Maureen, you nailed it especially the last sentence - most of the good news coming out of the Clinton campaign was her fundraising. Or some celebrity coming out to support her.
If I wanted a gauge on Hillary's values, I only had to look at Chelsea and her career path which was the typical B-school path to wealth: Mckinsey then a hedge fund. Then there's the $10M townhouse which Marc could not have afforded since his hedge fund suffered losses. This girl likes money. Where do you think she got it from?
If I wanted a gauge on Hillary's values, I only had to look at Chelsea and her career path which was the typical B-school path to wealth: Mckinsey then a hedge fund. Then there's the $10M townhouse which Marc could not have afforded since his hedge fund suffered losses. This girl likes money. Where do you think she got it from?
73
A facile analysis of a historic Presidency.
106
Not sure this autopsy report is that helpful. Maureen seems to need some catharsis. Interesting she flirts with the "it's Obama's fault" diatribe from the right. What, in the country, isn't Obama's fault? Puhleeze. And as far as the president "scorning the art of political persuasion", who exactly in the Republican party was he going to persuade? Congress? Voters? Hard to engage in reasonable discourse, employing logic and persuasion, with some one who says "It was cold outside today, therefore global warming is a liberal hoax"
179
Ms. Dowd, you hit the proverbial nail on its head. What a disappointment Obama has showed himself to be. But I will add this: his lack of understanding of the white working class was evident from the start of his presidency. He hired Gaietner and Summers, the architects of the financial meltdown to fix the financial meltdown. Remember Obama's naiveté? He introduced Tim Gaietner as "The guy who will explain it (his economic recovery plan) to you". Are you kidding? There was so little in the plan that addressed the economic needs of working people and to top it off he allowed the criminals who brought about the collapse to keep their jobs and go on to get pay raises. This, in my view, is where working class whites broke with Obama. The American notion of fair play, an honest dollar for an honest days work was broken. From the working class' point of view it was clear to see that the elites where only out for themselves, and those they favored. And, they didn't favor white working class Americans.
93
Anyone else ever notice how the Libs love to attach their names to various ventures and edifices?
The ACA wasn't ObamaCare, it was a faulted piece of legislation rammed down the thoats of Congress with a promise of a fix after it was passed. That fix never happened. Had there been actual politicking a priori, we wouldn't have the current problems. Obama didn't care enough to do it the right way.
Then, there's Lib's leaders names attached to public buildings everywhere. We have Obama schools everywhere. We even have Wellstone schools here in the state of Lake Woebegone. I have yet to see a Bush edifice, other than his library.
Obama will never be olbiterated. The exoribtatnt cost of sand-blasitin his name over the porticoes of thousands of buildings is greater than thea all the fiscal shortfalls in the ACA.
The Libs always seem to worry about being forgotten, hence their memorable markers everywhere. Don't worry you leftist leaners. You won't be forgotten.
The ACA wasn't ObamaCare, it was a faulted piece of legislation rammed down the thoats of Congress with a promise of a fix after it was passed. That fix never happened. Had there been actual politicking a priori, we wouldn't have the current problems. Obama didn't care enough to do it the right way.
Then, there's Lib's leaders names attached to public buildings everywhere. We have Obama schools everywhere. We even have Wellstone schools here in the state of Lake Woebegone. I have yet to see a Bush edifice, other than his library.
Obama will never be olbiterated. The exoribtatnt cost of sand-blasitin his name over the porticoes of thousands of buildings is greater than thea all the fiscal shortfalls in the ACA.
The Libs always seem to worry about being forgotten, hence their memorable markers everywhere. Don't worry you leftist leaners. You won't be forgotten.
38
There are villains in this tale.
There was the establishment at the Democratic National Committee who decided that Hillary would be the presumptive nominee before the primaries began. This despite the baggage she carried: Ethical concerns (some real, some conjured but the media and the public have never done nuance well so it all ends up looking real), ties to Wall Street, distance from working class America, much of which is really hurting, having been left behind by the recovery from the 2008 recession.
There was the media, which doesn't do nuance well, which is too intent on creating false equivalence at every turn. Where were the demands to see Donald Trump's tax returns? That this didn't deserve as much attention as Benghazi, the email server, the speeches at Goldman Sachs is baffling. Why didn't the media demand that Trump produce policy positions, especially in view of his continual contradictory and false statements?
And then there are Hillary and Bill Clinton whose barometer for what does and doesn't pass the smell test needed recalibration decades ago. If you know that you are going to run for president, wouldn't you do everything in your power to avoid doing things that are going to end up daily fodder in conservative media? This reflects a certain arrogance that explains why, for some people, Never Hillary was set in stone.
Too bad about Obama's legacy. Many people are going to suffer as a result of this election.
There was the establishment at the Democratic National Committee who decided that Hillary would be the presumptive nominee before the primaries began. This despite the baggage she carried: Ethical concerns (some real, some conjured but the media and the public have never done nuance well so it all ends up looking real), ties to Wall Street, distance from working class America, much of which is really hurting, having been left behind by the recovery from the 2008 recession.
There was the media, which doesn't do nuance well, which is too intent on creating false equivalence at every turn. Where were the demands to see Donald Trump's tax returns? That this didn't deserve as much attention as Benghazi, the email server, the speeches at Goldman Sachs is baffling. Why didn't the media demand that Trump produce policy positions, especially in view of his continual contradictory and false statements?
And then there are Hillary and Bill Clinton whose barometer for what does and doesn't pass the smell test needed recalibration decades ago. If you know that you are going to run for president, wouldn't you do everything in your power to avoid doing things that are going to end up daily fodder in conservative media? This reflects a certain arrogance that explains why, for some people, Never Hillary was set in stone.
Too bad about Obama's legacy. Many people are going to suffer as a result of this election.
129
Now that Clinton lost, Dowd, who was nearly run out of town by her readers for her girlish and slobbery love for Trump earlier this year, feels empowered to attack Obama and Clinton all anew. Like Trump, she has little self control, and she has stepped in the horse manure again.
Here's what Dowd doesn't understand. The roiled electorate is not actually the pitchfork-carrying white rural folks and suburban sister wives who elected a thrice-married, tax-cheating, woman-groping and draft-dodging bully for president, it's those of us who will never ever accept him as a legitimate leader of our Democracy and the Free World.
Here's what Dowd doesn't understand. The roiled electorate is not actually the pitchfork-carrying white rural folks and suburban sister wives who elected a thrice-married, tax-cheating, woman-groping and draft-dodging bully for president, it's those of us who will never ever accept him as a legitimate leader of our Democracy and the Free World.
368
Senator McConnell has said "infrastructure is not a top priority." Here's an idea Mr. president-elect to end gridlock: Offer a cabinet position to the president. Seriously, it's permitted. You said on Thursday, "Obama's a good man." The genius of the American executive is the fact the president can name exceptional (actually exceptional) people to cabinet, not just party insiders, like the parliamentary system.
Lincoln’s AG was a Democrat; Washington named political opponents as secretaries. Lots of successful presidents, including Obama, filled their rosters with political opponents. Give Obama Health or whatever. Anything to break deadlock. The upside: Bust gridlock in Washington, and conservatively it's an extra 10 points of growth (nominal) in the first term; maybe more against global GDP.
Lincoln’s AG was a Democrat; Washington named political opponents as secretaries. Lots of successful presidents, including Obama, filled their rosters with political opponents. Give Obama Health or whatever. Anything to break deadlock. The upside: Bust gridlock in Washington, and conservatively it's an extra 10 points of growth (nominal) in the first term; maybe more against global GDP.
52
Insta-legacy is a foolish concept. No President in recent times left office more vilified than Johnson when he stepped out and declined to run for re-election because the great wounds of 1968 would have no chance to heal if persona or the success of one individual became more important to the country than restoring equilibrium. It has taken decades and the work of a patient biographer to allow Johnson's legacy to be seen fairly as a mix of many strengths and weaknesses, including imperfect partial initiatives that can only be viewed by the long end of the telescope as watershed first steps.
Legacies are not decided by the "popular" next vote as if our nation were voting for middle-school class president - which is how the candidates treated us in 2016.
For those interested in contributions to the autopsy (post-mortem analysis), the least compelling reasons to ask for my vote included breaking the glass ceiling; that we owed her the spotlight after suffering for so long with a husband like Bill; that people were being mean to her; that she was a survivor. And those were the major messages, along with some doublespeak and a relentless focus on trashing her opponent - while telling me to go visit a website if I was interested in reading more.
Legacies are not decided by the "popular" next vote as if our nation were voting for middle-school class president - which is how the candidates treated us in 2016.
For those interested in contributions to the autopsy (post-mortem analysis), the least compelling reasons to ask for my vote included breaking the glass ceiling; that we owed her the spotlight after suffering for so long with a husband like Bill; that people were being mean to her; that she was a survivor. And those were the major messages, along with some doublespeak and a relentless focus on trashing her opponent - while telling me to go visit a website if I was interested in reading more.
47
Clinton, Inc. is the Myspace of politics; obsolete, irrelevant cosmic background radiation from the populist middle-class Big Bang that just occurred. The Democrats are blind with a hangover from drinking Macallan shots served up by Goldman, Deutche and BofA - chased with Cristal drunk from bottles passed around by entertainment elites like Clooney, Spielberg, Knowles, BonJovi, Springsteen, Perry, Winfrey and Streisand. Had anyone been drinking Biden Boilermakers or Bernie Red-bull, they would have gotten a clue and the paltry tens of thousand of votes needed to tip Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin their way. Mook, Sullivan, et al are not geniuses but rather, like the majority of Democratic leadership - privileged elites; arrogant, Ivy educated, politically correct presiders and putzes. Fortunately, there's a place for the whole lot of them - sucking an income from the nipple of the globalist, insider, perpetual-motion money machine called the Clinton Foundation. How nice they will have Bono to lullaby them to sleep. Good night, good bye and good riddance to this cabal of clueless, counterfeit, corrupt condescendists.
91
Another witty, intelligent, and honest opinion by Ms. Dowd. I recommend that everyone interested in the politics and egos involved in our recent election pick up her book, "The Year of Voting Dangerously." It is amazingly insightful!
37
I wonder how many homeless refugees would have voted for Clinton?
12
Perhaps a bit off topic but what I do not understand is why on November 9th President Obama didn't call Comey into the Oval Office and fire him.
92
Not sure why I even bother to read this writer's column anymore, other than I learn more from the readers' comments than her words. Ohio, clamoring for a "change," re-elected their incumbent Senator. As did many other red states.
The electoral college decsion is the last, dying cry of anger by the older white male population which has not been able to cope with the cultural, economic, technological and racial shifts in the country. But this is a blip on the screen. It will not change the tide of history.
The electoral college decsion is the last, dying cry of anger by the older white male population which has not been able to cope with the cultural, economic, technological and racial shifts in the country. But this is a blip on the screen. It will not change the tide of history.
98
Hillary offered far more than the snapshots you cite, but the media was too dazzled by the idiocy of Trump's latest pronouncement and the ensuing twitter war (or was it laziness?) to bother covering such boring stuff as species-threatening climate change and society-threatening acceleration of wealth disparity, issues that had earned Sanders as many followers as Trump, who, alas, were not in CNN's crucial demo. So they played the clown show, and figured such an atrocity as Trump could never actually get elected. Trump was elected by his CNN ratings, something he was shallow and cynical enough to understand.
67
There were three names on last Tuesday's ballot: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Voters were only allowed to pick one. Mr. Obama built his presidency on the three P's: politics, propaganda and privilege. In the end, America rejected all three and defeated the candidate that mirrored them.
33
President Obama described as his biggest legacy his work to stop climate change.
Here is an actual fact, which fact is the only thing which matters in modern science.
https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends_global_station.htm?s...
For 210 years, sea levels, which are also the best dilation thermometer, rose at THE SAME RATE. Sea levels all around the globe show the same.
Which shows that we are in the midst of global warming, but for more than two centuries, and the whole industrial age had no measurable influence on it at all.
That is not my opinion, which does not matter in science. That is what data shows. Which is all what matters in science.
So, sadly, maybe because college science professors like me do not reach law students like Mr. Obama, he became a president who dedicated his presidency to a scam, the pretense that humans control the climate.
And now Trump is taking that all apart. Legacy and pretense.
For me, who am still a registered Democrat and who voted for Obama in 2008, uninterested at the time in climate, the realization soon after that all the data showed it as a scam and that that was all what mattered for Obama changed my vote. As a scientist, I always check.
And I am not the only one, by far. The governorship of Vermont became Republican precisely because, with the pretense of stopping the climate from changing, its mountaintops were bulldozed and covered with concrete and massive wind turbines, making it look industrial.
Here is an actual fact, which fact is the only thing which matters in modern science.
https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends_global_station.htm?s...
For 210 years, sea levels, which are also the best dilation thermometer, rose at THE SAME RATE. Sea levels all around the globe show the same.
Which shows that we are in the midst of global warming, but for more than two centuries, and the whole industrial age had no measurable influence on it at all.
That is not my opinion, which does not matter in science. That is what data shows. Which is all what matters in science.
