It's Gonna Be a Long Four Years

It's Gonna Be a Long Four Years, Part I
"In a country long divided, Mr. Obama had a singular appeal: he is biracial and Ivy League educated; a stirring speaker who shoots hoops and quotes the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr; a politician who grooves to the rapper Jay-Z and loves the lyricism of the cellist Yo-Yo Ma; a man of remarkable control and startling boldness...." - Reporter Rachel Swarns, November 5.


It's Gonna Be a Long Four Years, Part II
"Bill Clinton brought jazz, Rhodes scholars, a slice of Arkansas and all-night pizza policy sessions. When George W. Bush arrived, Texans took over the town. Blue jeans were out; coats and ties and cowboy boots were in. Now comes Barack Obama: young, hip and multicultural, with a Harvard law degree, a writer's sensibility and a smooth left-handed jump shot - not to mention two little girls who, America learned Tuesday night, will soon get a new puppy.- Reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg, November 6.


Imagine That!
"Some 40 years later, there are conservatives who still inveigh against the perils of socialized medicine." - Book Review editor Sam Tanenhaus, November 6.

Dumb Southern Racists for McCain
"Southern counties that voted more heavily Republican this year than in 2004 tended to be poorer, less educated and whiter, a statistical analysis by The New York Times shows....Many of those counties, rural and isolated, have been less exposed to the diversity, educational achievement and economic progress experienced by more prosperous areas." - Adam Nossiter, November 11.

Conservative? Since When?

"Christopher Shays of Connecticut, the lone conservative in a region long dyed blue, suffered a startling defeat to a Democratic businessman from Greenwich, Jim Himes." - Javier Hernandez, November 6. Shays' rating from the American Conservative Union is 45 out of a possible 100, making him the most liberal Republican in the House or Senate.



Obama Had No Idea Wright Was An Anti-American Kook?

"After Sept. 11, 2001, [Rev. Jeremiah] Wright delivered a sermon suggesting that the terrorist attacks were a consequence of American foreign policy. But there is no evidence that Mr. Obama was present for this or the other sermons cited." - Michael Falcone's "Ad Campaign" entry on an anti-Obama ad run by the Pennsylvania GOP, November 3.


No Escape from Liberal Politics
"It's totally weird, but after a quick promenade through the store, some deeply repressed part of myself that has been buried for years under a morose cloud of apocalyptic doom was finally freed. The boppy tween girl inside me was unleashed! I didn't realize I was so starved for lightheartedness. But it makes sense: If you feel as if you have been emotionally, professionally and politically run over by a tank for the last, say, eight years, then the well-selected, fun merchandise and carbonated energy of Fred Flare will bring a smile on your cautious, crabby face." - "Critical Shopper" columnist Mike Albo November 13.



Surprise: Liberal Columnist Acknowledges Liberal Media Bias

"But on the social issues - gun control, abortion, gay marriage, religion - I'm not sure we're that even-handed....Journalists move easily in the world of business Republicans, less easily in the world of Evangelical Republicans. So that makes it easier to slip into caricaturing social conservatives at times, and we should try harder to avoid it." - Columnist Nicolas Kristof, November 4.