Comedy and Politics
From 1981 to 1989, I made my living mostly as a comedy writer and performer. I wrote, performed and produced material for morning radio shows in Washington DC, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, and...
View ArticlePolitics/Music Discussion Thread
As nearly flawless as I think the Obama campaign has been in message, mechanics, and media manipulation, I’m not impressed by their choice of music. The most prominent song in the Obama rallies has...
View ArticleDrop the Impulse to Go Negative
I’m one of the Obama admirers that believes going ultra negative, as good as that would feel after the ongoing negative Clinton attacks, would be a big mistake. Going negative after he has premised...
View ArticlePolitics Ain’t Beanbag
I have a lot in common with Barack Obama. I was born about 10 months after Obama. Like Obama, I was a child raised by a single mother after being abandoned by a foreign father. Like Obama, my mother...
View ArticleCoattails are Important
Whether or not you believe that Hillary Clinton’s health care plan is better than Barack Obama’s, whatever your opinions are about whose economic plans are superior, and whether or not you think a...
View ArticleWhat Would Have Eliminated Obama From the Race?
If Barack Obama had lost 11 contests in a row, he’d be done already. If Barack Obama had run out of money in mid-February, loaned his campaign $5 million, and refused to release his tax returns, he’d...
View ArticleFirst Lady of Danger: A Novel
It was a gloomy Thursday morning in Washington, and I was exhausted. The sun was beginning to rise over the Capitol, and I was just getting into bed in the White House after returning from a daring...
View ArticleThe National Electability of a Black Candidate
It’s hard to pinpoint the time of death of the idea that a Black candidate couldn’t win the race for the Presidency of the United States in 2008. Was it when Barack Obama gave his victory speech after...
View ArticleThe Airing of the Grievances
It seems like every two generations or so, the pressure points in American society bust open chaotically to reveal the corroded infrastructure of the foundations upon which we’ve built our society....
View ArticleThis Damn Thing is Going to Happen
Hop into a time machine and dial it back ten months ago. Everyone thought Barack Obama was in intriguing candidate with no chance against the "experience" and "gravitas" of candidates like Hillary...
View ArticleAmerica and the Default Option
Throughout American history, suggestions that we adjust "the default option" on our politics to better suit our needs has been discouraged. The Founding Fathers had to employ every bit of their...
View ArticleJohn McCain is Very Old
When John McCain was born, people went to vaudeville shows.When John McCain was born, the Hindenburg was flying commercially.John McCain was about to turn 29 when the Voting Rights Act was signed.When...
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Exclusive Interview with Sen. John McCain [transcript]
The following is the transcript of an exclusive interview with presumptive Republican Presidential nominee John McCain, recorded this afternoon.Reporter: Thanks for agreeing to this exclusive...
View ArticleStereotypes, Assumptions and Archetypes on Race
I’m 46 years old, and if you had told me two years ago that Barack Obama would be the Democratic nominee for President in 2008 and leading in the polls by five to nine percentage points, I would have...
View ArticleEvery State is a Battleground
Do you live in California? Texas? New York? Illinois? Mississippi? Alaska? Think the 2008 election is a done deal for you, and you’re wondering about what your neighbors or Missouri will do?...
View ArticleGAO Says Most Corporations Pay No Taxes
A Government Accountability Office study due to be released today says that two thirds of US corporations and about 68% of foreign corporations doing business in the United States completely avoided...
View ArticleLet’s get disciplined, please
They’re two of the oldest jokes in the American political lexicon. Will Rogers said, "I don’t belong to an organized political party-- I’m a Democrat." Arizona Democrat Mo Udall is credited with...
View ArticleHeard any good jokes lately?
Back in the 80s and 90s I was a comedy writer for morning radio shows. I worked in Washington DC, Los Angeles, Chicago, and other cities doing a lot of political comedy. I worked with Howard Stern in...
View ArticleChange, Chicago Style
I moved to Chicago from Los Angeles for a job 23 years ago. I was skeptical about moving to a frigid, rust belt city with a waning economy, raucous politics, declining population, and a complicated...
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