So, sadly, maybe because college science professors like me do not reach law students like Mr. Obama, he became a president who dedicated his presidency to a scam, the pretense that humans control the climate.
And now Trump is taking that all apart. Legacy and pretense.
For me, who am still a registered Democrat and who voted for Obama in 2008, uninterested at the time in climate, the realization soon after that all the data showed it as a scam and that that was all what mattered for Obama changed my vote. As a scientist, I always check.
And I am not the only one, by far. The governorship of Vermont became Republican precisely because, with the pretense of stopping the climate from changing, its mountaintops were bulldozed and covered with concrete and massive wind turbines, making it look industrial.
30
To my great surprise, Maureen Dowd hit her targets this week. Her analyses of Barack and Mitchelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and her campaign as well as Bill Clinton captured their weakness and,with reference to Michelle and Bill their strengths. Maureen did not address, however, the most fundamental problem in America and that is the deep fissures between us; the educated v. the uneducated; the whites v. the minorities; rural v. urban dwellers; those surfing the economy and those that feel as though they are drowning; pro globalization v. nativism. Along with these divides is the extremes of the democratic and republican parties. We have demonized the other side. How and who can help us close these disastrous fissures?
82
Reading Dowd does not help you understand the woman and her purpose in writing only snarky columns. She seems to write only about her disappointment in everyone and the system. She seems especially obsessed and dismissive at politicos with some measure of talent (Hilary and Barak) who continually rationalize wasted opportunities.
I give her the benefit of the doubt. I think she sees Barak as leaving the White House after eight long years without even wrinkling the sheets. I think she sees Hilary as having the same fervor as warm milk and Barak. As offering but another generational stint of a politically correct entitled, passionless presidency while the American middle class rots from the core out. I think Mo is tired or re-runs. I think she is hungry and impatient for change and like the American people, tired of politicians whose greatest talent is that they can stay inside their assigned lanes.
I give her the benefit of the doubt. I think she sees Barak as leaving the White House after eight long years without even wrinkling the sheets. I think she sees Hilary as having the same fervor as warm milk and Barak. As offering but another generational stint of a politically correct entitled, passionless presidency while the American middle class rots from the core out. I think Mo is tired or re-runs. I think she is hungry and impatient for change and like the American people, tired of politicians whose greatest talent is that they can stay inside their assigned lanes.
15
Generally disagree. No mention of the Comey surprise intervention.
52
Absolutely 100% true. Agree with Maureen's take on Clinton Inc. President obama began his term by being "nice" and extending a paw to Hillary as his cabinet member. He could have fooled himself thinking he was the boss cuz Clinton folks infiltrated his WH from day one. Remember Rahman Emmanuel? Is Obama faced resistance within his own party it was because of Clinton grip on the party, bill openly called him an amateur.
To make matters worse, obama did not resolve George W Bush matter, who is still Scott free. Worse, mrs obama goes around hugging George!
The Obamas surrounded themselves with the same celebrities the Clintons did. Hillary's campaigning was all about celebrity endorsements Katy perry singing, Elton John singing, Barbra Streisand and Cher...How does that feed the dignity of the rust belt worker who cares nothing about media, celebrity or politicians endorsements? Hillary's campaigns seemed like people were partying overtime. so complacent and clueless too.
To make matters worse, obama did not resolve George W Bush matter, who is still Scott free. Worse, mrs obama goes around hugging George!
The Obamas surrounded themselves with the same celebrities the Clintons did. Hillary's campaigning was all about celebrity endorsements Katy perry singing, Elton John singing, Barbra Streisand and Cher...How does that feed the dignity of the rust belt worker who cares nothing about media, celebrity or politicians endorsements? Hillary's campaigns seemed like people were partying overtime. so complacent and clueless too.
44
Donald Trump, for all his ignorance about the functioning of government, diplomacy, and domestic issues (that just about covers everything) is the quintessential opportunist. He capitalized on the complacency of the Democratic party, starting at the top with a president whose audacity of hope mantra dissolved into a jaded acceptance that battling his GOP foes was just not worth it, all the way down the ballot. Along the way, Hillary promoted herself as the candidate who would remedy the ills of the working class but fluffed off key states such as Wisconsin and Michigan, assuming they were loyal to her party, if not to her. These Democrats are not the FDR or JFK or even LBJ Democrats. With Hillary at the helm, with her cozy ties to Wall Street, these Democrats are fat cats. Bernie Sanders is a Democrat in the spirit of the old guard, fighting for the working class. But Sanders was savaged by the current machine, who insisted it was Hillary's turn. Even if Trump's term is a total disaster, it's going to take a herculean effort for the Democrats to re-morph into the party it once was, in order to generate enough support of the disenfranchised who went with Trump.
39
Amen.
It's important to note that Clinton is blaming her defeat on "somebody else," namely Comey, and is still is not introspective enough to blame it on herself, which in and of itself, demonstrates how unfit should would have been as president. After all, it was Clinton herself who chose to operate outside the law with an e-mail server in her basement. The sociopathic tendency - to shirk responsibility and lay blame elsewhere - underscores how exempt Americans really were from her concerns. She still can't acknowledge the voters as real people with intelligent analysis and serious misgivings about her platform. Instead, she wants to blame her defeat on essentially bad publicity, as if Americans are cattle that are easy to round up as long as Hollywood is leading them by the nose, and plenty of money is spent on advertising to persuade their pea-brains to head in her direction. She couldn't 't have been more wrong, and it was Americans that proved her wrong. It wasn't Comey. It was us.
It's important to note that Clinton is blaming her defeat on "somebody else," namely Comey, and is still is not introspective enough to blame it on herself, which in and of itself, demonstrates how unfit should would have been as president. After all, it was Clinton herself who chose to operate outside the law with an e-mail server in her basement. The sociopathic tendency - to shirk responsibility and lay blame elsewhere - underscores how exempt Americans really were from her concerns. She still can't acknowledge the voters as real people with intelligent analysis and serious misgivings about her platform. Instead, she wants to blame her defeat on essentially bad publicity, as if Americans are cattle that are easy to round up as long as Hollywood is leading them by the nose, and plenty of money is spent on advertising to persuade their pea-brains to head in her direction. She couldn't 't have been more wrong, and it was Americans that proved her wrong. It wasn't Comey. It was us.
57
Well said, Maureen. The Democrats abandoned their blue collar constituents that have been the backbone of the party since the Great Depression. Losing the Rust Belt, really? Running a very weak candidate who couldn't connect with a large part of their base resulted in Trump. The Dems need a reboot and need to remember what they're all about - minus the Clintons.
44
Obama was hamstrung by an utterly obstructionist Tea Party in Congress (see Ted Cruz) after 2010. From that point on, Obama's room for enacting visionary policies was almost zero and it is a miracle that he pulled off as much as he did. With a less recalcitrant congress, his administration might have been one the very best of all American history.
But you are absolutely correct that Clinton should have stooped to conquer. She took for granted that Obama's working class voters would vote their economic interests and failed to appreciate the dangers of anti-globalist populsim. After Brexit, sirens should have sounded. The trouble is, Democrats have also mixed water and oil within their constituencies, and centrists have been reluctant to speak plainly about many difficult realities through the full cycle. ("Shipping containers and robots are not going away. But I believe in you. Everything humanly possible will be done to help you find new talents and new horizons.") They've spoken in coded, esoteric policy language, and sterile, gender-laden moral outrage rather than to the spirit.
All the same, the huge disadvantage of incumbency will all be on the Republicans the next time around and so it is important not to lose focus and to start the search now for another charismatic, poetic, and, yes, cerebral visionary very much like Obama for the next go-around. Even more importantly, to do everything possible to re-capture Congress by thinking globally but acting locally.
But you are absolutely correct that Clinton should have stooped to conquer. She took for granted that Obama's working class voters would vote their economic interests and failed to appreciate the dangers of anti-globalist populsim. After Brexit, sirens should have sounded. The trouble is, Democrats have also mixed water and oil within their constituencies, and centrists have been reluctant to speak plainly about many difficult realities through the full cycle. ("Shipping containers and robots are not going away. But I believe in you. Everything humanly possible will be done to help you find new talents and new horizons.") They've spoken in coded, esoteric policy language, and sterile, gender-laden moral outrage rather than to the spirit.
All the same, the huge disadvantage of incumbency will all be on the Republicans the next time around and so it is important not to lose focus and to start the search now for another charismatic, poetic, and, yes, cerebral visionary very much like Obama for the next go-around. Even more importantly, to do everything possible to re-capture Congress by thinking globally but acting locally.
91
Yes, voters wanted change. We will see if they wanted change no matter the cost to the environment, the rule of law, civil liberties, gun limitations, reproductive rights, a free press, health care affordability, Social Security, global alliances, income inequality, tax breaks for the über wealthy, freedom from religion, and civil discourse.
52
I'm gonna pile on here. When she began her campaign I told my friends she was doing a disservice to the country by running at all and hoped and hoped and hoped that Elizabeth Warren would run. But the Clinton machine failed us and the world. Hopefully Hillary and Bill will reflect on the fact that, while an order of magnitude less than those of Trump, their arrogance and lapses in ethics have caused tremendous damage to America and Planet Earth.
Modern world history, the rise of Islamic terrorism, the refugee crisis, the failure to address global warming, can all be tied to the loss of Al Gore to George W. Bush and, here's the unbelievable part, that loss can be tied to an intern performing oral sex in the White House.
Gore lost because Bill couldn't be straight with the American people and simply apologize for what he did. He shook his finger at us and lied. Hillary lost because she looked down on "flyover" country and saw a "basket of deplorables".
Hillary is a fantastic model for women in so many ways. Bill did a lot of good as President. But the Democratic party should now welcome the fact that it is free of them. Maybe, with their loss of power, the Clinton Foundation will be unable to receive pay for play. Maybe, freed from that temptation the Clintons will set self interest aside and help to shape the Democratic Party in positive ways for many years to come.
Modern world history, the rise of Islamic terrorism, the refugee crisis, the failure to address global warming, can all be tied to the loss of Al Gore to George W. Bush and, here's the unbelievable part, that loss can be tied to an intern performing oral sex in the White House.
Gore lost because Bill couldn't be straight with the American people and simply apologize for what he did. He shook his finger at us and lied. Hillary lost because she looked down on "flyover" country and saw a "basket of deplorables".
Hillary is a fantastic model for women in so many ways. Bill did a lot of good as President. But the Democratic party should now welcome the fact that it is free of them. Maybe, with their loss of power, the Clinton Foundation will be unable to receive pay for play. Maybe, freed from that temptation the Clintons will set self interest aside and help to shape the Democratic Party in positive ways for many years to come.
19
I miss the analysis of Larry Eisenberg.
19
It looks like Donald J. Trump is looking at horrible people running the US Government. That does not have to be. We can still change members of the Electoral College to change from Trump to Clinton.
16
The best part of that interview was when DT said that he respects President Obama. Trump operates in the quantum realm where there is some probability that he will take any of the possible positions on any subject. The timeline resets so that he is free to move to any others possible future states or positions. The near future is going to be an interesting place and therefore a treasure trove for journalists.
48
Ah, consistency from Dowd. If I was reading this before Tuesday, way before, maybe It would have been enlightening. Now it's the pot calling the kettle black re celebrities and rarified atmosphere. Obama's plea to keep parts of Obamacare are only focused on his legacy? That's the cynicism that brought Trump the electoral college (not the popular vote). All weapons were out to defeat Trump on the campaign trail, and all too soon we will know why. While I, too, was disturbed by years of ignoring the poor, I also know some people do not change--and I mean parts of the electorate. Schoolchildren are frightened now because they know what elitist columnists don't: a bad man in charge is scary and we do all we can to keep him away from being in control.
25
Damning assessment of the 'establishment', divorced from the 'forgotten' everyday man/woman. And, as we woke up, it suddenly rings true. Now that our reality was re-discovered, and the unfortunate fact that the wrong individual was chosen, carries devastating consequences...if the candidate's boasting takes place. This, if we take into account the poor choice of folks being considered to guide the president-elect's actions. In Spanish, we say: "dime con quie'n andas y te dire' quie'n eres" (if you tell us whose company you keep, we'll know who you are). Now, it behooves an alert citizenry to dissuade the new commander-in-chief from thrashing the place...after crashing the party. As time goes by, buyer's remorse may sink in, as a demagogue's populist promises cannot be fulfilled.
23
The election was about evolutionary vs transformational change, continuity vs discontinuity. Obama and Clinton wanted to improve the USA and the world gradually while many people wanted drastic change. Their demand in the US was met by Trump and Sanders and, unfortunately, the Democratic Party did not respond.
As a Sanders primary voter and with reservations a Clinton voter I have been advocating going beyond the Sanders platform by focusing on a debate on money creation and public financing and, particularly, by emphasizing in these climate-constrained times of transforming the unjust, unsustainable and, therefore, unstable international monetary system by basing it on a monetary standard of a specific tonnage of CO2e per person. The conceptual, institutional, ethical and strategic dimensions of such carbon-based international monetary system are presented in Verhagen 2012 "The Tierra Solution: Resolving the climate crisis through monetary transformation" and updated at www.timun.net. Republican interest in returning to the gold standard, including Trump’s comments in that regard and his views on possible changes of the US Fed, could be debated and compared with a carbon standard and its transformational geopolitical vision.
