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The Ayers issue at a glance
Sarah Palin, unable to make the case for her own fitness to hold high office, has kicked off the widely expected, 11th-hour smear campaign against Obama as a friend of terrorists, namely ex-Weather Underground leader William Ayers. On the trail Palin mentioned this NY Times piece by Scott Shane, ignoring of course Shane’s main conclusion: that the Obama-Ayers connection is tenuous
Palin in denial PS
Perhaps Sarah Palin would like to lash out at Nader Nadery and Haseeb Humayoon for their carefully considered op-ed piece, which makes exactly the same argument Barack Obama has made about Afghanistan: too many civilians are dying under American and NATO bombs, and it’s alienating the populace. Virtually everyone who follows the Afghan conflict agrees on this point. So Palin’s jibe
Swinging Barack Home
As a New Yorker, I’ve witnessed some pretty moving examples of public-spirited jazz, including the 9/11 memorial concert at Town Hall in November 2001. The sight of Dianne Reeves — not just a fine singer but an imposing musician — taking wing with an inspired rendition of Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” has never left me. At the October 1
Palin in denial
During her debate with Joe Biden tonight, Sarah Palin leveled a most curious charge against Barack Obama on the subject of Afghanistan: Now, Barack Obama had said that all we’re doing in Afghanistan is air-raiding villages and killing civilians. And such a reckless, reckless comment and untrue comment, again, hurts our cause. That would be an odd thing for Obama,
Six Picks: October 2008
My monthly list of recommended CDs, as published in All About Jazz-New York, October 2008: Bill Cole’s Untempered Ensemble, Proverbs for Sam (Boxholder) Lisle Ellis, Sucker Punch Requiem: An Homage to Jean-Michel Basquiat (Henceforth) Lee Konitz & Minsarah, Deep Lee (Enja) Rudresh Mahanthappa, Kinsmen (Pi) Michael Moore & Fred Hersch, This We Know (Palmetto) Adam Niewood, Epic Journey, Vols. I
Nader’s casual racism
In June, Ralph Nader accused Barack Obama of wanting to “talk white.” Last Friday on Bill Maher, Nader played the racial condescension card once again while making the (defensible) case against sending additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan and Pakistan’s tribal regions. Now, I’m really ashamed that someone from a third-world background like Barack Obama is so unbelievably insensitive about the history
Tomato, tomahto
Obama did fantastically well last night, in my view, but he could have busted McCain on calling the Iranian Revolutionary Guard “the Republican Guard,” which was Iraq’s elite force under Saddam. Obama repeated the mistake himself, in fact.