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Health Care Reform: Partisan or Bipartisan?

Mark Shields — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 07:00:00 CDT

MARK SHIELDS

All things being equal (which, as we all know, they never are), President Obama would rather, we are told, that the U.S. Senate pass 85 percent of his proposed health care reform with the backing of 70 senators than pass 100 percent of his plan with just 51 or 52 votes.

In preferring that major health care reform win Senate support of a super-majority, Obama echoes Thomas Jefferson, who wrote, "Great innovation should not be forced on slender majorities." It is an old legislative maxim that the more legislators, from both parties, there are who support a controversial policy change, the more people there are who have a stake in that public policy being successfully accepted by the voters at large.

Newt Gingrich -- Character Is Destiny

Mark Shields — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:00:00 CDT

MARK SHIELDS

Over more than half a century of superb work, David Broder has earned the title of dean of American political reporters. So I pay attention when David Broder writes, as he did, on the eve of the last presidential campaign:

"In the years since I first met him in 1974, I have learned to take Newt Gingrich seriously. He has many character flaws, and his language is often exaggerated and imprudent. But if there is any politician of the current generation who has earned the label 'visionary,' it is probably the Georgia Republican and former speaker of the House."

One Congressman Who Means It!

Mark Shields — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:08:00 CDT

By Mark Shields

Whenever you get fed up listening to some gasbag run on and on about how everybody in Congress is a faker or a hypocrite or both, tell the gasbag to call me so I can introduce him to Rep. Walter Jones, the North Carolina Republican now serving his eighth term.
I admit that I get awfully tired of listening to politicians in both parties give the same speech over and over about how much these politicians value the men and women now serving in the U.S. military:

"These are the very best America produces" ... "the quiet heroes whose priceless sacrifices we treasure" ... and how "we stand in awe of their patriotism," etc., etc., etc.

The big problem is that, with rare exception, senators and congressmen do not know personally anybody in the enlisted ranks of the U.S. military. Sure, they have visited them here and overseas and, no doubt, been sincerely impressed by the commitment and the professionalism of the men and women in uniform.

Republican Predictable Stages of Defeat

Mark Shields — Thu, 14 May 2009 23:00:00 CDT

By Mark Shields

In 1988, when then-Republican Vice President George H.W. Bush defeated Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Michael Dukakis to win the White House, voters under the age of 30 were Bush's strongest voting cohort in the electorate. Bush that year was the beneficiary of Ronald Reagan's eight years, during which the Gipper appealed to and enlisted the nation's youngest voters into the GOP.

Now listen as Pew Research's respected Andrew Kohut compares those results from 20 years ago to those of November 2008.
In the three most recent elections, according to Kohut, young voters have trended more Democratic "than they had in the comparable earlier election." That is, voters between the ages of 18 and 30 voted more Democratic in 2004 than they had in 2002, more Democratic in 2006 than in 2004, more Democratic in 2008 than in 2006.

If Ronald Reagan succeeded, and he did, in making young voters the most reliably Republican age group at the polls, then George W. Bush drove young voters in record numbers into the Democratic Party, where Barack Obama welcomed and registered them.

Why Jack Kemp Was Truly Special

Mark Shields — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:00:00 CDT

MARK SHIELDS

In my line of work you hear a lot of politicians -- many whose private conduct fails to match their public posturing -- declaim about their unyielding commitment to "family values." Then you cover Jack Kemp.

Don't get me wrong. I am not here to canonize Jack Kemp. I am sure he, like all of us, was imperfect. But as one who has been convinced over a lifetime of campaigns that a politician's personal integrity counts for a lot more than his public ideology, I want to tell you a story about Jack Kemp, the former Republican congressman, cabinet officer and vice presidential nominee, who died too soon last week at age 73.

Here it is. In his campaign for the 1988 Republican presidential nomination, undoubtedly his best chance to win the White House, Jack paid more than lip service to family values. Much to the frequent consternation of his campaign staff, he was more devoted parent than determined candidate.

The Military-Non-Military Split Over Torture

Mark Shields — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:56:00 CDT

MARK SHIELDS

In the blizzard of words and polls analyzing President Obama's "First 100 Days" in office, one number in the latest USA Today-Gallup poll caught my attention.

When asked what was "the best thing" the new president had done, the No. 1 answer given was improving the United States' image in the world.

It is true. The November election of Obama, an African-American without family fortune or connections, reaffirmed convincingly both the openness and the political equality of American democracy.

