David Maraniss is an Associate Editor with The Washington Post. He received a Pulitzer Prize for covering Bill Clinton’s campaign during the 1992 Presidential Election, and has written several bestselling books, including Barack Obama: The Story. Mr. Maraniss has been with The Post since 1997. Harvard Political Review: What are the things that we miss or … Read more
Freshly reelected President Barack Obama would certainly like to use his political leverage to resolve the looming confrontation over the Iranian nuclear program. For most of the past decade, Iran has invested significant resources in a nuclear enrichment program that it maintains is peaceful. A more skeptical international community, fearful of a nuclear weapons-capable Iran, … Read more
Presidential legacies are often tied to the famous legislation passed by the commander-in-chief. Lyndon Baines Johnson is inextricably tied to the Civil Rights Act, FDR to the New Deal package of federal stimulus, and Barack Obama tied his legacy early on to the Affordable Care Act. A president’s legacy, however, lives on not only in … Read more
Presidential legacies are often tied to the famous legislation passed by the commander-in-chief. Lyndon Baines Johnson is inextricably tied to the Civil Rights Act, FDR to the New Deal package of federal stimulus, and Barack Obama tied his legacy early on to the Affordable Care Act. A president’s legacy, however, lives on not only in … Read more
The Casual Vacancy, J.K. Rowling’s debut adult novel, should not be taken lightly. This 500-page book is a first-hand look at various manifestations of disappoints and failings of human nature, yet it also demonstrates the complexity behind personal actions. In the small, picturesque, and fictional British town of Pagford, filled with mostly petty people, Rowling … Read more
Latvia is usually quite unremarkable: in the words of The Economist, “Even Latvians’ fans rarely call them exciting.” Yet the obscure Baltic nation has recently drawn attention, along with its neighbors Estonia and Lithuania, for its quick recovery from the financial crisis through strict austerity and internal devaluation. Indeed, Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director, has … Read more
It is not every day that half a country secedes, but that is exactly what happened in Mali earlier this year. On April 6, after months of fighting, a representative of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) formally declared independence for Azawad, a region in north Mali. The rebel group drove the … Read more
Photo Credit: Associated Press
“He created a bipartisan debt commission. They came back with an urgent report. He thanked them, sent them on their way, and then did exactly nothing.” In many ways, this quote from Paul Ryan’s speech at the Republican National Convention encapsulates deficit reduction efforts over the past two years. Ryan was criticizing President Obama for … Read more
As we check email, listen to music online, and log onto our favorite social networks, we never see nation-states exchanging blows or even the remnants of their combat. However, military officials and cybersecurity experts agree that the Internet is an active battleground. Some say it has the characteristics of a jungle, with militant hackers taking … Read more