Author Archives: akadjian

Republicans have taken a couple of interesting tactics towards spinning the Larry Craig arrest: The innocent until proven guilty play Blaming the liberal media Bringing up Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky These tactics have for the most part fallen short. Blaming the liberal media isn’t working because even conservatives are calling for […]

Alberto Gonzales resigned today. In his press announcement, he did not say that he was resigning to spend more time with his family. In fact, he didn’t offer any reason as to why he was resigning. President Bush, when it was his turn to speak, characterized Gonzales as a man […]

I went to see Barack Obama last night interested to see how he would deal with the question of inexperience. Recently, Senator Clinton has been hammering him on this issue, calling his remarks about meeting with the brutal leaders of Iran, Syria, North Korea, and Cuba, “naive and … irresponsible.” […]

One of the biggest Republican talking points is personal responsibility. Why? Because there is a strong tradition in this country of taking ownership for your actions and this value resonates with a wide variety of people. While Republicans take advantage of this value, Progressives miss many opportunities to show that […]

I think I love Norman Mailer. Let’s look at a few things Norman Mailer does in this video clip to communicate his values. The question that was asked of him was to talk about “honor” and “shame” when it comes to Iraq. He talks about loving America as if he […]

Driving back through South Carolina after the 4th of July, I happened across a gospel speaker on AM radio. Always curious I thought I’d give him a listen through the rest of the state. He spoke about the fact that Americans feel they’ve lost a sense of community. “Are you […]

Traditional arguments for competition and free markets go something like this: let the markets work, this will lead to more choice, better value and improved service. Competition is generally perceived as a good thing. Politicians have often used this argument to “open up” government run businesses such as the old […]

You know you’ve heard it. The dreaded “liberal media” label that has sent scores of journalists scurrying to defend themselves against accusations of bias. Conservatives love the liberal media frame because it has been tremendously effective for them. Rather than deal directly with an argument, just dismiss it as liberal. […]

Whatever happened to James Carville’s slogan from the Clinton years? Has the Iraq war dominated all discussion? Is the economy so good right now that we don’t have to worry about it? Is it no longer the economy, stupid? I don’t believe either of these statements are true. But what […]

One of the things that people remember most about the Reagan years was his push for smaller government. This Republican mantra has served the party well because people believe in it. In fact, in many ways, it defines what it means to be a Republican. Whether Republicans are actually creating […]