Mike Pilewski writes about life, politics and culture in the United States
Every recent US president was elected by a minority — one quarter, at most one third, of the population. That’s because nearly half of the Americans who could vote don’t vote. I’ve been meeting Americans who tell me they won’t be voting this November. The candidates don’t speak to their needs; the system is too corrupt; promises are made to … >>
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 … >>
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 … >>
As the results of Tuesday’s Congressional election came in, it was clear: the Republicans had gained control of the House of Representatives, while the Democrats had lost seats but kept control of the Senate. Representative John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, expected to be named House Majority Leader, cried tears of joy. Senator Harry Reid, the Democrat from Nevada, said … >>
The year was 2004. The chance of America finding an easy way out of Afghanistan and Iraq was fading as fast as George W. Bush‘s popularity. The Democrats thought they could easily kick him out of office. So why didn’t they? Well, for one thing, the Democratic candidate, John Kerry, wasn’t as inspiring as he could have been. There were … >>
It’s been said that the American media don’t often cover politics in other countries. That’s not much of an exaggeration. Medium-sized newspapers often have only one page of international stories, on page 4 or page 6 at best. TV news focuses on those countries with an immediate and obvious relation to the US — NATO partners, China, Afghanistan, and so … >>