Barack Obama

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'It's Halftime in America'

Karl Rove is pissed off, and for once we can understand why.
Plus, same-sex marriage's latest boost
By EDITORIAL | February 10, 2012

Obama's Vision: ''An America Built to Last''

By any measure, President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech would have been considered a political winner, but coming just one day after the Republicans' constipated Florida-primary debate, Obama scored an undeniable triumph.
Plus, Deval Patrick
By EDITORIAL | January 27, 2012

Obama responds to the 99 percent

In announcements that could be interpreted as gifts to the Occupy movement, President Barack Obama recently introduced three measures to help struggling students, veterans, and homeowners.
Band-aids or benefits?
By DEIRDRE FULTON | November 11, 2011

Obama’s jobs plan is a step in the right direction

President Barack Obama's September 8 speech outlining his new jobs program — and the tax policies needed to finance it — was a sign of hope.
Notes on class warfare
By EDITORIAL | September 23, 2011

A Statesman Too Late?

The congressional debt "super committee" has begun its work, and already there are signs that its task is hopeless.
John Kerry heads to work on the debt ‘super committee’ with his usual earnestness and high hopes — despite the circus that surrounds him
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | September 23, 2011

Maine sneaker-maker could provide military footwear

As the only remaining manufacturer of athletic shoes in the United States — with three factories in Maine and two in Massachusetts — New Balance wants government assurance that military servicemembers wear American-made sneakers, not ones that are made
Born in the USA
By DEIRDRE FULTON | September 23, 2011

The Lion King and the Elephant Man

Why "The Lion King?" Why now? Seventeen years after the film entered the ranks of Disney animated classics, its 3D re-release last weekend shot to...
By Peter Keough | September 22, 2011

First Amendment battle in the Bucket

As regular readers of this column know, Jorge is a native of Pawtucket. It was with great pride that I attended the celebration at McCoy Stadium this past Tuesday evening, commemorating the 125th anniversary of the city's incorporation.
A Catholic controversy; Taibbi’s straight talk; dandy Don; wisdom from Warren
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | August 26, 2011

Does Obama have the cojones to win?

To make sense of this bizarre and dispiriting moment in American politics, here are the things one needs to appreciate.
This WTF moment
By EDITORIAL | July 29, 2011

The case for capturing bin Laden alive: we’re a nation of laws not bullets

A friend asked earlier this week what I thought of President Obama's late-night speech to the nation, announcing the death of Osama bin Laden, in...
By Harvey Silverglate | May 09, 2011

Romney rides again

Mitt Romney has been running for president more or less nonstop for the past seven years — and still hasn't figured out how to do it.
To win the GOP nomination, Mitt will need to do things differently this time. Here's how.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | April 15, 2011

Is same-sex marriage the 2012 comeback kid?

A few years ago, the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders — a Boston-based legal advocacy organization — launched a "6 x 12" campaign to secure marriage rights for gay couples across New England by 2012.
Crystal ball
By DEIRDRE FULTON | April 15, 2011

Obama With Deval's Playbook

"This debate over budgets and deficits is about more than just numbers on a page, more than just cutting and spending. It's about the kind...
By David S. Bernstein | April 13, 2011

Libya: Why Obama is right

That the nation is apprehensive and ambivalent about President Barack Obama's military intervention in Libya is natural, even healthy.
What's wrong with saving lives?
By EDITORIAL | April 01, 2011

Give Malalai Joya a visa

In a display of mendacity worthy of the days when the late Senator Joseph McCarthy stifled free speech from coast to coast, the United States Department of State has denied a visa to Afghanistan's most internationally recognized activist, Malalai Joya.
Plus, Obama's Libyan War
By EDITORIAL | March 25, 2011

After Clinton

With a world full of crises in full flower, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton surprised a lot of people last week by declaring, in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, that she will not continue to serve beyond 2012, should Barack Obama win a second t
The State of State
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | March 25, 2011

Obama: DOMA Is Unconstitutional

Updated below Major, long-awaited development in the same-sex marriage wars today, as the Department of Justice cuts loose from defending the Defense of Marriage Act....
By David S. Bernstein | February 23, 2011

The GOP's top dog? It's T-Paw, not Mitt.

Whatever the reason, the field of Republican presidential candidates is failing to form, just a year away now Iowa and New Hampshire voting in the nation's first presidential caucus and primary.
Pawlenty tops our list
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | February 04, 2011

Build-Your-Own Deval Speculation

Back in the early days of the Barack Obama presidency, when speculation was rampant that Deval Patrick would head to Washington for a post, a well-informed insider...
By David S. Bernstein | February 02, 2011

New In The Phoenix -- Conservatives For Criminal-Justice Reform

In this week's issue of the Boston Phoenix -- in print tomorrow, online now -- I look at a new movement that might, finally, make...
By David S. Bernstein | January 26, 2011

My Initial SOTU Reaction

Yellow pledge cards and door-knocking weren't the only things Obama picked up from the successful Deval Patrick re-elect. >>>OPTIMISM WORKS<<< More on this later.
By David S. Bernstein | January 25, 2011

Reed on the Arizona shootings, the Tea Party, and why Bob Gates might stick around

Just days after the Arizona tragedy, the Phoenix sat down with Senator Jack Reed for a Q+A about the shooting, the Tea Party, and some troubling news out of Pakistan.
Ask the Senator
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | January 14, 2011

The Kennedys will rise again!

As you've probably heard a couple thousand times by now, Rhode Island Representative Patrick J. Kennedy's retirement means Washington is without a member of Team Camelot for the first time in 64 years.
Dynasties
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | January 07, 2011

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