MenuSee More Speed ReadsBefore his rivalry with President Trump — and even before his loss to Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election — there was a time when Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was seen as such a "maverick" that it seemed conceivable he to the Democrats. He met secretly with Senator Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) in 2001 to plot the move. "He was furious over the way the party establishment had treated him in the 2000 race for the Republican presidential nomination against the eventually victorious George W. Bush," Philip Shenon reported in 2017. "We came very close," Daschle...…MenuSee More Speed ReadsBefore his rivalry with President Trump — and even before his loss to Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election — there was a time when Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was seen as such a "maverick" that it seemed conceivable he to the Democrats. He met secretly with Senator Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) in 2001 to plot the move. "He was furious over the way the party establishment had treated him in the 2000 race for the Republican presidential nomination against the eventually victorious George W. Bush," Philip Shenon reported in 2017. "We came very close," Daschle...WW…

MenuSign up for our free email newslettersSign Up forOur free email newslettersEverything is a show with Donald Trump.He was really a — he just on . Now, as president, a similar pattern has emerged: Trump wants to perform the role of autocrat in front of TV cameras, but cannot or will not act effectively to protect the country from the economic and health challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. He's a Potemkin strongman.The latest example of this phenomenon came over the weekend. With the House and Senate hamstrung on a pandemic relief bill, President Trump he would act unilaterally...…MenuSign up for our free email newslettersSign Up forOur free email newslettersEverything is a show with Donald Trump.He was really a — he just on . Now, as president, a similar pattern has emerged: Trump wants to perform the role of autocrat in front of TV cameras, but cannot or will not act effectively to protect the country from the economic and health challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. He's a Potemkin strongman.The latest example of this phenomenon came over the weekend. With the House and Senate hamstrung on a pandemic relief bill, President Trump he would act unilaterally...WW…

Some Republicans are so desperate for the coronavirus pandemic not to be a thing that the party's leading elected officials are proving themselves ready, willing, and able to gamble with the health of America's children, their teachers, and families.Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Friday demonstrated the GOP's breathtaking callousness on the matter, a St. Louis radio program that the state's schools should reopen this fall even though kids will certainly as a result."These kids have got to get back to school," Parson said. "They're at the lowest risk possible. And if they do get COVID-19,...…Some Republicans are so desperate for the coronavirus pandemic not to be a thing that the party's leading elected officials are proving themselves ready, willing, and able to gamble with the health of America's children, their teachers, and families.Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Friday demonstrated the GOP's breathtaking callousness on the matter, a St. Louis radio program that the state's schools should reopen this fall even though kids will certainly as a result."These kids have got to get back to school," Parson said. "They're at the lowest risk possible. And if they do get COVID-19,...WW…

On Friday, the number of new confirmed COVID-19 in cases in America — a new single-day record. The from the virus likewise showed signs of surging out of control. President Trump responded to these horrifying developments by ... not really responding at all. Instead, he the 40-month prison sentence of his “friend and confidant,” Roger Stone. Whether through selfishness, vanity, or sheer incompetence, Trump has proven almost completely impotent in the face of the pandemic. He is ruthlessly capable, though, when it comes to protecting his cronies from justice.Priorities, right? Big challenges...…On Friday, the number of new confirmed COVID-19 in cases in America — a new single-day record. The from the virus likewise showed signs of surging out of control. President Trump responded to these horrifying developments by ... not really responding at all. Instead, he the 40-month prison sentence of his “friend and confidant,” Roger Stone. Whether through selfishness, vanity, or sheer incompetence, Trump has proven almost completely impotent in the face of the pandemic. He is ruthlessly capable, though, when it comes to protecting his cronies from justice.Priorities, right? Big challenges...WW…

