Blog Postings

A month before the November election, one of the top political thinkers in Maryland sat down for a lunch at a funky restaurant in Hyattsville and essentially outlined how the Democrats could lose the presidential election. They would not lose Maryland to the Republican presidential candidate — not this year, anyway — but the future

To answer how did “this” happen, look no further than the bumper-sticker lines of each candidate. Donald Trump said he would “make American great again.” Hillary Clinton‘s was “I’m with her.” Voters did not want to be with a presidential candidate for his or her success. They wanted the presidential candidate to be with them,

This was a prime year for a solid third-party run for the White House. Antipathy and disdain for the major party candidates are at historical high levels. Polls show that far more than half of Americans think a third party is needed. Do not hold out hope for a breakthrough. None of the “major” third

For much of the four years I covered the conflict in Bosnia, the guys whom we caught burning down villages, looting, smacking around women and the elderly, and terrorizing children would always be furious when we showed up. “Why do you write about us?” they often spat, displaying a much wider and pointed fluency in

The advance word is that the first debate between the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates on Monday may set records for viewership. That makes sense. The potential for entertainment is high, while the fear and loathing of each candidate by voters is, according to most polls, also setting records. “Monday Night Football’s” action may pale

In the 1982 movie “Diner,” the character played by a young Mickey Rourke is struggling with paying off money owed to a bookie on past lost bets. He decides to place a wager on a college basketball game he believes is a sure winner as a way to clear the debt. An adult friend of

Donald Trump has declared that the presidential election is likely to be rigged. Here is his chance to do something about it. As Washington turns inward to begin its all-important — some might say elitist — debate as to which media superstars get to referee the fall presidential debates, GOP nominee Trump has already voiced

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 “a

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 to

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 their

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 states

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 Republican