James Pinkerton: All Publications, Events and Press

Live from the Campaign Trail

Communications — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:15:00 -0400

A New America Event
07/09/2008 - 12:15pm

As the campaign season begins to heat up this summer, please join us for a lively discussion about the role of speechwriting and oratory on the campaign trail with three former speechwriters: New America Senior Research Fellow Michael A. Cohen, New America Fellow James Pinkerton (Campaign Officer for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush), and Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner Executive Vice President Jeremy Rosner (Speechwriter for President Bill Clinton).

The panelists will be discussing a range of issues, from the history of campaign oratory to a closer look at the speeches and rhetoric of Barack Obama and John McCain as they battle it out on the campaign trail to be the next President of the United States.

The point of departure for our discussion will be Michael A. Cohen's new book, Live From the Campaign Trail: The Greatest Presidential Speeches of the Twentieth Century and How they Shaped Modern America.

Iron Man

Ron Tang — Tue, 20 May 2008 05:12:00 -0400

As I watched the new hit movie “Iron Man,” starring a guy in a flying armored suit, I asked myself: Why don’t we fight our wars like that? You know, so that we win, using the maximum amount of technology, suffering the minimum amount of bloodshed? After all, the nuclear-powered protagonist, played by Robert Downey Jr., wipes out the bad guys in Afghanistan, yet barely gets a scratch, safe inside his weaponized rocket-man outfit.

So what does Hollywood know that the Pentagon doesn’t? Even audiences, too, seem to be way ahead of our Cleveland Park Clausewitzes.

The whole point of war technology… more

James Pinkerton in Politico | 'Conservative Columnist Joins Huckabee'

Communications — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:31:00 -0500

New America in the News:

Conservative Columnist Joins Huckabee (Politico)
James P. Pinkerton, a well-known conservative commentator and veteran of the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, has joined Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign, a campaign official tells Politico. ... He is a fellow at the New America Foundation, and has blogged for The Huffington Post. ...

Jim Pinkerton in The Detroit News | 'Pundits Probe GOP Hopefuls'

Communications — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:32:00 -0500

New America in the News:
Pundits Probe GOP Presidential Hopefuls (Detroit News quotes James Pinkerton)
"But while nobody can doubt McCain's personal courage or dogged determination, we still must ask: Would a President McCain -- or any next president -- fully mobilize America for a possible confrontation with Pakistan, on top of our existing commitments and conflicts?"

Candidates Should Get Serious about Pakistan

Ron Tang — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500

"Iowa picks corn, New Hampshire picks presidents," goes the old Granite State-boosting saying. We shall see. But in the meantime, the presidential wheat is being separated from the chaff, to change the metaphor. And amid the excitement of the presidential horse races, we might pause over just one of the urgent challenges that the 44th president will confront -- and sadly, in terms of policy, there's plenty of chaff, not much wheat. Pakistan, for example, is home to at least 75 nuclear weapons. It is also a next-door neighbor to Iran and Afghanistan. Which is to… more

Grass-Roots Activists Rule in Iowa

adminn — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 14:58:00 -0500

So who's going to win the Iowa caucuses tonight?

History tells us that the winner will be the candidate of the base -- that is, the candidate who most appeals to the hard-core activists, those determined folk who have the patience for a lengthy public nose-counting session at a caucus site, as opposed to a quick dash in and out of a voting booth.

So Iowa caucusers concern themselves with ideological purity -- while, on the other hand, New Hampshire primary voters worry more about November electability. That's the thesis of Christopher Hull, adjunct professor at Georgetown University, as set forth in… more

For '08: A New Perspective on Worry

adminn — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 14:53:00 -0500

My New Year's resolutions:

I resolve to worry more about Pakistan's 75-weapon nuclear stockpile than about global warming. I am more worried about being incinerated by a loose nuke than I am about the water table rising a few feet.

Yet, I also resolve to worry more about global warming than about democracy in Pakistan. Democracy is wonderful, but only for people who want it, and who are willing to play by its rules. Democracy without self-discipline is a formula for, well, Pakistan.