As a Sanders primary voter and with reservations a Clinton voter I have been advocating going beyond the Sanders platform by focusing on a debate on money creation and public financing and, particularly, by emphasizing in these climate-constrained times of transforming the unjust, unsustainable and, therefore, unstable international monetary system by basing it on a monetary standard of a specific tonnage of CO2e per person. The conceptual, institutional, ethical and strategic dimensions of such carbon-based international monetary system are presented in Verhagen 2012 "The Tierra Solution: Resolving the climate crisis through monetary transformation" and updated at www.timun.net. Republican interest in returning to the gold standard, including Trump’s comments in that regard and his views on possible changes of the US Fed, could be debated and compared with a carbon standard and its transformational geopolitical vision.
4
Honey, President Obama isn't desperate. Obama is one of the greatest president we've known or ever will. He did great things for the citizens of this country. Let us see what the orange pig does. Maybe you should write about our new first lady keeping her clothes on instead of taking it off for money. White people. SMH
50
Obama's issue was that he was inexperienced for the job when he was elected in 2008. He and the Democrats needed to do more when they had the majority. Instead Obamacare was passed and the convoluted healthcare insurance system got worse, not better. Clinton was sunk in this election not just by email but also by the rising cost of health care and the lack of well-paying jobs.
12
In the stampede to discredit Hillary, please note the fact that she won more votes than Trump. And her lead is growing.
49
Ms. Dowd seems to be the only rational writer left at the Times. There is so much irony here. Mr. Trump won with a strategy built by the Clinton's in 1992. Mrs. Clinton tried to win by highlighting sexually predatory behavior that is not fit for office in 2016 but was a vast right wing conspiracy in 1998. In its desperate abandonment of journalistic integrity, the Times immunized its readership against Mr. Trump's vitriol ( daily headlines "look what Donald said - isn't it awful?) and only added to their suspicion of Mrs. Clinton ("asked and answered, it's not a story"). I hope that President Elect Trump keeps his subscription when he moves to Washington. It is the least he can do.
15
The main reason Hillary Clinton lost because Democrats as a rule don`t vote, while Republicans never fail to do that. As I see in my Republican neighborhood , they all go and vote to make it their first priority.
I am and was always pro Hillary un-apologetically and did early voting but on election day saw very organized way people were voting because I was there to check it out.
The Nation failed Hillary Clinton to make her the first female President and all the little girls I know could not hold their teats.
I am and was always pro Hillary un-apologetically and did early voting but on election day saw very organized way people were voting because I was there to check it out.
The Nation failed Hillary Clinton to make her the first female President and all the little girls I know could not hold their teats.
17
While I do not mind that Maureen Dowd has disdain for the Clintons and Obama, she seems stuck in the past, always referreing to twentieth century politics for allegories that require twenty-first century context. It is time for some new writers at the New York Times, for I am bored with the outdated social references from thirty- five years ago that I have to Google to understand what they mean. And, no, they are not as amusing as Dowd thinks it is.
29
Bill Clinton gave us Monica Lewinsky, which surely motivated enough disgusted Florida voters to choose George W. Bush over Al Gore. Now Hillary's emails have given us Trump. If Donald gets his way, it will be impossible to overestimate the damage done to our country by the recklessness of the Clintons.
Hillary ran for president because she could, not because she should. And now there's talk that Chelsea is being groomed for a career in politics. Yikes!
Hillary ran for president because she could, not because she should. And now there's talk that Chelsea is being groomed for a career in politics. Yikes!
19
Many centrist or left leaning voters have spoken of their desire for "change," and frankly I have no idea what that means. Writers like Ms. Dowd legitimize the now popular and vaguely worded desire but offer no substantive explanation. Change is defined as "to make or become different." But again, what do the voters mean? Different how? Unless the "how" is provided, the call for change essentially amounts to the words of "an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
Mr. Trump now has the opportunity to define change. The results likely will be less access to health care, a Supreme Court unreceptive to civil rights, and a less stable world.
Mr. Trump now has the opportunity to define change. The results likely will be less access to health care, a Supreme Court unreceptive to civil rights, and a less stable world.
20
Yes, I am with you, Maureen. Don’t get me wrong, I admired President Obama’s approach to government. He wanted everyone to join him on the high road. He hoped people would educate themselves through the Modern Marvel known as the Internet, see the truth on their own and hop on board. After all, he is correct: globalization is here to stay. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle. China is not going back to being a sleepy little country of 1.4 billion poor people. Asian economies are flourishing. If we don’t participate in that phenomenon we will be left behind. The question is how to keep our own citizens from losing out as the globalization tide lifts all those yachts. He got as far as Obamacare before he was shut down.
We are not a country that seeks truth much anymore. I attribute this to poor schooling which results in a lack of critical thinking skills. But that’s not something that can fixed quickly, especially now that people have decided to educate themselves using the Cliff Notes of the Internet, a.k.a. Twitter Feeds. We are doomed now.
What I wanted President Obama to do was deliver a one-two punch: endorse Bernie Sanders. Say to America: okay, my Ivy League Elitist High Minded approach to governing hasn’t worked—now let's try this cranky old man with a vision. Instead, he supported Hillary Clinton, who is basically Obama with baggage. The baggage was a tad too heavy.
And here we are. It’s so sad.
We are not a country that seeks truth much anymore. I attribute this to poor schooling which results in a lack of critical thinking skills. But that’s not something that can fixed quickly, especially now that people have decided to educate themselves using the Cliff Notes of the Internet, a.k.a. Twitter Feeds. We are doomed now.
What I wanted President Obama to do was deliver a one-two punch: endorse Bernie Sanders. Say to America: okay, my Ivy League Elitist High Minded approach to governing hasn’t worked—now let's try this cranky old man with a vision. Instead, he supported Hillary Clinton, who is basically Obama with baggage. The baggage was a tad too heavy.
And here we are. It’s so sad.
26
Your best column ever.
The ridiculous political narrative is not that Trump represents the resurgence of the KKK and the Nazi party combined.
It is that globalization has killed the economic future for America's middle class and only Trump and Sanders were willing to address the issue head on.
Clinton did not and lost.
Whether Trump effectively deals with the problem does not matter, this is politics.
Voters want to at least know that the candidate "feels their pain", not be told they are racists/deplorables/pathetic/uneducated /undeserving.
The ridiculous political narrative is not that Trump represents the resurgence of the KKK and the Nazi party combined.
It is that globalization has killed the economic future for America's middle class and only Trump and Sanders were willing to address the issue head on.
Clinton did not and lost.
Whether Trump effectively deals with the problem does not matter, this is politics.
Voters want to at least know that the candidate "feels their pain", not be told they are racists/deplorables/pathetic/uneducated /undeserving.
22
I wonder, Ms Dowd, how much you've contributed to the election of Donald J. Trump.
30
Pains me to say, but Dowd's analysis is spot on. Obama's populism was always more symbolic than substantive. The fact that he brought in so many Clintonites, including Hillary herself, in 2008 should have been warning enough. The story of this election is all the white voters, especially women, who voted for and personally like Obama, but still flipped to Trump. This is the Democratic Party's reckoning. Tragically it will be at the expense of Obama's legacy, which he himself failed to understand how at risk it was of being destroyed until it was too late.
20
Ya, I think you are right Maureen, I think Democrats should stop thinking about doing what's right for women and minorities in this country and start paying more attention to the poor white men in this country they have been so abused over the last 200 years. I feel sorry so sorry for them. I am so glad they have a champion in the White House now to take care of their needs they have been so ignored for so long. Glad you are there to remind everyone how awful we have been to them. Boo hoo I am cry for all those sad men out there who have lost their jobs. Maybe now Trump will actually bring back all those factories he sent to other countries and plunk them down in Michigan, take the money out of the hands of his greedy children and put it in the hands of his voters, that would be a place to start helping those poor, sad white guys.
35
Analysis of the causes of the results of the election appears to neglect consideration of a very important fact: Whether intentionally (as I believe) or otherwise, the letter James Comey, Director of the F.B.I., sent to 8 congressional Republicans on October 28, effectively reopening the investigation into Clinton's emails, had an enormous impact on the outcome of this election. Millions of people worked millions of hours and spent millions of dollars to elect their candidate; with one letter which took minutes to write, one individual was able to undermine this election! Both the timing of this letter, 11 days before the election, and it's content, did have--and we need to be aware of this--a significant impact on many people in the electorate who had not yet cast their vote.
Immediately preceding this letter, Hillary Clinton had a large, probably insuperable lead. Following Mr. Comey's intervention, her lead dropped to a virtual tie. With too much to make up in too little time, her campaign was irreparably damaged.
We should be very careful to what we attribute Trump's success. It is absolutely imperative that we acknowledge that a critical factor in the outcome of this election was effected by Mr. Comey.
The awareness that one individual can undermine the work--and hopes--of so many is chilling in its implications for democratic elections.
Immediately preceding this letter, Hillary Clinton had a large, probably insuperable lead. Following Mr. Comey's intervention, her lead dropped to a virtual tie. With too much to make up in too little time, her campaign was irreparably damaged.
We should be very careful to what we attribute Trump's success. It is absolutely imperative that we acknowledge that a critical factor in the outcome of this election was effected by Mr. Comey.
The awareness that one individual can undermine the work--and hopes--of so many is chilling in its implications for democratic elections.
25
I guess I'd put Harry Reid's "Sexual Predator" (so far, not proven in a court) up against Obama being a "War Criminal" (facts known, not proven in International War Crimes Court, because USA is the "exceptional" country that won't sign the treaty) with drone bombing innocent citizens in signature strikes. That is, groups of foreigners assembled, without knowing who they are (wedding parties, for example) being targets. As in, grandmothers disintegrated by a Hellfire missile while working in their gardens, and witnessed by their grandchildren.
I voted for Obama once. I'll be happy to see him go, but fearful that he has left his vast, unchecked powers of war and assassination to Trump. So Democrats, if you are worried about the potential destructive powers of Trump, just remember, you enabled him by not restraining Obama, who signed the NDAA into law. That's the one with the provision that allows the president to arrest and imprison a US citizen, and disappear then into military custody for an unlimited time without notice or trial, if he deems them to be a "terrorist". I predict that Trump may run wild with that one, especially on protestors to his administration who take to the streets (Michael Moore, beware).
I voted for Obama once. I'll be happy to see him go, but fearful that he has left his vast, unchecked powers of war and assassination to Trump. So Democrats, if you are worried about the potential destructive powers of Trump, just remember, you enabled him by not restraining Obama, who signed the NDAA into law. That's the one with the provision that allows the president to arrest and imprison a US citizen, and disappear then into military custody for an unlimited time without notice or trial, if he deems them to be a "terrorist". I predict that Trump may run wild with that one, especially on protestors to his administration who take to the streets (Michael Moore, beware).
9
President Obama won't be obliterated by Trump. He will - before his first term ends- be obliterated by impeachment or the facts predicted eloquently by H. L. Mencken, 96 years ago: "As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and a complete narcissistic moron". The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920.
1920.
1920.
18
Nice piece of "blame the victim."
Geez, Mo, let it go. Of course it was Hillary's fault that she lost. You're not the only one who saw from the beginning the moral equivalence between a Clinton and The Donald.
Right?
Geez, Mo, let it go. Of course it was Hillary's fault that she lost. You're not the only one who saw from the beginning the moral equivalence between a Clinton and The Donald.
Right?
16
"It’s not Hillary Clinton’s fault that she lost, and it’s not Barack Obama’s fault. It’s the fault of every brainless, resentful dolt who pulled the lever for Trump."
Here, in the leading "recommended' comment of this article, we have the reason why the Democrats lost.
The Democrat elite can not begin to put themselves in the minds of those (historically Democrat) voters who ultimately supported Trump. They can not begin to understand, not that fear of losing White privilege was the motivation for these voters, but that these working class Americans see their country slipping away for themselves and their progeny.
It is the same elitism that has the Left wondering why anyone in their right mind would serve in the military, put their lives at risk, for the USA. This is certainly not the fate of the Elite's children.
It is the same reason why globalist politicians, and their global initiatives and foundations, and CEOs see no problem moving jobs to other countries. We are all citizens of the world first, are we not?
The "brainless dolts" so resented by the Left feed this country, built and continue to build this country, educate their children in the public schools of this country and continue to believe a better life than they had is what the future holds for their children.
The Elite, most of whom are only a generation or two removed from the lifestyle and culture of the "brainless dolts," have forgotten where they came from.
Trump 2020. Peace and Prosperity.
Here, in the leading "recommended' comment of this article, we have the reason why the Democrats lost.
The Democrat elite can not begin to put themselves in the minds of those (historically Democrat) voters who ultimately supported Trump. They can not begin to understand, not that fear of losing White privilege was the motivation for these voters, but that these working class Americans see their country slipping away for themselves and their progeny.
