Normally, this would be the “Year in Preview” column. Frankly, I’m just not ready to gaze into the gathering political storm, particularly since the only bright spots will be lightning from LA Bolts. Instead, I’ll focus on a question I’ve been answering in my day job: “What’s going to happen to my health care?” If…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Long time readers will remember the “Return on Investment Index” for equality, an idea adapted from Nate Silver of fivethirtyeight.com to describe the best place to spend your last hour, or $20, to have an impact on LGBT issues. The analysis favors smaller, closer elections with broad implications, so you won’t see safe seats even…
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…
As a physician with a political column, there is one topic I haven’t been able to escape of late: The EpiPen. [OK, two questions. No, I don’t think you can diagnose Sec. Clinton with a seizure from a campaign video.] Epinephrine, the medication in the EpiPen, has been saving the lives of patients with severe…
By October of his 1996 re-election campaign, President Bill Clinton held a double digit lead over Sen. Bob Dole, the Republican nominee. Seeking to keep the congressional majorities they won in 1994, Republican leaders made an unusual move. Instead of feigning optimism and relying on the coat tails of an unlikely Dole victory to protect…