I further resolve to focus more on who gets into America from scary countries -- such as Pakistan. And I… more

Resolve for Victory -- Waning, Waxing

adminn — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 20:36:00 -0500

In American history, Christmastime has been wartime many times. And yet, in past conflicts our country seemed more motivated to win than it does today.

On Christmas Day 1776, Gen. George Washington crossed the Delaware River into New Jersey to attack the Hessian mercenaries at Trenton. The password for the day was "Victory or Death." 'Nuff said.

During the Civil War, on Dec. 20, 1864, Union General William T. Sherman completed his legendary -- Southerners say infamous -- March to the Sea. A triumphant Sherman sent a message to President Abraham Lincoln: "I beg to present you as a Christmas Gift the… more

Paul's Smear of Huckabee a Low Blow

adminn — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 23:04:00 -0500

Is Mike Huckabee a fascist? That's the insinuation from Ron Paul, one of Huckabee's rivals for the Republican presidential nomination.

And it's a cheap shot. One needn't agree with, or even like, Huckabee to know that throwing around the f-word "fascism" is a low blow.

This story is important, because it speaks to the larger question of whether Christians can fully participate in politics without being slurred. Here's the context: Huckabee ran a TV spot in which the former Arkansas governor wishes Americans a "Merry Christmas." And in the background, there's a windowpane, or some shelving, that looks a bit like a… more

I, Mike Bloomberg, Have a Darned Good Idea

adminn — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 23:07:00 -0500

Inside the mind of Mike Bloomberg, mayor of New York City:

Could the Democratic nomination really go to Barack Obama -- you know, middle name Hussein?

And could the Republican nomination really go to Mike Huckleberry? I mean Huck Finn; I mean Huckabee. Whatever.

This is the best the two parties can do? In which case, maybe I should reactivate my own presidential ambitions -- because I can beat those two, running right down the middle, in between the Third Worlder and the Bible Belter.

I'll admit it: I have an ego to feed. That's why I called my company "Bloomberg." So yeah, if… more

Huckabee No 'Easy Kill'

adminn — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 22:59:00 -0500

So is Mike Huckabee an "easy kill" for the Democrats? And are the Republicans the distinct underdogs, no matter whom they nominate for the presidency?

Maybe. After all, in public opinion surveys, the critical "right track/wrong track" question shows negative feelings predominating by a 2-1 or even 3-1 margin. That's bad news for the incumbent party, in terms of holding the White House.

But some Democrats maintain that the former Arkansas governor, in particular, has a "glass jaw." Hence the headline in Tuesday's Drudge Report: "Dems Hold Fire on Huckabee; See 'Easy Kill' In General Election."

Now I don't doubt Matt Drudge's sourcing… more

Huckabee's Long Focus: 'Broken Humanity'

adminn — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 23:11:00 -0500

Is Mike Huckabee too Christian to be president? Is Mitt Romney Christian enough? We'll find out soon.

The former governor of Arkansas is on the cover of Newsweek, and though the headline, "Holy Huckabee: The Unlikely Rise of a Preacher Politician," might suggest a mainstream media hatchet job -- in which yet another Southern Baptist gets the full Elmer Gantry-Pat Robertson treatment -- the article itself comes as a pleasant surprise.

Perhaps Newsweek, too, was surprised to discover that Huckabee's political views are well within the mainstream of American politics. Elected four times statewide in Arkansas, by the same voters who had… more

Iran's a Ticking Bomb for Candidates

adminn — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 23:17:00 -0500

The latest National Intelligence Estimate on Iran -- suggesting that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government is not an imminent nuclear threat -- will undercut some of the tough-talking foreign policy positions staked out by most of the Republican presidential candidates. Still, Democrats must beware, because the American people, inclined toward hawkishness since 9/11, will be suspicious of too-eager doves.

In the meantime, the seeming stand-down with Iran brings back memories of past presidential elections, won and lost.

I worked for George H.W. Bush in both his successful 1988 election campaign and his unsuccessful 1992 re-election campaign -- and what a difference the passage of… more

Smart Strategy to Stay Above the Fray in Iowa

adminn — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 16:04:00 -0500

Our politics lesson for today is tertius gaudens -- Latin for "the happy third." That is, the one who gets to sit on the sidelines as two others duke it out. We can see the main event happening now in Iowa.