It is the same elitism that has the Left wondering why anyone in their right mind would serve in the military, put their lives at risk, for the USA. This is certainly not the fate of the Elite's children.
It is the same reason why globalist politicians, and their global initiatives and foundations, and CEOs see no problem moving jobs to other countries. We are all citizens of the world first, are we not?
The "brainless dolts" so resented by the Left feed this country, built and continue to build this country, educate their children in the public schools of this country and continue to believe a better life than they had is what the future holds for their children.
The Elite, most of whom are only a generation or two removed from the lifestyle and culture of the "brainless dolts," have forgotten where they came from.
Trump 2020. Peace and Prosperity.
19
On the one hand Hillary Clinton's campaign was devoid of strategic thinking, an accurate perception of Trump, his message and the electorate he appealed to. There was an absence of a coherent, realistic and politically astute strategy and how to implement it as well as an emotionally truthful message of its own that would brand Ms. Clinton as a leader. That is not what caused the defeat. Indeed, Ms. Clinton won the election by over 2 million votes and counting (She won by a bigger margin than President Kennedy in 1960, President Nixon in 1968 and Vice President Gore in 2000) but lost the Presidency and prevented the Democrats from delivering a landslide victory to the nation in which it renewed its bond with America's blue collar and lower middle class citizens.
On the other hand because Ms. Clinton defeated President-Elect Trump by over 2 million votes, a bit of a mini mandate, she gave the Democrats a spring- board for the 2018 election as well as put in stark relief the corrupting institution of the Electoral College on our election system. It also shined a spotlight for all to see on the absurdity of the state boundaries of the lower 48, boundaries that are entirely irrelevant and unrelated to the social, economic, political, cultural, ethnic and geographic forces that drive the nation.
On the other hand because Ms. Clinton defeated President-Elect Trump by over 2 million votes, a bit of a mini mandate, she gave the Democrats a spring- board for the 2018 election as well as put in stark relief the corrupting institution of the Electoral College on our election system. It also shined a spotlight for all to see on the absurdity of the state boundaries of the lower 48, boundaries that are entirely irrelevant and unrelated to the social, economic, political, cultural, ethnic and geographic forces that drive the nation.
7
Ms. Dowd,
Well into the acerbic and bitter tone here, but, I agree with the last sentiment:
Hillary should have spent less time collecting money from Wall Street and more time with the American People.
Well into the acerbic and bitter tone here, but, I agree with the last sentiment:
Hillary should have spent less time collecting money from Wall Street and more time with the American People.
12
Why Hillary Lost the Election…
I agree the last nail in the Hillary's political coffin was hammered in by FBI's Comey, no doubt. But the root of the problem was Clinton and the Democratic head Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whom together conspire against Bernie Sanders, and would not let him have a clean shot at the nomination, despite Hillary Clinton’s records of numerus corruptions incidents, from when they were in the White House to when she became the Secretary of States, she continuously showed that she will abuse her political positions for money.
People knew that When Clinton(s) came to White House First, back in Nineties, they had to sell their only house in Arkansas for Under $100K! Look at them now! If this wealth has not come from corruption, it sure has not come from Presidential Salary. Oh by the way do not think that she is somehow ‘Unique’ and the only one. I’d say 95% of politicians are like her, maybe even more.
After every Election, People hope that the wining candidate will do most of his promises during the Election Campaign. The only Exception is when Donald J. Trump is elected; People wish and hope he would not do ANY of his campaign Promises.
I agree the last nail in the Hillary's political coffin was hammered in by FBI's Comey, no doubt. But the root of the problem was Clinton and the Democratic head Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whom together conspire against Bernie Sanders, and would not let him have a clean shot at the nomination, despite Hillary Clinton’s records of numerus corruptions incidents, from when they were in the White House to when she became the Secretary of States, she continuously showed that she will abuse her political positions for money.
People knew that When Clinton(s) came to White House First, back in Nineties, they had to sell their only house in Arkansas for Under $100K! Look at them now! If this wealth has not come from corruption, it sure has not come from Presidential Salary. Oh by the way do not think that she is somehow ‘Unique’ and the only one. I’d say 95% of politicians are like her, maybe even more.
After every Election, People hope that the wining candidate will do most of his promises during the Election Campaign. The only Exception is when Donald J. Trump is elected; People wish and hope he would not do ANY of his campaign Promises.
9
Maureen...a perfectly worded recounting of Hillary Clinton's campaign missteps, and ultimately her electoral college failure. Someday there will be a woman POTUS, but it will come when the candidate can move with ease across all voting demographics...I like Elizabeth Warren as the sooner possibility, but I'd campaign to support Tulsi Gabbard (2024?) as the real ceiling breaker for a White House run.
Your detractors will castigate you for expounding on the simple truths that have presented the nation, and the world, with the reality of President Trump.
Your detractors will castigate you for expounding on the simple truths that have presented the nation, and the world, with the reality of President Trump.
8
The Democratic Party is neutered by the inherent bias of the electoral college. It is a lost cause.
5
Right on Maureen! And in any case, not to worry, there are remedies if Donald and his people don't perform well, the principal one being "throw the rascals out" in 2020.
I don't know, is the Nation's leadership getting more and more delusional and out of touch, a la the French royalty in the 1700s and the Romanovs in Russia?
I don't know, is the Nation's leadership getting more and more delusional and out of touch, a la the French royalty in the 1700s and the Romanovs in Russia?
5
I find it odd that a man, Trump, who has always worked for himself would go to extreme measures to get a job in the government, or put differently working for the people of the United States, complete with government housing. Somehow I do not think this is a good fit. Much less for a man of his years, I believe he will be the oldest person to assume the presidency. He will in all likelihood treat the presidency like his personal business. No doubt his downfall even before being sworn in.
Hillary was just a terrible candidate. This can be viewed through various dimensions, take your pick. It was all about her resume, even if her accomplishment had to be highlighted to be seen. She may have been good at fund raisers but she bored most people stiff whenever she gave a speech to her public. She left to many questions unanswered. Little things like not showing the public her Wall Street money making speeches. (boy that's over) 100 years of taxes could not quell the public's need to know. You know, that trust issue thingy. She took much for granted, her preference for elitist. She was on a fool's errand. Her vanity has left women to the vagaries of men who have no shame.
Hillary was just a terrible candidate. This can be viewed through various dimensions, take your pick. It was all about her resume, even if her accomplishment had to be highlighted to be seen. She may have been good at fund raisers but she bored most people stiff whenever she gave a speech to her public. She left to many questions unanswered. Little things like not showing the public her Wall Street money making speeches. (boy that's over) 100 years of taxes could not quell the public's need to know. You know, that trust issue thingy. She took much for granted, her preference for elitist. She was on a fool's errand. Her vanity has left women to the vagaries of men who have no shame.
7
I am curious going forward, how the mainstream media will adjust, or it is quite possible, they will only address half of the nation. As this article points out, this paper, especially Amazons Washington Post, and CNN, know who listens and watch's them. Maybe that will be good enough for their advertising revenues, or digital subscribers base. During the exhausting campaign I resorted to think tank web sites, in hopes of reviewing a hint of objectivity. Of course the WSJ was stellar, reporting bot sides of the issues.
6
It is difficult to think about the United States in the next four years. An admitted sexual predator as President. A government with right wing racist and misogynists leading the House and Senate whose major goals are: to take health care away from 22 million people, disenfranchise as many people of color as possible, and maintain white establishment power at all costs.
It is so ironic to think that the people that really need the Affordable Care Act-white middle Americans who are unemployed, smoke and drink- are the ones that put Trump in office. They do not see Blacks and Hispanic as people just like they are. They think they are the cause of their problems. They put their hopes in a buffoon who said he will fix everything. He will bring coal back. I remember the smell of coal filling the air when we would fall out at 5 am during basic training. Our barracks were heated by coal fired furnaces. They are so unaware of what coal will do to their health. They think global warming is a myth. Unfortunately he can do this by fiat-renounce the global warming treaty, instruct the EPA to deregulate coal burning in the US. Those white middle Americans will be happy as the world warms and hurricanes like Sandy become annual events. What they need a vigorous government helping them not laissez-faire capitalism killing them.
They result of Trump's tax cuts will be another Bush era bust without a thinking leader to save us as the banks fail.
It is so ironic to think that the people that really need the Affordable Care Act-white middle Americans who are unemployed, smoke and drink- are the ones that put Trump in office. They do not see Blacks and Hispanic as people just like they are. They think they are the cause of their problems. They put their hopes in a buffoon who said he will fix everything. He will bring coal back. I remember the smell of coal filling the air when we would fall out at 5 am during basic training. Our barracks were heated by coal fired furnaces. They are so unaware of what coal will do to their health. They think global warming is a myth. Unfortunately he can do this by fiat-renounce the global warming treaty, instruct the EPA to deregulate coal burning in the US. Those white middle Americans will be happy as the world warms and hurricanes like Sandy become annual events. What they need a vigorous government helping them not laissez-faire capitalism killing them.
They result of Trump's tax cuts will be another Bush era bust without a thinking leader to save us as the banks fail.
20
In 2008 Barack Obama campaigned repeatedly for "hope and change." Then after his election, he gathered for a surprise photo opportunity with Clinton retreads like the bailout, self-enrichment banker, Robert Rubin, and others known for anything but "hope and change."
Let's also recall that in 2008 Obama received large campaign contributions from Wall Street banks, and when he appointed a Wall Street insider, Tim Geithner, to be Secretary of the Treasury and brought in "Mr. Derivative" himself, Larry Summers, as his economic adviser, his efforts at reform were rigged from the start in favor of the banks. I know his Attorney General has prosecuted some banks and give them some slap on the wrist fines (Peanuts compare to $20Trillion Loss). Look, a black kid, steal a CD, or a pair of Sneaker, he is either shot from behind fleeing, or arrested and put in jail for life (if this is his third time).
President Obama came to office knowing what was happening, WHY did he let them get away with the biggest crime/Rubbery of the century.
Please explain it to the nation; this would be good for your legacy.
Hillary Clinton is using President Obama as a ladder for her presidential bid. Hillary is the symbol of Washington corruption. The Entire GOP is the House of corruption.
Let's also recall that in 2008 Obama received large campaign contributions from Wall Street banks, and when he appointed a Wall Street insider, Tim Geithner, to be Secretary of the Treasury and brought in "Mr. Derivative" himself, Larry Summers, as his economic adviser, his efforts at reform were rigged from the start in favor of the banks. I know his Attorney General has prosecuted some banks and give them some slap on the wrist fines (Peanuts compare to $20Trillion Loss). Look, a black kid, steal a CD, or a pair of Sneaker, he is either shot from behind fleeing, or arrested and put in jail for life (if this is his third time).
President Obama came to office knowing what was happening, WHY did he let them get away with the biggest crime/Rubbery of the century.
Please explain it to the nation; this would be good for your legacy.
Hillary Clinton is using President Obama as a ladder for her presidential bid. Hillary is the symbol of Washington corruption. The Entire GOP is the House of corruption.
7
I suspect Trump tapped into more than just people feeling economically disenfranchised. There was a deeper sub-stratum for this bellicose candidate that learned how to swim in the sea of birtherism and the alt-right media; the yellow journalism of the digital age. Liberals actually have a weakness for rational persuasion. The Republicans have been using dog-whistle and emotional button-pushing as a technique for decades (like since the late 1960s). Trump is a master practitioner; the embodiment of what has been getting Republicans into office for a very long time. Clinton was the rational choice. Rational persuasion has no place ringside as the fans cheer "lock her up".
14
Bottom line on the Dem's loss - they forgot to adress the concerns of the working class voters in "fly-over country". Unless and until the Dem's recognize and address this core constituency with centrist policies that benefit the working class majority, the GOP will rule US politics. And while I voted for Clinton - it was done ONLY as a response to the crazed talk of the GOP candidate, rather than any belief she would be sincere in her efforts to find common ground and lead the country, as opposed to the Dem's just believing it was "her turn".
5
The grain of salt here is that Hillary did win the majority of votes. That is mentioned a lot now, and should temper summary statements about the meaning of all this. It was more of a failure to read the electoral map correctly and in the end, the Electoral College approach is what won it.
And It's hard to be sure of Comey's letter, but it cant be that it had no effect.
But her majority wont be mentioned for long. If anyone doesnt like the outcome, lamenting means nothing, it's time to dig down, look at how Republicans have worked to amass power at all levels. I would even wonder if the Dems in the Senate might not want to be the Party of No for a while. Virtually all of Obama's "failures" come down to this - he needed something from Congress and got nothing. Maybe Trump will "fail" a bit and his supporters will say it's his fault and not the ones trying to block him.
What a strange species we are.
And It's hard to be sure of Comey's letter, but it cant be that it had no effect.
But her majority wont be mentioned for long. If anyone doesnt like the outcome, lamenting means nothing, it's time to dig down, look at how Republicans have worked to amass power at all levels. I would even wonder if the Dems in the Senate might not want to be the Party of No for a while. Virtually all of Obama's "failures" come down to this - he needed something from Congress and got nothing. Maybe Trump will "fail" a bit and his supporters will say it's his fault and not the ones trying to block him.
