If Martin Luther King Jr. had been allowed to live out a normal life—if he hadn’t been cut down by an assassin’s bullet before he even turned 40—he might’ve lived to see today: He might’ve been an 84-year-old man watching Barack Obama inaugurated as this country’s president for the second time.
History was not so kind. Instead, the country celebrates President Obama’s inauguration today, the same day we’ve also set aside to observe King’s birthday. And the confluence of the two events causes one to ask: What would the old minister have made of the young president?
Would Rev. King have praised...
Barack Obama and Martin Luther King Jr.: It’s Complicated
The two men’s lives are irrevocably linked in American history. On Inauguration Day, it’s important to remember their differences.
After Lunch, President Obama Should Steal Mitt’s Ideas
Bipartisanship doesn’t have to end at a photo-op lunch. Here are three Mitt Romney ideas President Obama should borrow.
President Obama and Mitt Romney had lunch together on Thursday, and let’s be honest: The whole thing was for show. That’s OK! Some shows are necessary, and in America, the post-election show of unity is a fairly honorable tradition—signaling both to the world and ourselves that democracy still works, that we’re not yet to the point of spilling blood in the streets because of our disagreements.
But the show usually ends at lunch. Oh sure, there was talk about maybe Mitt contributing to the Obama Administration in some fashion during the next four years, but that probably won’t happen: The two men are ready to be done with each other.
Philly Democrats Are More Than Capable of Conspiracy
If you think there wasn’t voter fraud on Election Day 2012, then you’ve never had a parking ticket fixed in this city.
“Myth is the hidden part of every story, the buried part, the region that is still unexplored because there are as yet no words to enable us to get there. Myth is nourished by silence as well as by words.”
I remembered that quote by the late great Italian journalist Italo Calvino when I read Post contributor Stephen Silver's "'Massive Voter Fraud' in Philly Is a Myth."
Three Ways Republicans Can Suck Less
The GOP doesn’t have to abandon conservatism to win elections. It just has to abandon the crazy.
So, Republicans, you lost to President Obama. How are you going to win the next election?
Yes, two weeks have passed since the election, and yes, Mitt Romney appears to have begun his post-election shame spiral. (Look away, kids, look away.) And yes, all kinds of liberal commentators are out there giving you free advice about how to improve Republican prospects in the next election—especially among the non-white-dude voters who provided much of Obama’s coalition—most of which boils down to “be more liberal.”
Me, I’m liberal, but I think the GOP can expand its appeal by being true to its own beliefs...
Did Dead People Vote in Philadelphia?
It’s time for a real investigation into how we run elections in this city.
Once again, the voting process in Philadelphia is a joke told over and over again on national newscasts. Every four years, the fairness of voting in the city is questioned, and every four years, the suspicions and allegations swirl without investigation.
Republicans Blame Everyone But Themselves (That’s Why They Lose)
Seven truths the GOP needs to face to win the White House.
"Define irony: Bunch of idiots dancing on a plane to a song made famous by a band that died in a plane crash." So said Steve Buscemi’s character in Con Air as the criminals rocked out to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Don’t look now, but the Republican Party is giving that definition a run for its money.
U.S. Homophobes Must Be Contemplating Emigration (Er, Canada’s Out)
Election 2012 proves we might have a gay president soon.
As last week’s elections incontrovertibly proved, 2012 will go down in history as The Year of the Queer. Welcome to your worst nightmare, homophobes.
The Top 10 Lessons of the 2012 Presidential Election
What we learned about Republicans, Glenn Beck, Karl Rove and other key players.
10. The Tea Party? Not much of a party.
If there’s one thing 2012 proved conclusively, it’s that the Republican Party needs to be more and not less inclusive. That means shedding itself of associations to the “wackadoodles” who cost the GOP a couple of Senate seats. When even Lindsay Graham says, “We’re not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business for the long term,” change is in the air. Too bad, Tea Party Tom Smith.
I Was Wrong When I Said Romney Would Win
But you’re wrong if you think Obama won because the GOP is too old and too white.
I was wrong. I admit it. I was in good company, too. Not just from partisans on my side. Pollsters, pundits and analysts of many stripes didn’t think an Obama win was probable, even possible in some cases. And even you Obama supporters must admit, you were scared it could happen, too.
