Politically Aware Awards 2016

Local Politician of the Year – Councilmember Georgette Gomez 2016 saw many impressive local election victories. Mayor Faulconer and multiple councilmembers cruised to June wins, County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar beat incumbent Dave Roberts, and former Councilmember Todd Gloria moved to the State Assembly. None seemed as improbable at the outset as Gomez’s rise. In a…

Read More

What just happened?

Dec. 19, the Electoral College chose Donald Trump as the next president. How did Sec. Clinton go from prohibitive favorite to runner-up? Here’s my summary of six weeks of coverage. The national polls weren’t that far off Clinton’s lead in the popular vote stands at nearly 3 million votes, or 2.1 percent, only 1.1 percent…

Read More

How Trump could succeed

Dear President-elect Trump, Barring Electoral College shenanigans, you will be the 45th president, with one of the lowest Inauguration Day approval ratings in history. You can’t count on drawing another Democratic opponent with equally low favorability in 2020, so winning a second term will require finding a way to broaden your appeal without betraying your…

Read More

Protect the things you are thankful for

When President Obama campaigned for Secretary Clinton, he would rattle off reasons that Donald Trump was “temperamentally unfit” to be president. When the crowd hissed their disapproval of Trump, Obama said “Don’t boo. Vote.” He knew that actions are more powerful than words as agents of change. (This is not always easy for a writer…

Read More

When I knew …

For me, it was Wisconsin. That’s when I had to accept President Trump. I watched results at work on slate.com, and saw promising signs for Clinton across the board. High turnout in Florida was likely to carry her to victory, and Ohio and Iowa seemed more competitive than forecast. I got home and saw Indiana…

Read More

Adding perspective to the speculation about Clinton’s pneumonia

In 1964, Fact magazine asked psychiatrists about Republican candidate Sen. Barry Goldwater’s mental stability. According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), of 12,356 psychiatrists polled, 2,417 responded, and 1,189 said Goldwater was unfit to be president. None had examined Goldwater, who sued the magazine and won. Since 1973 the APA has enforced a policy, often…

Read More