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And in this corner of Europe…
The Catalans are upset and, depending on whom you speak with, have been upset since being defeated by the Spanish monarchy in 1714. Now, almost three hundred years later, they are doing what many other ethnic groups throughout Europe aspire – holding a vote to become independent. Or at least show support to be independent becauseRead moreWinter Brings Polio to Syria
Refugees in Syria face a humanitarian crisis with the outbreak of disease. (U.S. News) We see the explosions from the artillery shells. There are photos of charred or bullet ridden bodies, crying children and cowering civilians. These are the faces of war that are easily captured and conveyed, and they tell a lot. What isRead moreTug of War
This week brings a watershed moment for Eastern European democracy. (U.S. News) Miroslav Lajcak, Slovakia’s deputy prime minister, remembers all too clearly the undiplomatic characterization of his newly independent nation by then-Secretary of State Madeline Albright. “It is a black hole,” she sniffed, explaining why she thought Slovakia was not ready for admittance to NATORead moreObama’s Foreign Policy Poker Face
(U.S. News and World Report) By the end of week two, students taking the course “Navigating the Checkpoints in Life” at Washington and Jefferson College are happily grasping just how the “the rules of the bluff” work. You can see it in their eyes and smiles. They beam with appreciation of this new knowledge. TheyRead moreIf ‘bipartisanship’ is now a dirty word, how about a rebranding?
In April, the media company Gannett announced it was spinning off its publishing business and would run its broadcasting and digital units under the new corporate name “Tegna.” Not to be outdone, in June the Tribune Publishing Company — which Gannett was trying to acquire — renamed itself “Tronc,” which it declared stood for “aRead moreGet Ready for President Lugar
Since the media’s dream of a brokered Republican presidential convention has turned to fizz, the possibilities of additional arias in the presidential opera are dwindling as the curtain begins to close on the spring season. The Libertarian Party — in a contested presidential convention the media once projected for Republicans — took two ballots toRead moreTrump Is The Third Party Candidate
After Donald Trump decisively won the Indiana primary, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, along with others, started referring to the victor as the presumptive GOP presidential nominee. Some joined in the call to rally behind Trump. His last two standing rivals — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich — suspended theirRead moreIn 2016, conventional wisdom is running in last place
Be careful what you ask for: both presidential nominating races are as muddled as the media have long fantasized they might be. Two states completely unreflective of the country at large -— Iowa and New Hampshire — took their swings at the presidential nominating process. It is still a delightful mess. The next two statesRead moreThe presidential playoffs have begun
Pre-vote debates are over. Countdown to presidential clarity/semi-historic confusion begins with the rapidly approaching Iowa caucus carnival, followed by a trio of contests as different as the last four NFL teams that vied for the 2016 Super Bowl. We know the goal line: the White House. Thus the four quarters to be played: the RepublicanRead moreAn ‘Immaculate Perception’ at the start of 2016
The lights from the party boats on the Mon twinkled merrily off the water as the clocks ticked closer to the new year. It was merely cool at Point Park in Pittsburgh, far from the bone chilling of an 8:30 p.m. game at Heinz Field. In the other direction, in a luminary concert, were theRead moreFrame the questions, make the candidates really debate
A few years after my arrival as a Washington reporter, it finally happened: the president of the United States called on me at a White House press conference in the East Room. Live on national television, the Great Communicator himself, Ronald Reagan, pointed at me and bade me to proceed. So I did. I askedRead moreA look back at Trump’s first run
It was a fascinating campaign swing. There was “The Tonight Show” and Michael Bolton. There was a reception in a swank hotel where those attending stuffed food in their pockets and where two guys hired escorts to be their dates in order to appear classy. The next day, there was a museum event and aRead more
It was a fascinating campaign swing. There was “The Tonight Show” and Michael Bolton. There was a reception in a swank hotel where those attending stuffed food in their pockets and where two guys hired escorts to be their dates in order to appear classy. The next day, there was a museum event and a Tony Robbins pay-for-play, pump-it-up event complete with pyrotechnics that we in the media watched to see if they would ignite the candidate’s hair on fire.
It was 1999, and Donald Trump was running for president, sort of, in what now can be cast as his dress rehearsal for the current effort. Almost all that he has showed in 2015 was very clear during those few months of 1999.
Few paid attention then.
In 1999, Trump quit the Republican Party to join the Reform Party and seek that party’s presidential nomination. As he used to say back then about women around the world, he clearly believed “he had a shot” at the nomination — and he just may have.
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