Mike Pilewski writes about life, politics and culture in the United States
One of the brilliant themes in George Orwell’s classic novel 1984 is the way that the government of Oceania always succeeds in distracting people from the real problems they face — like shortages and malnutrition. When cocoa supplies are disrupted, for example, the government is forced to cut each individual’s chocolate ration from 30 grams a week to 20. But … >>
John F. Kennedy was America’s first Catholic president. But in order to become that, he had to reassure people that the White House wouldn’t be taking orders from the Vatican. Rick Santorum hopes to become the second Catholic president. Although he’s far more Catholic than Kennedy pretended to be, he won’t have to reassure anyone. In recent years, Catholics have … >>
Herman Cain is history. On December 3, he ended his attempt to become president. Five women brought him down. Four accused him of sexual harassment while he was head of the National Restaurant Association (NRA) in the 1990s. The fifth said she had been having an affair with Cain for the past 13 years. As the accusations became public, the … >>
It’s an odd thing to say, but this column began because of a mistake. Well, not a mistake exactly, but an unforeseen event. In the November 1999 issue of the magazine, to accompany an article someone else had written about George W. Bush, I introduced six of the other candidates for president. One of the most promising, in terms of … >>
What if John F. Kennedy had never gone to Berlin? What if he hadn’t given that speech at the Rathaus Schöneberg in 1963 in which he proclaimed, in his horrible Massachusetts accent, “Ich been ein Bee-leena”? What if he had chosen to side with the Soviets instead? In the most recent world war, the Soviets had been America’s ally. They … >>
My e-mail in-box is always good for surprises. A few weeks ago, Saif Gaddafi made me an interesting offer. Now Barack Obama has invited me to dinner. What should I talk to him about? What would you ask him if you had the chance? I’m not concerned about policy, because he is the person who was elected. He should know … >>
There was a time when politicians used to be quoted for saying wise things — things like “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not to their own facts.” (Daniel Patrick Moynihan) These days, they’re usually quoted for things they shouldn’t have said. Republicans know they have a chance of beating Barack Obama in next year’s presidential election because … >>
Three times in one week, the world almost ended. Joplin, Missouri was wiped out by a tornado on Sunday. Our sympathies go to the residents, some of whom are known to our staff. In California, an 89-year-old Bible enthusiast had predicted the Rapture for the day before. Afterwards, he said he was “flabbergasted” that this didn’t happen. He’s now rescheduled … >>
In politics, if you want to make a point, it’s best to do it in a way that gets as much attention as possible. In the US, this is easiest to do in three places. The first is the roof of the White House. In 1979, Jimmy Carter showed America he was serious about renewable energy when he had solar … >>
As State of the Union speeches go, this one was pretty good — as was the commentary that followed it. Barack Obama resisted the temptation presidents usually have of presenting a long list of policy initiatives and acknowledging a long list of “everyday heroes”. Instead, he found a theme and more or less stuck to it. The president could have … >>