What a strange species we are.
10
She lost because the voters were tired of the elitist character of her and those around her. She lost because she is seen as a dishonest political hack. She lost because she flaunts the law and thinks she is above it. She lost because she was and is a pol tainted by scandal and dishonesty. It is good for our country that she lost. An honorable female candidate for president will come along who is worthy of the office. She certainly wasn't and isn't.
17
Totally, Maureen, totally. But it is even worse than you say. Obama was elected by a country passionate about booting out not only the Clinton connections to the wealthy but the Bush support for criminal wars and torture.
While running for President the first time, Obama promised to use only public funds, and to refuse funds from banks and the other financial institutions. As soon as they actually offered him money, he jettisoned his principles and took the money. He did the same with the public option for single payer healthcare when the insurance lobbyists arrived with baskets full of cash.
Obama both sold out and betrayed the credulous liberals who put him in office. He failed to do what needed to be done (like infrastructure) and hoped that he could put enough lipstick on the Obamacare sellout to the insurance companies to actually have a legacy. Maureen Dowd is the only NYTimes writer who saw any of this and said something about it. Bernie Sanders was the only politician with the guts to do anything about it.
To see what we really need to do to make America great and possibly save the world too, go to YouTube and watch Comedy Party Platform ( 2 min 9 sec). Thanks. [email protected].
While running for President the first time, Obama promised to use only public funds, and to refuse funds from banks and the other financial institutions. As soon as they actually offered him money, he jettisoned his principles and took the money. He did the same with the public option for single payer healthcare when the insurance lobbyists arrived with baskets full of cash.
Obama both sold out and betrayed the credulous liberals who put him in office. He failed to do what needed to be done (like infrastructure) and hoped that he could put enough lipstick on the Obamacare sellout to the insurance companies to actually have a legacy. Maureen Dowd is the only NYTimes writer who saw any of this and said something about it. Bernie Sanders was the only politician with the guts to do anything about it.
To see what we really need to do to make America great and possibly save the world too, go to YouTube and watch Comedy Party Platform ( 2 min 9 sec). Thanks. [email protected].
12
More snark from Maureen Dowd, this time clothed in specious reasoning. This column is wrong in so many ways that it would take an entire page in the NYT to answer them all. Here's a start: Barack Obama was never a revolutionary, and no one expected him to be so, other than right-wing propagandists and a New York Times columnist who repeatedly claimed we thought of him as "the One." He was always a pragmatist, he attempted compromise, conciliation, and unification right from the start in the face of what immediately became implacable opposition, and he presented himself as the president of us all with intelligence, grace, and dignity despite the right-wing's hatred. Are we supposed to accept Dowd's sophistry because for once she hasn't once more degraded him as "Barry"? To call him "desperate" and "lobbying" for what journalists stupidly label his "legacy" is an insult worthy of Trump himself.
29
Ms. Dowd, an excellent observation of the 2016 flawed democratic party establishment presidential candidate. You have moved smoothly from the Obama legacy, and why he may not have one so eloquently . God only knows how many times I've posted at this paper the needs to considered Bernie as the better candidate.
5
Hey, Maureen where were you with this excellent analysis 6 months ago, a year ago, 5 years ago. Nothing has changed and nothing has been learned by Democrats. They simply can't stand the real world and pretend it doesn't exist. They are blinded by theory, by the ideal. Why go on? You have defined the problem splendidly.
What liberal Democrats have done is embrace the elite, the angry and the disaffected. And in the process alienated average Americans. This has caused a polar shift in the electorate with Democrats becoming the party of Big Business, Wall Street and MSM. And Republicans becoming the party of working folks. It takes a special talent to screw up this badly. They have reaped what they have sown.
What liberal Democrats have done is embrace the elite, the angry and the disaffected. And in the process alienated average Americans. This has caused a polar shift in the electorate with Democrats becoming the party of Big Business, Wall Street and MSM. And Republicans becoming the party of working folks. It takes a special talent to screw up this badly. They have reaped what they have sown.
13
Your analysis is very accurate, Maureen.
What you call cajoling, I call selling. One of Obama's weaknesses was that he couldn't sell very well, or didn't make enough of an effort. An important aspect of selling is relationship building, and Obama was deficient in this regard, especially with the opposition. While the thought of building a relationship with the likes of Boehner may have seemed reprehensible to Obama, that was an essential part of his job. Had he perhaps played more golf or had more lunch meetings with some of the key Republicans, barriers may have been overcome through strengthened relationships. Adding this skill to Obama's many attributes would have made him more effective and perhaps more successful.
Bill Clinton was the salesman or explainer in chief for Obama's re-election, and he was very effective. Clinton was a natural salesman who understood the needs of his customers, the American people. Turns out that Bill understood and recognized the issue of the forgotten white working class voter, but Hillary's campaign staff ignored him.
How unfortunate that Obama discovered his sales ability so late and that Hillary and her campaign fell short in this regard.
What you call cajoling, I call selling. One of Obama's weaknesses was that he couldn't sell very well, or didn't make enough of an effort. An important aspect of selling is relationship building, and Obama was deficient in this regard, especially with the opposition. While the thought of building a relationship with the likes of Boehner may have seemed reprehensible to Obama, that was an essential part of his job. Had he perhaps played more golf or had more lunch meetings with some of the key Republicans, barriers may have been overcome through strengthened relationships. Adding this skill to Obama's many attributes would have made him more effective and perhaps more successful.
Bill Clinton was the salesman or explainer in chief for Obama's re-election, and he was very effective. Clinton was a natural salesman who understood the needs of his customers, the American people. Turns out that Bill understood and recognized the issue of the forgotten white working class voter, but Hillary's campaign staff ignored him.
How unfortunate that Obama discovered his sales ability so late and that Hillary and her campaign fell short in this regard.
5
Now Ms. Clinton assigns blame for her loss on FBI director Comey. So it was Comey's fault that tens of thousands on her emails were on Anthony (Carlos Danger) Weiner's wireless laptop? There is no one so blind, as those who will not see. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a6YdNmK77k
6
So this is the new norm in politics? - progressives must kowtow to regressives. Those that want to move forward must retrench to the past.
Climate change? Let's dig for more coal. Woman's right to choose? Let's fill the Supreme Court with Anton Scalias. Voting Rights? Let's put Rudy Giuliani in charge. Please - Hillary stood up and fought the fight. She got pummeled by the FBI, Russian Hackers and White Women who prefer a serial misogynist and still got more votes.
Climate change? Let's dig for more coal. Woman's right to choose? Let's fill the Supreme Court with Anton Scalias. Voting Rights? Let's put Rudy Giuliani in charge. Please - Hillary stood up and fought the fight. She got pummeled by the FBI, Russian Hackers and White Women who prefer a serial misogynist and still got more votes.
21
The the word I find missing in most of the NYT opinion pieces is repudiation.
So on the basis that liberal writers are not familiar with the word, it means to reject.
And as we had to back in school let me use it in a sentence.
In the 2016 elections, the voters repudiated the Progressive agenda.
So progressives should accept what happened, regroup if they wish, and stop whining and looking for a safe room.
So on the basis that liberal writers are not familiar with the word, it means to reject.
And as we had to back in school let me use it in a sentence.
In the 2016 elections, the voters repudiated the Progressive agenda.
So progressives should accept what happened, regroup if they wish, and stop whining and looking for a safe room.
6
Its ironic to see all the criticisms of HRC come spilling out now that her candidacy has failed. In the end, both parties have collapsed and fallen into the hands of extremists and a terminal narcissist. What the country could use is a new moderate political party led by people who can actually make the system work. But it appears the U.S. will have to first survive the Trump calamity. Further, a public in which half the voting individuals cannot tell the differences between reality and reality TV
12
A friend of mine has that famous poster of Obama up in her kitchen. "Hope", reads the caption. That poster has always seemed to me to convey the emptiness of the elite that runs the Democratic Party. The only idea in there seems to be the politicization of identity around the poles of pride and oppression. On the basis of identity politics the Democratic leadership has tried, and largely succeeded, over the past two decades or more in shutting down any sort of vital debate. In place of debate, we get "you can't say that", and the line that everyone is racist or sexist.
This presidential campaign was totally empty of politics. And the fault lay not just with Trump. Indeed, it was the Clinton camp that set the tone, believing early on that she would, as one of her fans wrote back in February, "wipe the floor" with him. The Democratic elite has an enduring belief in its moral and cultural superiority, so it seemed obvious that Clinton, a mother, grandmother, woman and multicultural glad-hander would be a shoe-in against a man who represented an identity not tolerated by the identity gurus.
If we want real politics, we'll have to come up with more than "Hope".
This presidential campaign was totally empty of politics. And the fault lay not just with Trump. Indeed, it was the Clinton camp that set the tone, believing early on that she would, as one of her fans wrote back in February, "wipe the floor" with him. The Democratic elite has an enduring belief in its moral and cultural superiority, so it seemed obvious that Clinton, a mother, grandmother, woman and multicultural glad-hander would be a shoe-in against a man who represented an identity not tolerated by the identity gurus.
If we want real politics, we'll have to come up with more than "Hope".
6
There was a massive platform on which the Clinton loss was based. John King made the point multiple times on election night that there were thousands of rural counties going heavily red. Their collective mass had the power to suffocate. Where do so many of those Trump voters get their memes?
I travel in rural red counties, tune into AM radio, and have actual conversations with rural Trump voters. James Comey bookended two powerful contributions for animus around HRC's "deplorables" gaffe. Those events were crystallizing moments for the ceaseless venom of Limbaugh, Ingram, Hannity, et al. Terms like “evil” and “apocalypse” have been used endlessly by those sources to describe Clinton, Obama and company. Hannity’s radio slogan was “America Lives….or America Dies!” Ingram has a sponsor that sells survival food to provide families with “delicious meals at home instead of contending with the coming food riots”. Limbaugh alone has an audience of 20 million.
Blaming pollsters, Dems, and “the Elites" for not listening and turning up their noses to the “deplorables” is, in truth, elites like Dowd tossing a blanket over the biggest contributor to the Trump victory; right wing propaganda fueling bottom-up social bigotry. In the end, Maureen, your columns in the Obama era don’t seem much different than Limbaugh and company. Those jocks are losing the targets that galvanized their listeners; You have your new muse for at least four years.
I travel in rural red counties, tune into AM radio, and have actual conversations with rural Trump voters. James Comey bookended two powerful contributions for animus around HRC's "deplorables" gaffe. Those events were crystallizing moments for the ceaseless venom of Limbaugh, Ingram, Hannity, et al. Terms like “evil” and “apocalypse” have been used endlessly by those sources to describe Clinton, Obama and company. Hannity’s radio slogan was “America Lives….or America Dies!” Ingram has a sponsor that sells survival food to provide families with “delicious meals at home instead of contending with the coming food riots”. Limbaugh alone has an audience of 20 million.
Blaming pollsters, Dems, and “the Elites" for not listening and turning up their noses to the “deplorables” is, in truth, elites like Dowd tossing a blanket over the biggest contributor to the Trump victory; right wing propaganda fueling bottom-up social bigotry. In the end, Maureen, your columns in the Obama era don’t seem much different than Limbaugh and company. Those jocks are losing the targets that galvanized their listeners; You have your new muse for at least four years.
22
"Harry Reid wasn’t in a kumbaya frame of mind, calling Trump “a sexual predator who lost the popular vote.”
And I thought we were worried about Trump accepting the results.
Seems like the Democrats, and their Occupy Wall Street protests, have been the busy bees.
When a leading Senator, and the challenger herself, start lobbying for new federal election rules; we are in an interesting place.
And I thought we were worried about Trump accepting the results.
Seems like the Democrats, and their Occupy Wall Street protests, have been the busy bees.
When a leading Senator, and the challenger herself, start lobbying for new federal election rules; we are in an interesting place.
5
Looking back, as the saying goes, gives us twenty-twenty vision. I may be incorrect but I don't recall that during the Primary season that any of the major Op-Ed writers took Bernie Sanders seriously. Perhaps Op-ed writers sometimes, innocently, get caught up in the celebrity of one or another of the the contestants they are writing about, then, when they realize how big an error they have made, eat humble pie for a week or two, and then go back to picking out the faults in the candidates rather than pointing out who has the Bern
8
Your column nails the cause for Hillary, but it doesn't make it clear enough that Obama lost the Midwest long before, which is why Hillary didn't go there. It had already been forgotten. The Midwest being also synonymous for the 'common man', those of us who have been lectured and told to shut up and do as told by the micromanager in chief for the last 4 years, when he finally lost touch with the country - if you don't count the golf courses.
This election was about putting an end to liberal arrogance, pure and simple.
This election was about putting an end to liberal arrogance, pure and simple.
10
Ms. Dowd, you hit the nail on the head! Unfortunately the vast majority of readers and commentators are tone deaf which will not serve the democratic party well in 18.
6
This column preaches the truth. read it again people. and maybe one more time to be sure.