Washington Needs a Vertebrae Transplant

Mark Shields — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 08:47:00 CDT

By Mark Shields

More members of Congress today, by a large margin, have more college and graduate degrees than members did 20 years ago. The current members are generally more media savvy and more socially polished than their often rough-edged predecessors. But what they lack -- and what the earlier guys had a lot more of -- is backbone.

You want proof? Let's begin with the assault rifle, the one modeled after the military weapon and built to fire hundreds of rounds of ammunition in a matter of seconds. This assault weapon was the firearm of choice in mass murders just in the last month of four police officers in Oakland, three Pittsburgh police officers, 13 civilians in Binghamton, N.Y., and 10 more in Alabama.

What is the response from official Washington? Solemn expressions of concern and promises of prayers for the families and the communities drowned out by the National Rifle Association's mantra that "guns don't kill people" -- peanuts do.

Death of a Cliche -- "Run Government Like a Business"

Mark Shields — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 07:01:00 CDT

BY MARK SHIELDS

Alan Ginsburg, a historian friend of mine, pointed out that it's been some time now since we have heard one of the most previously oft-repeated Republican applause lines -- the candidate's or officeholder's solemn pledge "to run government like a business."

The reasons are obvious why this cliche has disappeared. The villains in American politics have in a single generation gone from "welfare queens in designer jeans" to "corporate welfare kings in chauffered limos," from the public spotlight on "the deserving poor" to public outrage against "the undeserving rich."

The American Underdog

Mark Shields — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 09:30:00 CDT

By Mark Shields

I like to believe that identifying with and backing the underdog, any underdog, is deep in our American DNA. You will almost always find us on the side of the night-school student competing against the heir to a family fortune. We cheer for the girl who was told she wasn't good enough, or strong enough, or, worse, pretty enough. You will find Americans rooting for the every fearless David against any fearsome Goliath.

By this standard, Jim Bellows, who died this month at 86, was the classic American. A runt of a kid who became a World War II Navy aviator before graduating from Kenyon College, Bellows went to work for the Columbus (Georgia) Ledger in 1947. Over the next 34 years, Jim Bellows made the newspapers he worked for better and an unforgettable impression on every journalist whose work he edited.

Heroes Without a Dollar Sign

Mark Shields — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:52:00 CDT

MARK SHIELDS

The crew of the Jan. 15 US Airways Flight 1549 -- Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III, first officer Jeffrey Skiles, and flight attendants Doreen Walsh, Sheila Dail and Donna Dent -- deserve all the public praise they have received, and more, for their incredibly cool and heroically courageous leadership and actions in saving all 155 lives on board while "landing" their Airbus 320 on New York's Hudson River.

But as Sullenberger nobly and accurately emphasizes: There were countless other heroes that cold January day in addition to the admirable US Airways quintet. To listen to the three-and-a-half minutes of tapes released by the Federal Aviation Administration is to hear, for the first time, the composed know-how of Patrick Harten, a 10-year veteran air traffic controller. Under unimaginable pressure, Sullenberger, Harten and a number of other air traffic controllers (whose names I do not know) comprise the very definition of professionalism.

Even before the aircraft touched the arctic waters of the Hudson, the "first responders" were racing to the rescue. The crews of the New York Waterways and Circle Line ferries rushed to help. Once again, the men and women of the New York Police Department and the Fire Department of New York more than answered the call and met the challenge. Fire and rescue workers from New Jersey's Hudson County sheriff's department and fire and rescue teams provided valuable help.

Cemeteries Are Full of Indispensable Men

Mark Shields — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 09:40:00 CDT

BY MARK SHIELDS

I do not personally know Timothy Geithner, the lone individual out of some 306 million Americans whom President Barack Obama, in confronting the nation's gravest economic storm in 75 years, chose to be U.S. secretary of the treasury.

Friends of mine whose judgment I respect do know and speak highly both professionally and personally of Geithner, who may well very well be a superb father, husband, scholar, neighbor and friend. He may even turn out to be "the greatest secretary of the treasury since Alexander Hamilton" (which is what President Bill Clinton publicly called his own treasury secretary, Robert Rubin, for whom Geithner served as under secretary.)

One Really Bad Idea

Mark Shields — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 01:00:00 CDT

By Mark Shields

In his terrific and readable new biography of President Andrew Jackson, "American Lion," Jon Meacham reports on the absence of communications between President-elect Jackson and the man whom he defeated, President John Quincy Adams.

No courtesy calls and no conversation resulted in no plans for security or police assignments at Jackson's first inauguration. The result: thousands of Jackson's followers celebrating so raucously in and around the White House after the swearing-in that Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, who was there and obviously displeased by the uninhibited merry-making of Jackson's unpolished partisans, branded the bash, according to Meacham, "the reign of King Mob."

