How to make sense of the nuclear deal with Iran? Is it a necessary compromise that’s preferable to the alternatives and potentially beneficial for the Middle East? A feeble and indefensible sop to Iranian leaders bent on further destabilizing the region? A practically satisfying but morally troubling gamble, born of bad options? The Atlantic’s Peter Beinart, David Frum, and Jeffrey Goldberg debate the new agreement—and ...
“Mankind faces a crossroads,” declared Woody Allen. “One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.” The point is simple: In life, what matters most isn’t how a decision compares to your ideal outcome. It’s how it compares to the alternative at hand. The same is true for the Iran deal, ...
What do NBC and ESPN’s decision to cut ties with Donald Trump in retaliation for his comments about Mexican immigrants, the South Carolina House’s vote to take down the Confederate flag, and a Harrisburg newspaper’s decision to “very strictly limit” letters and op-eds opposing same-sex marriage have in common? They’re all signs of a historic shift: Political views that were once controversial are now unacceptable. ...
Obscured by the recent avalanche of momentous news is this intriguing development from the campaign trail: The Hillary Clinton campaign now considers Bernie Sanders threatening enough to attack. Fresh off news that Sanders is now virtually tied with Hillary in New Hampshire, Claire McCaskill went on Morning Joe on June 25 to declare that “the media is giving Bernie a pass … they’re not giving ...
All of a sudden, conservatives were never really against gay marriage to begin with. They just wanted to achieve it through the democratic process. “Many people will rejoice at this decision, and I begrudge none of their celebration,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in his dissent, implying that he thinks gay marriage is a delightful thing. On Fox News, The Weekly Standard’s Stephen Hayes endorsed ...
After Mitt Romney’s defeat in 2012, the Republican National Committee published an “autopsy.” “When it comes to social issues,” the autopsy declared, “the Party must in fact and deed be inclusive and welcoming. If we are not, we will limit our ability to attract young people.” The autopsy also added that, “we need to go to communities where Republicans do not normally go to listen ...
If you think Jeb Bush has learned from his disastrous answer last month about invading Iraq, just look at the answer he gave on Tuesday about the environment and the pope. Asked by Sean Hannity about Pope Francis’ forthcoming encyclical about climate change, Jeb responded that “I think religion ought to be about making us better as people, less about things [that] end up getting ...
If Jeb Bush wants to prove that he’s different from his brother, he has an odd way of showing it. In the video that accompanied Monday’s announcement that he’s running for president, Jeb declared that, “The barriers right now on people rising up is the great challenge of our time” and that “my core beliefs start with the premise that the most vulnerable in our ...
On Tuesday, Jeb Bush ventured abroad for the first time as a de facto presidential candidate. He began his tour in Berlin, which was a mistake. First, going to Berlin triggered comparisons with the euphoric, 200,000-person greeting the city gave candidate Barack Obama in 2008. Second, and interconnectedly, it triggered stories about how little Germans like the Bush family. But third, and most importantly, going ...
In a field of Democratic presidential long shots, former Rhode Island senator and governor Lincoln Chafee, who announced his candidacy on Wednesday, may be the longest shot of all. As an authentic, uncompromising progressive, Bernie Sanders is poised to grab the bulk of those Elizabeth Warren enthusiasts who can’t reconcile themselves to Hillary Clinton. As the handsome, articulate, two-term governor of a mid-size state, Martin ...