So the smart strategy in a crowded presidential caucus is this: Stay out of the way of enemies destroying each other -- and then dash to victory.

The idea of tertius gaudens goes way back, of course, to ancient wars and balance-of-power politics. Britain, for example, was always happy to see its rivals on the European continent -- France,… more

All He is Saying is Give War a Chance, Too

Articles — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:58:00 -0500

Clausewitz is the name, and war is my game. You'll forgive a little levity from a dead Prussian, won't you?

I, Carl von Clausewitz, wrote the book on war. Literally. It's called Vom Kriege ("On War"), and I'm proud to say it's been required reading at military academies for two centuries. So when Herr Pinkerton told me he was writing a column about American military strategy in the Middle East -- I told him to take the day off.

Ironically, my biggest single point about war was actually a point about peace: winning the peace. As I wrote, "war is… more

U.S. Can't Allow Havens for Illegal Entry

Articles — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 15:51:00 -0500

As New York backs down on driver's licenses for illegal aliens, San Francisco rises up, offering new help for illegals.

The deliberate defiance of federal law, coming now from the West Coast, is a test for our nation, and we should respond as one nation. Why? Because the basic principle of national responsibility for national problems -- reaffirmed by, among other events, the Civil War -- must prevail.

New York's Democratic governor, Eliot Spitzer, backed down on his plan for issuing driver's licenses to illegal aliens, thus ending two months of political hemorrhaging. "Part of leadership is listening to the public's opposition,"… more

Nowhere -- and No Way -- to Hide

Articles — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:06:00 -0500

Privacy doesn't mean anonymity. Think about that for a bit -- and get used to it.

Or if you don't like it, get a plan. But it had better be a good one.

On Oct. 23, Donald Kerr, deputy director of the Office of National Intelligence, outlined the new order of things: "Too often, privacy has been equated with anonymity; and it's an idea that is deeply rooted in American culture." Well, yes, the Bill of Rights, for instance, includes protections against "search," as well as "seizure." But that was then. As Kerr put it, "In our interconnected and wireless world, anonymity… more

Immigration Clock's Ticking for GOP

Articles — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 13:45:00 -0500

What lessons can we draw from the recent elections? Here are three:

First, being a competent executive matters. In Mississippi, Republican Gov. Haley Barbour, having demonstrated his competence during the Katrina disaster of 2005 and the subsequent rebuilding, sailed to re-election.

By contrast, incompetence is fatal. In Louisiana, the incumbent governor, Democrat Kathleen Blanco, having made a fool of herself during Katrina, had to be on her way out. She was at least smart enough not to run again, thereby avoiding further humiliation.

Not so smart was the incumbent governor of Kentucky, Republican Ernie Fletcher. Although his 2006 indictments on corruption were eventually… more

Republicans Take 'License' with Democrats

Articles — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:47:00 -0500

The Democratic presidential front-runner is charging ahead, blowing past weak opposition. A lagging Democratic rival raises a critical issue in a candidates’ debate, but does so in a halfhearted manner that gets little traction among Democrats. So the front-runner stays out front, as the others falter and fall out.

But damage has been done to the front-runner. A wound has been opened, a slow hemorrhaging has commenced, even if Democrats don’t notice.

Over on the other side of the aisle, Republicans see the crimson trail -- and smell blood. So they sit back and wait, until the general election.

That’s the story of… more

Gingrich's Solutions Beat Gore's Doom Rhetoric

Articles — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 16:21:00 -0400

Al Gore and Newt Gingrich are very different figures, but they are both going through a similar process: They are becoming elder statesmen.

And how does one become an elder statesman, anyway? It’s an easy, two-step process: First, have something important to say and be tireless in saying it. Second, stop running for president, because then people will let their guard down; they will listen to the substance of your message, not worry about tracking your upward political mobility.

Oh, and a third thing: Optimism sells better than pessimism. So while the former Democratic vice president is getting most of the glory,… more