Senate Appointments a Double-Edged Sword

Mark Shields — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 13:14:00 CDT

Among others, James Michael Curley, the charismatically colorful Irish-American politician who was elected to the Congress, mayor of Boston and governor of Massachusetts, candidly observed, "Every time you do a favor for a constituent, you make nine enemies and one ingrate."
This also applies to contemporary governors -- David Paterson of New York and Bill Ritter of Colorado -- who each must name one individual in his state (from among dozens of eager applicants) to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate. Illinois, of course, also has a Senate vacancy to fill. But that is an altogether different tale of unorganized crime.

Democrats Still the Workers' Party?

Mark Shields — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:49:00 CDT

By Mark Shields

Before they went upscale on us and started "summering" in the Hamptons and Martha's Vineyard and drinking Pinot Grigio instead of Bud, the Democrats used to take some pride in being called the political party that stood up for working people -- the sort of Americans who get up every day and pack a lunch, punch a clock and shower after a hard day's work instead of before. But in recent years, an unattractive snobbishness has infected too many Democrats.

Whatever Happened to Accountability?

Mark Shields — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:03:00 CDT

By Mark Shields

Just about a year ago, President George W. Bush, presiding over the five largest federal deficits in U.S. history, finally vetoed the very first spending bill in his two White House terms. His administration argued that this veto was necessary because we did not have the money -- an extra $30 billion over five years -- even though the legislation provided that the funds would come from a dedicated increase in the cigarette tax.

And what was the bill that Bush felt compelled to veto? It was the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), passed by large, bipartisan majorities in both the House and Senate, which would have enabled the states to provide medical care to children in 8 million low-income families.

Forget McCain and Palin -- the GOP Has Deeper Problems

Mark Shields — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:09:00 CDT

By Mark Shields

The cheap shots being aimed almost hourly at Alaska governor and former VP candidate Sarah Palin from anonymous John McCain staffers prove once again that too many losing campaigns sooner or later resemble a civil war in the leper colony.

It is true that when asked on Election Day if "Sarah Palin is qualified to be president if necessary," three out of five voters answered no and that of the half of the electorate who believed that, if elected,

After 2008, American Politics Will Never Be the Same Again

Mark Shields — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:16:00 CDT

By Mark Shields

Theodore White in his masterful work, "The Making of the President 1960," describes a reception hosted in June of that year on the lawn of Gracie Mansion by New York Mayor Robert Wagner. Sen. John F. Kennedy, by then the clear front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, was there and so, too, were the hard men who ran the tough New York Democratic organization.

Kennedy, in a commanding position, was relaxed but also "distant and frosty, " as White reported." The old-line politicians of Tammany blinked at the scene in the sun, their cigars put away, their predatory faces baffled yet not hostile. This handsome young man was seed of their seed, stock of their stock ... yet he had gone to Harvard and was tailored in England and was somehow different from them -- as they hoped their sons would be different."

Creative Excuses

Mark Shields — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 05:00:00 CDT

By Mark Shields

Heading into the last two weeks of this presidential campaign, which began shortly after the cooling of the earth, my Gentle Readers' time and patience have already been more than overtaxed. What follows are some timesaving tips to spare you having to read every political word written between now and Nov. 4, 2008.

Campaign spokespersons for Arizona Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, who trails in virtually every poll of sentient beings, can be counted upon to disparage all discouraging information with variations of the following.

The First Ever Post-Debate "Poll"

Mark Shields — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 01:00:00 CDT

By Mark Shield

You want to know who won the debate that just ended? Relax. In a matter of minutes, every media outlet in your time zone -- from the local weekly shopper to the all-weather station -- will have just conducted its very own voter "focus group" or quickie poll and will be telling you who won and who lost the big debate.

In 1960, when the nation held its first-ever presidential debate, there were no focus groups or overnight polls. The press, with no agreed-upon standards by which to determine the outcome, was reluctant to name a winner. Enter Dick Tuck. The day after the first Kennedy-Nixon debate -- which 60 percent of the nation's adult population had watched or listened to -- Republican Richard Nixon flew to Memphis, Tenn. In the greeting party on the airport tarmac (in those pre-assassination days security around presidential candidates was much more relaxed) was an especially friendly matron, sporting an oversized Nixon button. She consoled the GOP nominee with words that could be overheard by reporters nearby: "Don't worry, son. Kennedy beat you last night, but you'll do better next time." Nixon uncomfortably thanked her.

Bias in Favor of Action

Mark Shields — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:56:00 CDT