Politics

BY THOMAS TOBIN As the nation celebrates Presidents’ Day and students nationwide enjoy the long weekend, this holiday is a time to reflect on the nation’s highest office. U.S. Presidential history is rife with stories of political intrigue, personal triumph, and leadership in turbulent times. Yet while some presidents are carved into mountains or enshrined […]

BY CLAIRE LEHMANN The political divide between conservatives and liberals is growing increasingly bitter. Each side thinks that the other is evil. At the same time, a new currency is emerging within the eco-chambers of social media. It is the currency of outrage, and it is eroding our ability to listen to one another. Those […]

Just as Egyptians were preparing themselves for the third anniversary of the 2011 “Lotus” Revolution, a sold-out theater on the other side of the globe eagerly waited for the Oscar nominated documentary, “The Square,” to begin. Ironically, the documentary that beautifully captures the struggles of those who demanded freedom, transparency and social justice, has been […]

POLICY AREA: HEALTH CARE BY EMILY HARTMANN It is clear that President Obama wants to move the conversation forward on health care. In the State of the Union address he acknowledged the early struggles launching health care exchanges, but he quickly turned to the successes of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Speaking directly to the […]

BY CATHERINE LELAND  She’s the “most hated woman in Israel,” according to Foreign Policy magazine, and it doesn’t bother her at all.[i] Hanin Zoabi—a member of the Knesset, the legislative branch of the Israeli government—is, undeniably, a force. Elected in 2009, Zoabi is the first Palestinian Arab female elected to the Israeli parliament through an […]

BY JOSH RUDOLPH Republican President Theodore Roosevelt was once shot in the chest as he stood up to give a speech. After the assailant was immediately apprehended, the bleeding but unshaken president shuffled back over to the podium and said, “It takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose.” He then proceeded to deliver […]

Rami George Khouri is a Palestinian-Jordanian and U.S. citizen whose family resides in Beirut, Amman, and Nazareth. He is director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut. His journalistic work includes writing books and an internationally syndicated column, and he also serves as editor-at-large of the Beirut-based Daily […]

BY VIVEK CHILUKURI When President Obama announced an ambitious plan to reduce gun violence, he surrounded himself with children. By invoking their safety as his chief aim, the president imbued his efforts with our deeply felt and universal impulse to protect the young. When it comes to protecting their futures, however, Washington has shown no […]

BY AHMED MOOR It was “one of these compressed moments, where an entire story is told in a headline,” says Harvard Kennedy School Professor Richard Parker. “The story narrative is so simple—and so powerful—that there is no way that Romney can easily escape.” To hear more of Professor Parker’s discussion of Romney’s “47%” comment, listen […]

BY HANNA SIEGEL The American political system is exhibiting cracks. The approval rating for Congress has reached a record low of 13 percent, and more than 2.5 million voters have left the two major parties since the 2008 election (Washington Post-ABC News Poll 2012; Wolf 2011). Yet many Americans want change, and they are organizing […]