Jimmy Kimmel has sent me into a tailspin of doubt. On Monday, Kimmel's Lie Witness News asked people if they’d voted (no polls were open that day in L.A.), and they emphatically answered yes. In other words, they lied.
Philly VP Candidate Came in Fourth in Presidential Election
A Q&A with the Green Party’s Cheri Honkala.
Once a homeless mother, Cheri Honkala moved to Philadelphia in the late 1980s and has been fighting for the rights of the poor and homeless ever since. This past year, she was chosen as running mate by Jill Stein, the Green Party's presidential candidate. I spoke to her about Obama, Romney, and whether the Green Party would ever consider merging with any other third parties to try to gain a larger base.
We seem to only think about the electoral system for one day every four years, and when that day passes and a winner has been declared, it’s out of sight out of mind. It’s like Groundhog Day with dangling chads. Every four years, like clockwork, we are shocked and appalled at how fragile, incompetent and prone to breakdowns our system for choosing our leaders has become. If our electoral system was a car, we would have traded up decades ago.
When Voter Turnout in Philadelphia Really Matters
If you don’t cast a ballot in local races, old Philly wins.
Polls were crowded and lines to vote were long on Election Day here in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. It is a political maxim that voters engage and turn out for presidential elections. But, in the four years between the presidential contests, Philadelphia polling places can be awfully lonely. If we are going to make Philadelphia the city we know it can be, we have to change that fact and come out to vote in local races—as they can be much more important to our day-to-day lives than national contests.
It’s a new day, and we have a new president. Well, actually, we have the old President along with the old House and the old Senate; a Congress that will surely be as deadlocked for the next four years as they were for the last four. My guy lost, and I’m disappointed. I’m disappointed that we’ll move forward with policies that I believe are bad for my country.
Barack Obama has been re-elected to a second term. I voted for the president, and I'm beyond gladdened that Obamacare will be implemented as planned, that there's a chance of a slightly more fair system of taxation, and that the Supreme Court has no chance of suddenly going off the cliff to the right.
Chris Christie’s White House Dream Is Over; Michael Nutter’s Has Just Begun
Mitt Romney wasn’t the only loser in this presidential election.
Pity poor Mitt Romney.
No, I never wanted the man to be president—and given the Pennsylvania returns in Tuesday's election, neither did many of you—but it’s really easy in the heat of a presidential campaign to see your opponent as the devil incarnate, and only appreciate his good qualities later. In 10 years or so, Liz Cheney will be leading the Republican ticket and making everybody outraged, and Democrats will hearken back to the days of old Mitt’s relative courtliness on the campaign trail. In the meantime, Romney has to figure out how to spend the rest of his life now that his ultimate goal has eluded him. That can’t be easy.
This being 2012, voters are taking to Instagram and Facebook to post photos they've taken inside of polling places and even inside of the voting booth, finger on the "Obama" or "Romney" button. And, this being 2012, people have taken to Twitter to complain about how this is illegal. But is it?
As I write this, I have not yet cast my vote because it's Monday night and my polling place is a coffee shop and it would be awkward if I were over there in the dining room right now, demanding that someone ask me for ID though they don't actually need to see it. No matter what Alec Baldwin's most recent personal email to me might suggest, the Dems haven't had to worry about my vote for a while: I've known who I was going to vote for in this election for years now—because though I'm willing to be open-minded about party affiliation, the Tea Party has ruined the GOP for me.
How to Follow Election Results 2012, a State-by-State Guide
Figure out whether Obama or Romney is winning.
In any good mystery novel, you can’t guess the ending. That’s what tonight’s election results will be: the end of a good mystery novel. Anyone who tells you they know what is going to happen is fooling themselves. I have heard fact-based prognostications from both sides with different results and all are plausible. That’s what makes tonight’s election so much fun to watch.
Take George Romney’s Advice and Vote Obama
Don’t let right-wing extremists move into the White House.
I make no mystery of my progressive leanings—particularly on social issues like marriage equality and a woman's right to choose—and I have little patience for tried and failed economic strategies that place ideology above reason and use dogmatic tax policy to hold government hostage. But that's not why I'm voting for the President this year.
