The American Prospect Online

Behind the controversy over whether Sen. Obama's description of rural Pennsylvanians as "bitter" about their economic circumstances was condescending, there is another argument, one that's been lurking, unspoken, since the beginning of the Democratic campaign. It's a debate about the legacy and meaning of the last 16 years of the Democratic Party, and both candidates have said some highly provocative things, putting cards on the table that they've been holding for months.

First, Sen. Clinton. In the "Compassion Forum" Sunday night,… more

The IRS was so confident in the legendary observation of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. that “taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society” they chiseled it above the entrance to their Washington D.C. headquarters. Still each year Tax Day makes incumbent politicians uneasy -- especially at times when recession fears mount and fall elections loom. This year this perilous combination spurred them on to take prompt and bipartisan action. Who wants to be accused of sending families their… more

Condoleezza Rice has just completed her 14th Middle East visit in 15 months and her third since the Annapolis Conference.

The Annapolis effort is scheduled to last one year, wrapping up at the end of the Bush term, but with four months gone, the scorecard makes for predictably depressing reading. Economic conditions and freedom of movement in the West Bank have, if anything, deteriorated -- settlements are expanding, not a single outpost has been dismantled, and Israelis and Palestinians are less… more

I suppose I should feel vindicated that Mark Penn's downfall as "Chief Strategist" of Senator Clinton's presidential campaign came on a question of conflict of interest involving one of his other elevated titles, that of "Worldwide President and CEO" of the public relations giant Burson-Marsteller.

After all, a little over a year ago, I noticed that the Burson-Marsteller website featured a division promising "a comprehensive communications approach for clients when they face any type of labor situation," which is a polite… more

The last week has been a period of grace, of partial freedom for the 1.4 million residents of the large open-air prison also known as Gaza. Last Wednesday Hamas activists apparently blew up the border barriers between Gaza and Egypt, and by morning it was a free for all. Gazans, used to being blockaded into 360 square kilometers, turned the Egyptian border towns of Rafah and El Arish into an impromptu and unlikely shopping mall/holiday resort. Tens if… more

Earlier this month Morocco, one of America's closest Arab allies, held national elections. Touted as a bold step toward democracy, the vote was closely watched in the West. But the elections, rather than proving a success, have raised difficult questions about the future of Moroccan democracy and highlighted the flaws in America's approach to democracy promotion.

In the lead-up to the polls, analysts painted the contest as a test of Islam's political strength. Islamists had risen to power in Iraq, Palestine,… more

In 1961, 13 three- and four-year-olds from poor black families began attending a preschool class at Perry Elementary School in Ypsilanti, Michigan. They were there as much to learn as to teach. A team of researchers followed not only their time at the preschool, but their trajectory over the next four decades, and the findings were startling:

Compared to a control group of similar children who didn’t attend preschool, this class from Perry Elementary School would be less likely to… more

It’s tough to imagine what Gen. Harrison Gray Otis -- the bellicose press baron with the steely gaze and a speaking voice once likened to "that of a game warden roaring at seal poachers" -- would make of his family’s recent decision to sever the last of its ties with the Los Angeles Times.

The 19th-century publisher, were he looking down upon this vale, couldn’t be too happy that his descendants have walked away from the paper he built. At… more

The dust is beginning to settle on a new Palestinian reality. Official statements from Washington, Israel, and the new Palestinian government in Ramallah suggest an emphasis on betting everything on the Abbas/Fatah option against Hamas, with goodies for the West Bank, while Gaza is kept on a strict diet. This is the proposed shortcut to a two-state solution. It may sound new, but it’s really the old Plan A on steroids. Martin Indyk came out with a much smarter and… more

What do John Edwards, Ron Wyden, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Mitt Romney have in common? They each studied our health care mess and concluded that an individual mandate (along with reformed insurance markets and subsidies for people with low incomes) must be part of any comprehensive solution. This growing consensus makes it all the more puzzling that Barack Obama chose not to make mandates part of his initial health care proposal for the 2008 campaign, which he unveiled last week.

Americans… more