As for the commenters who feel like the NYT went easy on the Donald, you need to get a grip. The NYT had absolutely no influence on Trump voters who swung this election. The Grey Lady did give us the Grey Lady though as opposed to a vital contest based on transparent reporting of ideas and principles.
Obama is a fundamentally decent man who believes in compromise and negotiation and the common good, a far better than practically all of our other politicians actually, but he is a disappointment as president. He squandered the power of the movement that elected him (the one Hillary failed to attract) and whose energy was diverted and perverted to the vulgarity of this election when it could of been harnessed for progress.
"Ivy League East Coast cerebral elitist" ... it doesn't matter what your back story is, despite humble backgrounds and good intentions once you get mixed up with this, once you have tasted the fruit... you lose authenticity at best and become part of the problem.
It is rumored that post-presidency Obama is looking for a position in Silicon Valley venture capital. If this comes to pass I think it is the final insult.
Symbols or substance?
Hope?
As for the commenters who feel like the NYT went easy on the Donald, you need to get a grip. The NYT had absolutely no influence on Trump voters who swung this election. The Grey Lady did give us the Grey Lady though as opposed to a vital contest based on transparent reporting of ideas and principles.
Obama is a fundamentally decent man who believes in compromise and negotiation and the common good, a far better than practically all of our other politicians actually, but he is a disappointment as president. He squandered the power of the movement that elected him (the one Hillary failed to attract) and whose energy was diverted and perverted to the vulgarity of this election when it could of been harnessed for progress.
"Ivy League East Coast cerebral elitist" ... it doesn't matter what your back story is, despite humble backgrounds and good intentions once you get mixed up with this, once you have tasted the fruit... you lose authenticity at best and become part of the problem.
It is rumored that post-presidency Obama is looking for a position in Silicon Valley venture capital. If this comes to pass I think it is the final insult.
Symbols or substance?
Hope?
6
Maureen, after a few months of Trump you will think that Hillary was a socialist inciting revolt when you contrast her to the far right wing cataclysm that your little golden boy and his fanatic minders have unleashed on this nation.
There's no going back now, but I sense that the very people who were the swing kinda-for-Trump voters will have their omg what have I done moments.
We are in for four very unfunny years, as Muslims, undocumented workers, people of color and all the vulnerable people who need a helping hand are victimized.
Joe Blow in Michigan will just get 4 years older, the sum of the change in his life.
There's no going back now, but I sense that the very people who were the swing kinda-for-Trump voters will have their omg what have I done moments.
We are in for four very unfunny years, as Muslims, undocumented workers, people of color and all the vulnerable people who need a helping hand are victimized.
Joe Blow in Michigan will just get 4 years older, the sum of the change in his life.
12
Another laser-sharp analysis, Maureen. You expressed in this column the sentiments and observations of many, me included. Thank you for being an oasis of truth in the desert that The New York Times has become.
12
Whoever is in charge, one thing is for sure, their timing is way off. Reminds me of my daughter's first band recital. The tall kid in the back is beating away on the drum, missing every beat. Oompah, oompah! The middle class has fallen apart, the sentiment has reached fever pitch, the news from abroad is frightening and they send in Hillary - whose campaign is caught wearing dark glasses sneaking into a Chipotle. The beans must be the ammunition! All I can say, thank God it is over.
3
Elections have consequences- eh Barry?
7
Trump went thru 16 Republican hopefuls by taking on
the outsider role. He did the same to HRC. The DNC
should have seen this but they had their candidate
annoited before the primaries and tried to run with her.
Both Trump and HRC are flawed, but voters wanted
a chance at new policy that "could" work.
HRC was going to be stonewalled by Republicans, as
was Obama, so now America is going in a direction that
has a better chance at change than with a split government.
What direction that change will take is buffered by the checks
and balances of our Constitution and the impending
elections that will score how we citizens believe that direction
Is what we want.
the outsider role. He did the same to HRC. The DNC
should have seen this but they had their candidate
annoited before the primaries and tried to run with her.
Both Trump and HRC are flawed, but voters wanted
a chance at new policy that "could" work.
HRC was going to be stonewalled by Republicans, as
was Obama, so now America is going in a direction that
has a better chance at change than with a split government.
What direction that change will take is buffered by the checks
and balances of our Constitution and the impending
elections that will score how we citizens believe that direction
Is what we want.
7
The needle is stuck on Hillary Hillary Hillary. You reframe the past 8 years in a way I don't recognize. You reframe this election as a rout against a candidate who would have won but for the horse and buggy mechanism of the electoral college. Worst of all, Maureen, it would never cross your mind that Obama is fighting mightily not for some ephemeral legacy but for 20 million Americans who stand to lose health coverage. I wonder of you'd recognize human decency if it walked right up to you and smiled.
23
Unlike most commenters, I always appreciated Maureen Dowd's truth-telling about the Clintons in her columns these past few years. She was right, and most of the commenters were wrong.
Clinton had no ideas, but boy did she have ambition. She also had countless sycophants in the media.
Two years ago, I told family and friends that Hillary would never be President. How could I see that, but hardly anyone who works for this newspaper?
In fact, Dowd was just about the only sane voice at The Times. It seemed like everyone else was shilling for Hillary over Sanders and then over Trump.
I felt pure joy when Trump won the election. Now we will be spared four long years of a do-nothing Congress and never-ending investigations of the Clintons.
It must be a pendulum feature. How else to explain the cluelessness, how The Times was so out of touch with ordinary Americans? In this digital age, The Times ought to stop writing as if only elites and *minorities* read newspapers.
As for Obama, he disappointed me, but that started in 2010 when he showed weakness in negotiating with Congressional Republicans.
One thing you can say about Trump is, he has a spine.
Clinton had no ideas, but boy did she have ambition. She also had countless sycophants in the media.
Two years ago, I told family and friends that Hillary would never be President. How could I see that, but hardly anyone who works for this newspaper?
In fact, Dowd was just about the only sane voice at The Times. It seemed like everyone else was shilling for Hillary over Sanders and then over Trump.
I felt pure joy when Trump won the election. Now we will be spared four long years of a do-nothing Congress and never-ending investigations of the Clintons.
It must be a pendulum feature. How else to explain the cluelessness, how The Times was so out of touch with ordinary Americans? In this digital age, The Times ought to stop writing as if only elites and *minorities* read newspapers.
As for Obama, he disappointed me, but that started in 2010 when he showed weakness in negotiating with Congressional Republicans.
One thing you can say about Trump is, he has a spine.
11
No one in recent history mounted an overtly racist, xenophobic campaign of rejectionism as Trump has. The "Willie Horton" dog whistle, the "welfare queen" trope were replaced with a brass band of bigotry.
No one but Trump had the audacity combined with a lack of scruples sacrificed at the altar of "winning" to try it. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain by arousing the anger of white people, "tired" of hearing about women's rights, racial profiling, and Islamic-phobia but nothing about them because, they concluded and were told--they are white. In fact, Trump told them that their "white" identity is defined by and relies on their opposition to people of color and a lack of sympathy or understanding of injustices done to them past and present.
Yes, that's what it took to rouse millions of previously in-engaged voters into action. That Democrats and responsible Republicans find this divisive strategy reprehensible does not make them tone deaf "elites".
Let's face reality: no amount of Democratic campaigning in the rural counties that turned the tide in favor of Trump would have made a difference to people hostile to and suspicious of their urban neighbors who don't look like them and don't accept the concept that America was great until they showed up and before they were allowed to vote, get equal pay or have to "smile" in order to please men.
No one but Trump had the audacity combined with a lack of scruples sacrificed at the altar of "winning" to try it. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain by arousing the anger of white people, "tired" of hearing about women's rights, racial profiling, and Islamic-phobia but nothing about them because, they concluded and were told--they are white. In fact, Trump told them that their "white" identity is defined by and relies on their opposition to people of color and a lack of sympathy or understanding of injustices done to them past and present.
Yes, that's what it took to rouse millions of previously in-engaged voters into action. That Democrats and responsible Republicans find this divisive strategy reprehensible does not make them tone deaf "elites".
Let's face reality: no amount of Democratic campaigning in the rural counties that turned the tide in favor of Trump would have made a difference to people hostile to and suspicious of their urban neighbors who don't look like them and don't accept the concept that America was great until they showed up and before they were allowed to vote, get equal pay or have to "smile" in order to please men.
11
For whatever reason, Frank Bruni's column is not accepting comments today, so I'll thank him here for the similar comments he made to Maureen's. He stated that one democratic insider said, "I hate to admit this, but a part of me feels liberated." I hear you! Also, Bruni points out that "Obama, too, contributed to the party’s marginalization. While he threw himself into Hillary Clinton’s campaign, he was, for much of his presidency, politically selfish." True true true.
7
Clinton Inc is over, but they're trying hard to save the brand and calm their angry billionaire backers ... it's not our fault, fellas, it's that snake Comey. Clintons always delivered for their investors in the past, and watch Chelsea run for Congress in '18. Now there's a get in on the groundfloor investment opportunity, fellas ... guaranteed. The brand will survive, count on us.
Blame everyone but themselves.
Blame everyone but themselves.
10
Looking forward to our next president who will on his first day in office order to destroy Trumps wall.
Looking forward to our next president who will accept status quo means to respect Nato respect relegions
understands how much refugees have to suffer and last but not least keeps the status quo towards Russia,just to name a view.
Loking forward to a man as president like JFK not a grufty like Trump in his Viagra days.
Hoping we will survive those 4 years.
Looking forward to our next president who will accept status quo means to respect Nato respect relegions
understands how much refugees have to suffer and last but not least keeps the status quo towards Russia,just to name a view.
Loking forward to a man as president like JFK not a grufty like Trump in his Viagra days.
Hoping we will survive those 4 years.
3
This was a change election and soon the American public will get the change that a minority of voters who voted for Donald J. Trump sought. But like all things, you may not like what you initially craved. The voters in Michigan, for instance, who believed that Donald Trump will restore America to the way it once was will awaken to the awful truth that those “good paying jobs” are long gone, not necessarily by “bad trade deals,” but by automation. Unless, however, that those industrious folks are willing to work for $2.00-a-day, the type of compensation one finds in Third World nations. Even more problematic for them, they will sadly discover the cheap items found at their local Walmart are outside of their price range become of the trade wars and tariff barriers created by the Donald. I can hear it now, “what you mean a new Apple phone is going to be three grands.” In many ways, Barack Obama was like Woodrow Wilson, long on flowery rhetoric, but short on practical politics.
7
Maureen, you are exactly right. Obama made a big mistake by shooing away Bernie Sanders and embracing Hillary. Instead of worrying about his legacy, he should have reminded himself about the reasons he had defeated her himself, and why she was doomed to fail again.
11
In my previous post, i missed that my information was from the blog of Brad DeLong.
http://www.bradford-delong.com/2016/11/electoral-college-fail-number-six...
http://www.bradford-delong.com/2016/11/electoral-college-fail-number-six...
1
God, do I hate agreeing with Maureen Dowd about anything, but when she's right, she's right. Once a decade is about my limit.
4
As usual, Dowd seems to hit most of the problem on the mark. The dilemma was that the alternative was unlikely to deliver also and none of the independents were particularly viable either. For me, it ended up being a vote that said "neither".
I was always saying to myself that it cannot get worse than this, but every time we have this election cycle, it always has.
I was always saying to myself that it cannot get worse than this, but every time we have this election cycle, it always has.
3
Trump will obliterate himself by his actions. Trump cannot obliterate Obama.
11
Great opinion Ms. Dowd! Congratulations for staying (and surviving) outside the anti-Trump, pro Dem extreme left opinion-bubble inside the NYT.
Obama was indeed a divisive disaster in his second term, always on the extreme left side of any issue. His exit is long overdue, by resignation when the SC tacitly agreed with the appeals court that he had abused executive authority on immigration, or by impeachment for the same reason. Neither happened, leaving the electorate to adjudicate his term, which they did compellingly.
Finally, we can look forward to Obama's long-awaited departure, not just from the White House, but also from the national stage as an influencer. He'll still be welcomed by late-night comedy hosts, and tearfully missed by the extreme left, but who cares about that. These are the same folk claiming Hillary won the popular vote. Numbering roughly 500,000, these "popular" voters reside in California, the rest in New York. 'Nuff said.
Keep_up_the_good_work!
Obama was indeed a divisive disaster in his second term, always on the extreme left side of any issue. His exit is long overdue, by resignation when the SC tacitly agreed with the appeals court that he had abused executive authority on immigration, or by impeachment for the same reason. Neither happened, leaving the electorate to adjudicate his term, which they did compellingly.
Finally, we can look forward to Obama's long-awaited departure, not just from the White House, but also from the national stage as an influencer. He'll still be welcomed by late-night comedy hosts, and tearfully missed by the extreme left, but who cares about that. These are the same folk claiming Hillary won the popular vote. Numbering roughly 500,000, these "popular" voters reside in California, the rest in New York. 'Nuff said.
Keep_up_the_good_work!
7
Contrary to what Dowd writes Hillary Clinton ran a terrific campaign & received 2 million more votes than Trump. If the US was a democracy Hillary would be president elect.
She was defeated by the electoral college, Comey, Putin & Assange.
