Mike Pilewski writes about life, politics and culture in the United States
Cara Carleton Sneed Fiorina has lived the American dream. She started as a secretary, rose through the ranks, and became the head of one of the world’s largest technology companies. As CEO of Hewlett-Packard, Fiorina engineered that company’s $19 billion merger with Compaq in 2002. A turbulent relationship with the board of directors, however, led to her dismissal only three … >>
Of all the candidates’ stories, Ben Carson’s may be the most inspiring. He overcame the poverty of a Detroit slum to become director of pediatric neurosurgery at the prestigious Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore. In 1987, Carson led a 70-member surgical team in separating Siamese twins who were joined at the back of the head. A speech at a … >>
Remember the “tea party” — the faction of Republicans devoted to fighting the establishment? Rafael Edward Cruz is what’s left of it. Whenever controversy is brewing, the one-term senator from Texas is never far from the TV cameras. In fighting for his principles, Cruz often tests the limits of his own party, as when he turned his protest over health-care … >>
If the billionaire class treats American politicians like marionettes, why not just elect a billionaire directly? That’s the unconventional message behind Donald Trump’s campaign for president. The real-estate developer from New York City, who is worth an estimated $4 billion, openly talks about how the politicians to whom he’d donated money were “there for me” when he wanted a favor. … >>
In presidential elections, Republicans face an uphill battle. Changing demographics mean that, over time, fewer Americans are identifying with the party. To win the White House, the Republicans need a candidate who appears centrist enough to pull in independents and conservative Democrats. At conservative events in non-election years, party insiders study and groom potential candidates. Their choice this time is … >>
The next US presidential election isn’t until November 2016, but the campaigning is well under way. Because neither the sitting president nor the vice-president nor the previous opponent is a candidate, new ideas and new faces have a shot at success. The last time this happened was in 2008, and it enabled a little-known senator named Barack Obama to rise … >>
For years, American politicians from all parties have talked about a “threat” from Iran’s uranium-enrichment program. So now that Iran has reached a provisional agreement with the permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany to keep it at non-threatening levels, who’s not happy? To Iran, the deal will mean a (conditional) end to the international sanctions imposed in … >>
If you watched Barack Obama’s State of the Union (SOTU) speech Tuesday night (Wednesday morning in Europe), you learned some surprising things. According to Obama: Lots of people are getting jobs in America. Millions of Americans have signed up to get health care. The United States no longer depends significantly on foreign oil. The US government is doing something about … >>
Well, they did it: they broke the government. Congress failed to agree to continue funding the federal treasury into the new fiscal year, which began October 1. So now 821,000 federal employees have some time off, while the remaining 2.4 million continue to operate essential services. “Essential services” include things like the CIA, the Internal Revenue Service, and the NSA … >>
If a group of Republican members of Congress gets its way, large parts of the US government could stop functioning next week. National parks and museums will close. The military won’t get paid. Passports won’t be issued. Government loans to businesses and home-buyers will stop. Safety inspections could be less frequent. That’s the threat, anyway. A last-minute deal is still … >>