I never really do actual bloggerblogs anymore, but it’s worth reflecting that what became inevitable after South Carolina (if not after Iowa) is finally about to be realized.

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Posted at 21 March 10 at 17.03 in Politics

Rarely does Barack Obama miss a chance to draw parallels between himself and Abraham Lincoln, and rarely do the media fail to indulge him. The cabinent selection process was particularly ripe for comparision to Lincoln, as pundits turned frequently to Doris Kearns Goodwin’s concept of a Team of Rivals.

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Posted at 27 January 09 at 20.01 in Politics, Books

A little over a year ago, the day after the Iowa caucuses, I wrote an essay called “From Iowa to the Inaugural.” But the real story of this election dates back to 1968. This was an election steeped in symbolism and parallel. Rare is it in American history that the analogies drawn and metaphors painted by politicians are as poingnant or as rich as those created by Barack Obama.

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Posted at 25 January 09 at 22.01 in Politics, Culture, Obama 08, Books

It is ten degrees out in Iowa, and snowy. One year ago, I was here to help Barack Obama win the caucus. This year, I’m just home. It is the first time I have been back in this bedroom since I hung an Obama doorhanger here on January 3. It is hard to believe it has been a year.

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Posted at 23 December 08 at 15.12 in Politics, Obama 08

In the end, THE math did not prove to be all that useful for Mr. Rove. Here we are, two years later, and the math is not looking much better for the President’s party. Democrats are poised to win anywhere between four and then Senate seats and between ten to 30 House seats. And Republicans will be very hard-pressed to win the White House.

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Posted at 21 June 08 at 16.06 in Politics, Obama 08

One of the first blogs on this Internet was about how miserable Bob Gates was going to be as Secretary of Defense. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It is a surprise that I think we ought to celebrate by keeping him on in 2009. Even if Barack Obama is the next President of the United States.

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Posted at 20 June 08 at 15.06 in Politics, Obama 08

The point of Hunter S. Thompson was that he was full of shit. The point of Hunter S. Thompson is that everything he wrote about – the Hell’s Angels, the 1972 campaign, Ali vs. Foreman, Las Vegas – all of it was full of shit. The thing about the world is that it is full of shit. The thing about greatness is that it is always full of shit.

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Posted at 19 June 08 at 00.06 in Politics, Culture, Film

Caro is working on a fourth book in his series, tentatively titled “The Presidency,” about the Lyndon Johnson’s years in the White House. It will be interesting to see what he comes to say about it. In many ways, all 2,000 or so pages of the previous three books seem like nothing but prologue to one of the most remarkable presidencies in the history of the United States.

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Posted at 03 June 08 at 15.06 in Politics, Books