On Friday, the number of new confirmed COVID-19 in cases in America — a new single-day record. The from the virus likewise showed signs of surging out of control. President Trump responded to these horrifying developments by ... not really responding at all. Instead, he the 40-month prison sentence of his “friend and confidant,” Roger Stone. Whether through selfishness, vanity, or sheer incompetence, Trump has proven almost completely impotent in the face of the pandemic. He is ruthlessly capable, though, when it comes to protecting his cronies from justice.Priorities, right? Big challenges...…On Friday, the number of new confirmed COVID-19 in cases in America — a new single-day record. The from the virus likewise showed signs of surging out of control. President Trump responded to these horrifying developments by ... not really responding at all. Instead, he the 40-month prison sentence of his “friend and confidant,” Roger Stone. Whether through selfishness, vanity, or sheer incompetence, Trump has proven almost completely impotent in the face of the pandemic. He is ruthlessly capable, though, when it comes to protecting his cronies from justice.Priorities, right? Big challenges...WW…

If President Trump has his way, the 2020 presidential election won't be a referendum on his actual performance in office — his to the coronavirus pandemic, the resulting destruction of the economy — but about who gets to define American history, and how.The president made his intentions clear during a pair of Independence Day weekend , ordering the creation of a "" to contain monuments to his favorite historical figures — such as the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia — and vowing to defend existing monuments, as well as a triumphalist telling of America's history, from those who...…If President Trump has his way, the 2020 presidential election won't be a referendum on his actual performance in office — his to the coronavirus pandemic, the resulting destruction of the economy — but about who gets to define American history, and how.The president made his intentions clear during a pair of Independence Day weekend , ordering the creation of a "" to contain monuments to his favorite historical figures — such as the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia — and vowing to defend existing monuments, as well as a triumphalist telling of America's history, from those who...WW…

During World War II, Americans of all stripes pitched in to win the war against the Axis powers. While soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines fought in Europe and the Pacific, the citizens who stayed home helped the effort by doing with a little less. In what might now be called an "" approach, every family — even that of — was subject to . They accepted on the amount of meat, sugar, and other foodstuffs their families could buy, and they repaired car tires instead of buying new ones, so that those critical supplies could be used to feed and arm the troops. People made sacrifices for the...…During World War II, Americans of all stripes pitched in to win the war against the Axis powers. While soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines fought in Europe and the Pacific, the citizens who stayed home helped the effort by doing with a little less. In what might now be called an "" approach, every family — even that of — was subject to . They accepted on the amount of meat, sugar, and other foodstuffs their families could buy, and they repaired car tires instead of buying new ones, so that those critical supplies could be used to feed and arm the troops. People made sacrifices for the...WW…

President Trump is a clear and present danger to the health and safety of America.The coronavirus pandemic would be a challenge for any leader and any system of government. Nature has thrown a powerful left hook at all of humanity, a blow of the kind that arrives only or so. Even the best and most-capable president would have a difficult time with the health and economic problems caused by the global spread of COVID-19.But Donald Trump is nowhere near being the best and most-capable president that America has ever had. His well-known shortcomings — his disdain for expert advice and...…President Trump is a clear and present danger to the health and safety of America.The coronavirus pandemic would be a challenge for any leader and any system of government. Nature has thrown a powerful left hook at all of humanity, a blow of the kind that arrives only or so. Even the best and most-capable president would have a difficult time with the health and economic problems caused by the global spread of COVID-19.But Donald Trump is nowhere near being the best and most-capable president that America has ever had. His well-known shortcomings — his disdain for expert advice and...WW…

For most of my adult life, I have believed there would come a point when would have to give up the game. I thought the plain facts of rising , , and growing would at long last force them to stop resisting efforts to mitigate climate change and start working in earnest for effective solutions.The COVID-19 pandemic has made me realize I was wrong."Climate change is going to be exactly like this," my colleague Ryan Cooper correctly in March, "only on a much longer time scale." What we're also finding is that the American coronavirus backlash like the resistance to climate-friendly policymaking...…For most of my adult life, I have believed there would come a point when would have to give up the game. I thought the plain facts of rising , , and growing would at long last force them to stop resisting efforts to mitigate climate change and start working in earnest for effective solutions.The COVID-19 pandemic has made me realize I was wrong."Climate change is going to be exactly like this," my colleague Ryan Cooper correctly in March, "only on a much longer time scale." What we're also finding is that the American coronavirus backlash like the resistance to climate-friendly policymaking...WW…