Trump`s vote came from the white backlash. Trump was a merchant of hate & his deplorable supporters loved him for it.They represent the worst of America just like their leader.
Dowd portrays Hillary as an elitist.But it is her guy Trump who was born into wealth & privilege & never used his wealth to benefit working class Americans or associated with them
Trump once said that in order to be great you have to be rich.
An inexperienced 70 year old could not be hired by Walmart will be president..
Now because this of a minority of white bigots we are stuck with this guy as president for the next 4 years.
She was defeated by the electoral college, Comey, Putin & Assange.
Trump`s vote came from the white backlash. Trump was a merchant of hate & his deplorable supporters loved him for it.They represent the worst of America just like their leader.
Dowd portrays Hillary as an elitist.But it is her guy Trump who was born into wealth & privilege & never used his wealth to benefit working class Americans or associated with them
Trump once said that in order to be great you have to be rich.
An inexperienced 70 year old could not be hired by Walmart will be president..
Now because this of a minority of white bigots we are stuck with this guy as president for the next 4 years.
16
Why the President tripped over his feet may never be known, but maybe they was too big to miss.
A very clear incisive column assuring me that Ms Dowd is smarter and I am less informed than I care to admit or, worse, even understand.
She also appears a bit more vindictive.
A very clear incisive column assuring me that Ms Dowd is smarter and I am less informed than I care to admit or, worse, even understand.
She also appears a bit more vindictive.
2
Ms. Dowd, of course you are correct in many respects... but at the same time, honestly. Obama has generally been correct, but hasn't been able to "sell" his positions for our fallen age. First, a self-proclaimed socialist like Sanders would have been tarred and feathered by Trump and the alt-right. American is not yet ready for that ..... Second, Obama tried change again and again -- and was blocked by Republican yahoos in Congress at every turn. It's amazing he pushed through what he did. And in coming up with a national health plan, he realized a campaign Hillary had started. Further, his recognition that globalism and Silicon Valley drive the future was correct. Where would our economy and security be without dominance of tech? And if the lessons of history hold, it's obvious that closing our borders will only hurt us (and others, but too many Americans don't seem to give a d@#n about that). You are correct that the Dems needed to do much more to address the white working and lower-middle class. But that would involve not what Trump is promising (bring back jobs that can't be brought back) but retraining and persuasion to follow the jobs (go West, young man). Yet today's rust belt and Southern working class isn't showing much inclination to follow that time-honored American dream advice. I'm afraid that's because of a closing culture. That is, there are too many people who fear losing their conservative identities by moving to booming, multicultural tech centers.
41
Harry Reid wasn’t in a kumbaya frame of mind, calling Trump “a sexual predator who lost the popular vote.”
------------------
My grandpa took to saying strange things too, after he fell off a stepladder, but did not need hospitalization as jurassic Harry did. Soon the sage of Searchlight can return to his windblown Nevada vastness, and Yucca Mountain, his apex achievement.
------------------
My grandpa took to saying strange things too, after he fell off a stepladder, but did not need hospitalization as jurassic Harry did. Soon the sage of Searchlight can return to his windblown Nevada vastness, and Yucca Mountain, his apex achievement.
10
It looks like Maureen will be a Donald defender and remain a Hilary and President Obama extreme basher.
I guess she finds it silly that President Obama is trying to preserve some vitally important systems that were created during his two terms as President. I guess she could care less that these systems are darn important to the people who use them.
I'd like to see Maureen use all her writing venom to describe how the recent election smells like rotting fish.
I guess she finds it silly that President Obama is trying to preserve some vitally important systems that were created during his two terms as President. I guess she could care less that these systems are darn important to the people who use them.
I'd like to see Maureen use all her writing venom to describe how the recent election smells like rotting fish.
76
I was struck by the fact that the listening Hillary who toured every county of New York to become senator stopped listening and took the rust belt for granted, hardly condescending to go there at all, sending white male surrogates like Bill, and Biden, and Kaine, if anyone at all.
She spent the last weeks of August raising cash in California and New York, when her poll numbers dropped like a stone. Oh, how she rue those two weeks today, when you could've visited a few more diners in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania.
"A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!"
How Hillary wished today she could trade every $1,000,000 she raised in LA for one working-class-white-male vote from PA.
She spent the last weeks of August raising cash in California and New York, when her poll numbers dropped like a stone. Oh, how she rue those two weeks today, when you could've visited a few more diners in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania.
"A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!"
How Hillary wished today she could trade every $1,000,000 she raised in LA for one working-class-white-male vote from PA.
10
I'm tired of the Dems tired canard that Queen Hillary won the popular vote. The time would be better spent on some deep self reflection.
18
Well folks, Maureen Dowd got her wish.
The phony liberal who helped to bring about a Trump administration.
This should be a lesson to anyone - never listen to an political extremist, especially one with no skin in the game.
Because, in a Trump Administration Maureen Dowd will never find herself penniless in flyover country in need of an abortion after Roe v. Wade is overturned, nor will she ever have to worry about losing a job when the economy tanks within the next couple of years, nor will she ever have to worry about being deported, nor will she ever have any worries from racist bullies, because of her racial, ethnic and religious background is considered the "right" one in Donald Trump's America.
So, even though everything is looking rosy for Maureen Dowd, do not expect her snark attacks to stop, because for phony liberals like her the object of her ire has never been people like her darling Donald Trump, but the low-hanging fruit that has a (D) on their back.
The phony liberal who helped to bring about a Trump administration.
This should be a lesson to anyone - never listen to an political extremist, especially one with no skin in the game.
Because, in a Trump Administration Maureen Dowd will never find herself penniless in flyover country in need of an abortion after Roe v. Wade is overturned, nor will she ever have to worry about losing a job when the economy tanks within the next couple of years, nor will she ever have to worry about being deported, nor will she ever have any worries from racist bullies, because of her racial, ethnic and religious background is considered the "right" one in Donald Trump's America.
So, even though everything is looking rosy for Maureen Dowd, do not expect her snark attacks to stop, because for phony liberals like her the object of her ire has never been people like her darling Donald Trump, but the low-hanging fruit that has a (D) on their back.
28
Obama should have been a one term president. Nothing was accomplished in eight years. The Clinton's problems were like Bonnie & Clyde; they thought they could do (and get away with) anything they liked. How wrong they were.
8
Maureen, it's the Republican Party that is the enemy of this country. Why is no one saying this? It spread nothing but despair and evil in its wake. It hogtied President Obama. Are you blind to that? Why are you pouncing on him? Does it make you feel good? His legacy will be remembered and celebrated long after your mean-spirited columns are forgotten.
I'm convinced that history will say that the night of November 8th was the night we had a coup d'etat. Once all the evidence is unearthed, we will learn that the Republicans seized control of this country, something they were craving to do for many years. Trump was their opening because they never met a bottom feeder the didn't like if it got them votes. I predict they will contrive to boot Trump out to make way for Pence, and only then will the Republicans be in hog heaven.
History has had many political movements, but the US has spawned a new one, created by the venality, bigotry and the celebration willful ignorance hatched by the Republicans: Deplorableism?
I think you need a vacation; you lost touch with reality.
I'm convinced that history will say that the night of November 8th was the night we had a coup d'etat. Once all the evidence is unearthed, we will learn that the Republicans seized control of this country, something they were craving to do for many years. Trump was their opening because they never met a bottom feeder the didn't like if it got them votes. I predict they will contrive to boot Trump out to make way for Pence, and only then will the Republicans be in hog heaven.
History has had many political movements, but the US has spawned a new one, created by the venality, bigotry and the celebration willful ignorance hatched by the Republicans: Deplorableism?
I think you need a vacation; you lost touch with reality.
44
I was born and raised in a blue collar town that much later became the murder capital of the US.
Thus, I do not romanticize the "uneducated" and the "middle class" like true Ivy Leaguers do, and I was raised in the West, so I know that racism is not just black/white conflict as Easterners think it is. People from Mexico have been crossing the border white Americans set by a war won by hispanics who sought freedom from tyranny along with Fremont, but white Americans then dispossessed them of their lands. Since then, the Southwest, Texas and California, have become economic powerhouses BECAUSE of "illegal immigrants." Spanish settlers colonized New Mexico as the Puritans were approaching the NE coast.
So, this election is about know-nothingism and nativism and white-ism. Hillary won despite the longest, nastiest disinformation campaign in our history. Women better learn from this that misogyny is always looking for a chance to keep them down.
Intelligence, education, self-discipline, achievement should not be scorned. It is what makes us great.
Thus, I do not romanticize the "uneducated" and the "middle class" like true Ivy Leaguers do, and I was raised in the West, so I know that racism is not just black/white conflict as Easterners think it is. People from Mexico have been crossing the border white Americans set by a war won by hispanics who sought freedom from tyranny along with Fremont, but white Americans then dispossessed them of their lands. Since then, the Southwest, Texas and California, have become economic powerhouses BECAUSE of "illegal immigrants." Spanish settlers colonized New Mexico as the Puritans were approaching the NE coast.
So, this election is about know-nothingism and nativism and white-ism. Hillary won despite the longest, nastiest disinformation campaign in our history. Women better learn from this that misogyny is always looking for a chance to keep them down.
Intelligence, education, self-discipline, achievement should not be scorned. It is what makes us great.
25
Presumably, if Trump knew that the popular vote is the one that matters, he would have spent more time campaigning in Texas, Georgia, (and even California, New York, New Jersey, etc.). As it is, he spent most of his time campaigning in states where the outcome was in doubt, not in ones where he couldn't influence it one way or another. If he only knew, this could have made a big difference.
It looks like Clinton was aware of this and this is why she spent so much time in New York and in California, trying to get even more votes in states she had already won.
However, you shouldn't have made this secret public just yet. Now the Republicans know and maybe four years from now they will change their strategy accordingly.
It looks like Clinton was aware of this and this is why she spent so much time in New York and in California, trying to get even more votes in states she had already won.
However, you shouldn't have made this secret public just yet. Now the Republicans know and maybe four years from now they will change their strategy accordingly.
5
So tired of Clinton blaming and Demo blaming rather than taking a good hard look at the Clinton bias in the journalism and opinion pages of this paper in the year leading up to the election. Ethan Cohen got it right.
18
The Obama-revolution was nothing more than a Trump-like election ruse. President Obama was a skilled usurper of the historical opportunity presented by the unprecedented popular nausea from every aspect of the G. W. Bush administration and an unabashed political opportunist who basically chocked the noble visions of the Progressive camp with his vacant “soaring speeches”.
After eight years, in which the Democrats had at the beginning control of Congress, the fundamental nature of his legacy are two historical destructive forces: The first legacy-leg is making the world safe for nuclear weapons and “restarting” a new and humanity-endangering nuclear arms race (while killing the anti-nuclear movement with empty “abolishment” visions and enraging the Russians with destabilizing anti-missile systems in eastern-Europe). The second legacy-leg is ensuring the dominance of Capital over Work and of (short-term) Expediency over (long-term) Value (by bestowing near-total immunity on those most responsible for the financial crisis and accepting the growing extreme inequality as a necessary condition for economic “recovery”).
After Obama, Trump has very little of standing historical value to obliterate. Ignoring the sins and failures the Obama’s presidency will throw Progressive ideas into the ash-heap of American history and permanently turn the Democratic Party into a PC version (and tool) of jingoistic and anti-social forces.
After eight years, in which the Democrats had at the beginning control of Congress, the fundamental nature of his legacy are two historical destructive forces: The first legacy-leg is making the world safe for nuclear weapons and “restarting” a new and humanity-endangering nuclear arms race (while killing the anti-nuclear movement with empty “abolishment” visions and enraging the Russians with destabilizing anti-missile systems in eastern-Europe). The second legacy-leg is ensuring the dominance of Capital over Work and of (short-term) Expediency over (long-term) Value (by bestowing near-total immunity on those most responsible for the financial crisis and accepting the growing extreme inequality as a necessary condition for economic “recovery”).
After Obama, Trump has very little of standing historical value to obliterate. Ignoring the sins and failures the Obama’s presidency will throw Progressive ideas into the ash-heap of American history and permanently turn the Democratic Party into a PC version (and tool) of jingoistic and anti-social forces.
5
’07 Obama decided to run at the behest of EX-SD SEN, Tom Daschle. Daschle wanted to be appointed Sec of Health & Human Services. Daschle seizing on Obama's success @ the '04 Dem convention encouraged Obama to run for the hopeful benefit to himself. Once Obama was elected, Daschle had to remove his nomination b/c of controversy over his tax records & questions over his work in that field as a lobbyist. Yes, Obama was concerned about health care but HRC tried to do that in ‘93. Obama '08 campaign became visceral not just b/c of our horrific history but b/c it got lots of white people to pretend they weren't racists. I am not diminishing the significance of President Obama's candidacy & election. (My best friend is black & was a partner @ a major consulting firm . She is brilliant. The white boys that reported to her; whom she trained & reported to her, would not say hello to her on the street. They voted for Obama.) Obama is an intelligent orator who spoke of hope & mending Washington. However, he was not the best candidate. HRC should have been elected in '08. We would have had a functioning gov't. HRC made friends across the aisle as a Senator. HRC would have been a true transitional candidate. The hate unleashed b/c of bigotry allowed the GOP to say Obama will be a 1 term President. The GOP cared more about their party than the well being of the US. This was continued for his 2nd term & forced executive orders. Obama should be being elected now. Net, Misogyny.
