Faith-based initiatives face tough political realities When President Bush campaigned in 2000, faith-based initiatives were at the center of his “compassionate conservative” pitch, and candidate Obama promised to renew the effort to help faith-based charities secure enhanced access to government assistance and funding. But the success of faith-based initiatives has been limited both by conservatives, … Read more
The difficulty of green job promotion Since its inception, the environmental movement has largely defined itself against corporate exploitation, and supported ecological integrity even in the face of economic opposition. Nowhere has more been at stake in this historical confrontation between environmental and economic interests than in the politics of energy and global climate change. … Read more
Can Latin America’s largest country rise above the hurdles? As cannons blasted confetti down upon a roaring crowd in Rio de Janeiro in October, Latin America’s largest nation celebrated its arrival on the world stage. Like China before the 2008 Olympic Games, Brazil greeted the announcement that it would host the Games in 2016 as … Read more
The uncertain state of modern conservatism The Death of Conservatism, by Sam Tanenhaus, Random House, 2009. $17, 144 pp. In 1962, legendary ABC News anchor Howard Smith ran an hour-long segment titled “The Political Obituary of Richard Nixon.” Smith proclaimed Nixon, who had just lost the race for Governor of California only two years after … Read more
Producers Alicia Sams and Amy Rice on filming their HBO documentary “By The People: The Election of Barack Obama” Harvard Political Review: What was the most difficult part about following the campaign trail 24 hours a day, seven days a week? Alicia Sams: The logistics — just trying to figure out, trying … Read more
Will the new GM ever be another General Motors? Throughout the 1980s General Motors controlled almost half of the American automobile market, and since then that share has diminished to less than 20 percent. In the past decade, as GM struggled to convince its investors that it had a viable business model, its stock steadily … Read more
In a culture that often values boldness above all else, American politics is surprisingly allergic to big ideas. Despite the clamor over President Obama’s health-care reform plan, it is important to remember that it proposes fairly incremental changes. Today insurance in America is employer-based, and provided by private, for-profit insurers. This will not change. The … Read more
Twilight is big. Yes, I realize that that was not exactly an original observation nor a particularly timely one. However, I just wanted to posit that quite aside from the merits of Twilight as such (have neither read nor seen it), the cultural prominence of Twilight/vampires in general really does speak to the conservative trope … Read more
The question is not intended substantively. The bill that is being debated by the Senate is an ugly mess from the perspective of any reasonable observer, left, right, or center. However, as inefficient and messy as it is, it will still do a much better job than the status quo of providing healthcare to the … Read more
The Boston Globe has a must-read article out on Larry Summer’s role in Harvard’s endowment collapse. I like the lede: It happened at least once a year, every year. In a roomful of a dozen Harvard University financial officials, Jack Meyer, the hugely successful head of Harvard’s endowment, and Lawrence Summers, then the school’s president, … Read more