
I’m in New York, where I attended the Mirror Awards luncheon sponsored by Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. My weekly online column in The Guardian was up for an award in media commentary, but I lost to Joe Nocera of the New York Times.
Editor & Publisher has a thorough rundown on the proceedings here. The theme of the event, as you will see, was the life of Tim Russert, who had been scheduled to receive a lifetime achievement award. Brian Williams accepted on his behalf. One discordant note: the set-up video included a brief tribute from Dick Cheney, who infamously lied to Russert in September 2003. I do believe I heard some murmurs, a sign that I wasn’t the only one who thought including Cheney was inappropriate.
The event was held in the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center, which was pretty cool. Hick that I am, I’d never even heard of the place until I was invited to attend. Good food, amazing view, even on an overcast day like today.
Tim Russert, 1950-2008
Tim Russert’s death does not bode well for the future of television news. Though he was sometimes criticized for being too much of an insider, and for being tougher on liberals than on conservatives, Russert was smart and serious. He had a rare talent for communicating his love and knowledge of politics. And he was, by all accounts, a thoroughly decent human being.
Will NBC executives take advantage of this tragedy to go younger, glitzier and cheaper? That is not the legacy Russert would want or deserves.
Bill Shields of WBZ-TV (Channel 4) interviews several of us from “Beat the Press” here. The actual “Beat the Press” discussion should go up here sometime over the weekend. I’ve also written a column on Russert for the Guardian, which should be available here in a little bit.
Saturday morning update: My Guardian piece is now online.
Photo (cc) by Joseph Hallett and republished here under a Creative Commons license. Some rights reserved.
What’s your media?
In my latest for the Guardian, I take a look at a new study showing how the media reported on the presidential primaries — and I wonder what people mean when they generalize about something that encompasses everything from the New York Times to Michael Savage.
It’s all about the Clintons
In my latest for the redesigned Guardian, I write that by placing their own psychodrama above Obama’s big night, the Clintons have managed once again to hurt their party and their own reputations.
Clinton enters “Daily Show” territory
The funniest thing about today’s lead Boston Globe headline is that it’s completely accurate.
I just sent off a piece to the Guardian on where the race goes from here. Despite some technical difficulties, it should be up in a bit.
Update: Well, this is annoying. I’m told that my deathless prose won’t go up until 5 p.m. or so due to computer issues. Since my stuff tends to have the shelf-life of day-old fish, I’m afraid it may be overtaken by events. So be it.
Born-again secularism
In my latest for the Guardian, I observe that John McCain, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have all paid dearly for the sin of inflicting religion upon the voters. Could we be witnessing the beginning of the end when it comes to political pandering on matters of faith?
Thoughts on Ted Kennedy’s illness
In my latest for the Guardian, I try to explain what it’s like for Ted Kennedy to be one of our senators rather than a world and national symbol — and how it feels to be preparing for his passing.