The System Works, Obama’s Approach Doesn’t

Stanley Kutler / Truthdig Mar 2, 2010 Divided government need not mean gridlock. Eisenhower, Nixon and Reagan made it work. Obama can, too. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

No Obama Obituaries, Please

Joe Conason / Truthdig Jan 21, 2010 If scored strictly by his legislative attainments, Obama is a highly effective president. In fact, the scrupulously nonpartisan Congressional Quarterly rated him the most effective president of the past five decades, as measured by congressional votes on which he took a position. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

‘The American Way of War’ in 2009

Staff / Truthdig Mar 23, 2009 We certainly saw evidence that President Eisenhower's famous warning about the dangers of an insatiable U.S. "military-industrial complex" rang true during the Bush administration, but how about now? Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Norman Birnbaum on Susan Sontag

BLANK Mar 6, 2009 The publication of Sontag's early diaries provides a revelatory look at the self-inventions of the late writer. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Redistributionist, and That’s Just Fine

E.J. Dionne Jr. / Truthdig Mar 2, 2009 The well-off will pay more in taxes. And before the howling on the right gets too loud, consider that we have just gone through a long era involving a far less frank form of redistribution -- upward. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Our Cuba Policy: A Failure at 50

Eugene Robinson / Truthdig Jan 2, 2009 President-elect Obama will have more urgent matters to deal with after he takes the oath of office. But somewhere on his long to-do list, he should make a note to finally bring five decades of counterproductive American policy toward Cuba to a definitive end. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Last but Not Least: Obama Taps Volcker

Staff / Truthdig Nov 26, 2008 After a series of depressing announcements, Barack Obama will finally turn to an economic adviser who wasn't directly responsible for the current crisis or mentored by someone who was. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the president-elect wants former Fed Chair Paul Volcker to lead a new presidential advisory board focused on saving America from financial ruin. Update Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Eastwood Confused, Dismayed by Today’s ‘Perverted Politics’

Staff / Truthdig Oct 8, 2008 Seasoned film star and "Changeling" director Clint Eastwood says American politics aren't what they used to be; in fact, the grizzled sort-of-libertarian thinks they're even a little "perverted" -- but not like that. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Republican Economic Policies Don’t Add Up

Arthur Blaustein / Truthdig Oct 7, 2008 Many Americans believe, despite the current financial crisis, that Republicans are generally better at managing the economy. History tells a very different story. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

The Military-Industrial Complex: It’s Much Later Than You Think

Chalmers Johnson / Truthdig Jul 28, 2008 Since 1961, there has been too little serious study of, or discussion of, the origins of the military-industrial complex, how it has changed over time, how governmental secrecy has hidden it from oversight by members of Congress or attentive citizens, and how it degrades our constitutional structure of checks and balances. Dig deeper ( 15 Min. Read )

Obama on the Brink

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Jul 23, 2008 Barack Obama is betraying his promise of change and is in danger of becoming just another political hack. Yes, just like former maverick John McCain, who has refashioned himself as a mindless rubber stamp for the most inane policies of the miserably failed Bush administration. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Empire or Republic?

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Jun 14, 2008 War doesn't pay, nor does imperial ambition. This proposition should be evident to anyone who has paid attention to the fivefold increase in the price of oil since George W. Bush took office. The principle of nonintervention is neither liberal nor conservative in orientation, and at the inception of the Republic it was accepted as a commonsense. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )