NEW YORK — Frank Luntz, the Republican political consultant, is a master of the political epigram. Under his tutelage the estate tax became the death tax and global warming became climate change. So Luntz, once again going to the heart of the matter, recently put an either-or question to a group of about 50 people: […]
Richard Cohen
Posted inOp-Eds
Trump’s followers look to the past
Some time ago, the public intellectual Milton Himmelfarb put his finger on what the current presidential campaign is all about. Referring to his fellow Jews, he said that they “earn like Episcopalians, and vote like Puerto Ricans.” Never mind the rearview mirror of PC tut-tutness, what Himmelfarb had observed was that not all the people […]
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The alchemy of turning bribes into gifts
Back when I worked for the claims department of a major insurance company, I got stuff. Some of the stuff consisted of tickets to Broadway shows and sporting events and sometimes I got bottles of booze, Canadian Club being a popular choice for some reason. These items were tendered to me by auto appraisers, repair […]
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Trump utilizing ‘stab in the back’ myth
At the time Germany signed the armistice ending World War I, no battles had been fought on its territory and no foreign army had invaded it. The German people suffered greatly — food shortages and the like — but defeat to many did not seem to come from the battlefield in front but from traitorous […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
My Donald Trump addiction
PARIS — I awake to brilliant sunshine. It is a glorious day here on the Left Bank, a short walk from the storied cafe Les Deux Magots where I’m told Hemingway has preceded me. What shall I do today? There is a wonderful exhibition of Picasso sculptures at the Picasso Museum and one of contemporary […]
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Dislike of Hillary palpable, puzzling
What if Hillary Clinton were a man? What if she were a 68-year-old man rather than a 68-year-old woman? Would we think differently of her? Her raised voice would be lower. She would be better at physically commanding the stage. Her indomitability might be seen as manly. If she were taller and bigger, might she […]
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Never too soon to be missing Obama
Calvin Trillin, the Mark Twain of our times, once wrote that sooner or later in a new administration, he starts to miss the preceding one. I know precisely how he feels. I already miss the Obama administration. I am not being precipitous. The next president of the United States is going to be Donald Trump […]
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Hillary survives latest GOP witch hunt
Just as there was never any doubt that Bill Clinton had sex with “that woman,” there was never any doubt that Hillary Clinton mishandled her emails. And just as there was never any doubt that the Republicans overreacted to Bill Clinton’s shenanigans, so, too, is there no doubt that they have done the same over […]
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The stirring of a butterfly’s wings brings major change
What shall we call the butterfly? The butterfly I have in mind is the one that illustrates chaos theory: It flutters its diaphanous wings, stirring the slightest breeze, which connects with others until, thousands of miles away, it forms the essential ingredient for a hurricane. Can we call this butterfly Brexit? I mean, why not? […]
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Trump, GOP facing a landslide loss
For the Trump kids, it may be time for another meeting with dad. A previous one resulted in the canning of Corey Lewandowski and his exiling to CNN. Since then, the plight of the Trump campaign has become even more dire: Donald Trump has fallen in the polls and he made a perfect fool of […]