8
The problem with the democrats is they have to realize that being right isn't enough. Any parent knows sometimes you have to compromise off a correct position to move the family forward. This era of total victory for me and humiliation for you isn't serving either party well.
9
Must be quite a victory for Ms. Dowd, seeing her inexplicable mortal enemy so publicly humiliated and vanquished, despite being the winner of the popular vote.
Whatever will Dowd write about now that Hillary's been sent out to pasture? It certainly won't be anything too overly critical of her buddy Donald J. Trump, who in every aspect is once hilariously but now alarmingly unsuited for the role of American President. Dim Old Donald made sure to tell us he met with Obama for 90 minutes--he counted every minute. Trump seems unaware that the next four years are going to be nothing but doing things he hates to do. Maybe he can still lock up Hillary. There's your idea for your next column--poor Donnie's in over his head. Now we get to make fun of Trump's stupidity for the next four years, or less if we're lucky.
Next Up: Mike Pence, the man who wants to shove gays back in the closet (if they won't convert) and bring back coat hanger abortions! Don't forget--they want to "punish" you!
But nothing's worse than Hillary Clinton, right?
Whatever will Dowd write about now that Hillary's been sent out to pasture? It certainly won't be anything too overly critical of her buddy Donald J. Trump, who in every aspect is once hilariously but now alarmingly unsuited for the role of American President. Dim Old Donald made sure to tell us he met with Obama for 90 minutes--he counted every minute. Trump seems unaware that the next four years are going to be nothing but doing things he hates to do. Maybe he can still lock up Hillary. There's your idea for your next column--poor Donnie's in over his head. Now we get to make fun of Trump's stupidity for the next four years, or less if we're lucky.
Next Up: Mike Pence, the man who wants to shove gays back in the closet (if they won't convert) and bring back coat hanger abortions! Don't forget--they want to "punish" you!
But nothing's worse than Hillary Clinton, right?
57
Come on, Mo.
Less than 25% of the electorate just elected a birther who might very well nominate Scott Baio as a Justice.
Meanwhile, one wonders if Wikileaks will produce Donald's White House emails once Pence and Ryan make him turn away from Putin.
Start frying the big fish. Picking on Obama and Clinton is tiresome.
Less than 25% of the electorate just elected a birther who might very well nominate Scott Baio as a Justice.
Meanwhile, one wonders if Wikileaks will produce Donald's White House emails once Pence and Ryan make him turn away from Putin.
Start frying the big fish. Picking on Obama and Clinton is tiresome.
46
Obama in a tete a tete with the Russian Foreign Minister, summer 2012, sotto voce: "I can be much more help to you after the election." Obama did not know the microphone was on. He sure helped Russia - by doing everything possible to elect Trump. Mr. Harvard Professor genius: Thank you!
3
Alas, Maureen, you and Michael Moore, who months ago predicted exactly the outcome we had on Nov. 8, agree! I feared it, but could not bring myself to accept the possibility until the reality shock itself.
Unfortunately, so much that doomed Hillary's bid was self-inflicted, making it impossible for those of us who desperately wanted her to win to do anything that really made a difference. Hillary is convinced that FBI Director Comey was the main cause of Trump's victory, because her campaign was on such a high until his reopening of the emails investigation, and then closing it again.
But perhaps the campaign high was a total illusion all along, and the polls really were wrong, and as close as the election appeared to be, Trump's message was too compelling to those who were truly desperate despite his obvious odiousness. Maybe that is why even some Obama voters voted for Trump. Trump offered the hope that Obama seemed to abandon.
So, now those people who placed their trust not only in Trump, but the entire Republican package, will finally find out just how misplaced that trust really was. It is just such a shame that Hillary did not have the self-awareness and appreciation for conditions in the vast outback of Trumpland to make better choices both before and after she launched her ill-fated campaign. If so, there would have been no call for Comey to investigate anything or for her to lack a guiding message that enough of the country was able to hear.
Unfortunately, so much that doomed Hillary's bid was self-inflicted, making it impossible for those of us who desperately wanted her to win to do anything that really made a difference. Hillary is convinced that FBI Director Comey was the main cause of Trump's victory, because her campaign was on such a high until his reopening of the emails investigation, and then closing it again.
But perhaps the campaign high was a total illusion all along, and the polls really were wrong, and as close as the election appeared to be, Trump's message was too compelling to those who were truly desperate despite his obvious odiousness. Maybe that is why even some Obama voters voted for Trump. Trump offered the hope that Obama seemed to abandon.
So, now those people who placed their trust not only in Trump, but the entire Republican package, will finally find out just how misplaced that trust really was. It is just such a shame that Hillary did not have the self-awareness and appreciation for conditions in the vast outback of Trumpland to make better choices both before and after she launched her ill-fated campaign. If so, there would have been no call for Comey to investigate anything or for her to lack a guiding message that enough of the country was able to hear.
19
I'll remember Obama and the Clintons as arrogant elitists who believed their own press. They forgot about the Rust Belt, it was beneath them. Ya know, deplorables.
Trump not only didn't forget, he discovered the problem. He almost tripped over his own yuge ego. Yet in the end, it was the egos of Obama and Clinton that became a tsunami, drowning them and leaving Trump standing on the roof of the White House.
Trump not only didn't forget, he discovered the problem. He almost tripped over his own yuge ego. Yet in the end, it was the egos of Obama and Clinton that became a tsunami, drowning them and leaving Trump standing on the roof of the White House.
13
"Hillary should have spent less time collecting money on Wall Street and more time collecting votes in Wisconsin."
Imagine if MO wrote this a mere 6 months ago? She would have been crucified by the liberals and fed to wild pack of emotional support animals.
Imagine if MO wrote this a mere 6 months ago? She would have been crucified by the liberals and fed to wild pack of emotional support animals.
4
I wouldn't care if Hillary never set foot in Wisconsin. Or Michigan, or Pennsylvania, or whatever precious white suburban enclave of middle America she was supposed to make her appeal. How spoon-fed does the electorate need to be? Does she need to come to your back yard with a homemade pie and a list of promises that will benefit you and your dozens of friends? Do people not recognize what is clearly good for the country over their apparent and immediate self-interest?
If running an adult campaign, delivering a polished convention, racking up every newspaper endorsement and obliterating her opponent in three scorching debates wasn't enough to "collect votes", then the midwestern whites weren't worth pandering to. Unfortunately, we all suffer now.
If running an adult campaign, delivering a polished convention, racking up every newspaper endorsement and obliterating her opponent in three scorching debates wasn't enough to "collect votes", then the midwestern whites weren't worth pandering to. Unfortunately, we all suffer now.
18
You are channeling the alt-right for the New York Times; your writing is full of contempt and distortion. I recall your initial breathless, fawning pieces on Trump. Good luck for future columns on him. Vapid man, covered vapidly.
14
As always, Ms. Dowd, you never publish a column without attacking Mrs. Clinton in one way or the other. Even in defeat, you still have to give her one more kick. There may be all kinds of blame to go around for Mrs Clinton losing the election, but one think that you would not mention was the fact that too many factors were stacked up against her. There was the Republican majority that painted her as some sort of traitor. There was FBI Director Comey who falsely announced the find of extra emails on a computer (and I have no doubt that Rudy Giuliani encouraged this announcement.) And there were your articles that always seem to paint Mrs. Clinton in a harsh light. In your opinion, there was nothing good at all that could be said about Hillary Clinton. It is felt here that your frequent criticism have have had an effect on some voters who finally decided to vote for Donald Trump. Now that he is going to be the 45th President, we can expect all kinds of calamities to take place here and abroad, some of which will make the second Bush Administration pale by comparison. I hope you're happy, Ms. Dowd, because I'm not.
10
In 1995, the late Christopher Hitchens, sang your praises in saying that you were "...disrespectful but without ever being inaccurate". I am sorry to say he'd be disappointed in you of late. You have moved to snark for the sake of snark, forgetting the need for accuracy. Two examples from this piece alone: your choice to repeat the "basket of deplorables" soundbite, without full context; and reducing Obama to a lecturer of Congress and a scorner of the art of political persuasion. Both examples are unworthy of anyone wishing to be known as a journalist. Journalism is under attack, truth is under attack. Please remember that, Ms. Dowd, because excellence in journalism is needed now more than ever.
14
By the time all of the votes are counted, Clinton will be up by as much as 3-4 million over the serial sexual predator. Why do you think people are taking to the streets to protest against illegitimate Don the Con playing his ultimate Con? Meanwhile, Lyin Paul Ryan is declaring Don the Con has a mandate so that he "privatize" my social security and Medicare. Additionally, kudos should also go to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Instigators, James Comey, who sat on Weiner's computer and additional emails until the exact moment to kill Clinton's 3-3 shellacking of Don the Con in the debates even though he knew there was nothing in the additional emails. Let us sum it up, Don the Con is an illegimate POTUS, Lyin Ryan wants to Ayn Rand is even though he has done nothing but work in government in his life, and we have an FBI director who broke the law under the Hatch Act to go after Hillary. Finally, Maureen Dowd gets to scewer the most decent President in my lifetime and Hillary/Bill as well while leaving Don the Con alone even though he has unlocked racism/bigotry in this nation but justified it because he won? No, Don the Con you did not win!
14
Nasty woman. But not in a good way.
6
Hillary Clinton has been the victim of constant witch hunts since she entered the political arena. The fallout from these is that everyone, including liberal women, and you, have begun to believe what Republicans fabricate about Hillary: She is corrupt, sneaky, irresponsible, greedy, while her male counterparts are powerful, prudent, resourceful, and worthy. It's the double standard no one can see, even liberals, and especially women. And you Maureen have been propagating these distortions for years! You should be ashamed of yourself!
21
Firstly Obama was fairly conservative . You can ask the people of that part of Chicago. Before the Southern Strategy time Obama would have been a centrist Republican. The real change Obama brought to the White House was competency and hard work.
Hillary lost because 2016 America is so good at rewarding people like ourselves and so poor at rewarding people who try so hard to do what we tell them they are supposed to do.
NAFTA is good for me and NAFTA is good for you. NAFTA is even good for most Americans America doesn't make cars that anyone else in the world wants that is that is the information Maureen Dowd owed her readers.
Maureen Dowd owed her readers the information that government of the people sometimes needs to be shrunk and sometime needs to expand but it needs to be right sized for the time and in 2016 government needed to Bernie Sanders Huge and Bernie Sanders Compassionate. Instead we get Trump compassion, Spence competency and and Giuliani and Gingrich lunacy along with the thumb on the scale of Christie and Priebus and the hatred and vitriol of Steven Bannon.
Maureen it wasn't the Democrats and it wasn't Hillary.
John Ralston Saul the historian and philosopher wrote about 2016 in his 1992 best seller Voltaire's Bastards (The Dictatorship of Reason in the West), we are at the end of the Age of Reason today America prefers a gaudy Manhattan Brand than a proven manager and technocrat supreme.
Hillary lost because 2016 America is so good at rewarding people like ourselves and so poor at rewarding people who try so hard to do what we tell them they are supposed to do.
NAFTA is good for me and NAFTA is good for you. NAFTA is even good for most Americans America doesn't make cars that anyone else in the world wants that is that is the information Maureen Dowd owed her readers.
Maureen Dowd owed her readers the information that government of the people sometimes needs to be shrunk and sometime needs to expand but it needs to be right sized for the time and in 2016 government needed to Bernie Sanders Huge and Bernie Sanders Compassionate. Instead we get Trump compassion, Spence competency and and Giuliani and Gingrich lunacy along with the thumb on the scale of Christie and Priebus and the hatred and vitriol of Steven Bannon.
Maureen it wasn't the Democrats and it wasn't Hillary.
John Ralston Saul the historian and philosopher wrote about 2016 in his 1992 best seller Voltaire's Bastards (The Dictatorship of Reason in the West), we are at the end of the Age of Reason today America prefers a gaudy Manhattan Brand than a proven manager and technocrat supreme.
9
I remember reading Dowd with a bit of a smile on my face, long ago. She would chastise the elite and smug. A part of her understood the alt-right, yet she could never accept them as serious leaders, yet alone THE leaders of the world (I hesitate to use the phrase "free world" for now.) So she changed. She accepted the hype that she was all that, and with that came botox and talk show visits.
My daughters' sadness at what this election means cannot be forgotten. As Samatha Bee said, all those people that are related to women should be very ashamed of what this country has done by electing this strange horrible man. I can only work for and pray that good will ultimately prevail and the racists and know-nothings fade away as soon as possible.
My daughters' sadness at what this election means cannot be forgotten. As Samatha Bee said, all those people that are related to women should be very ashamed of what this country has done by electing this strange horrible man. I can only work for and pray that good will ultimately prevail and the racists and know-nothings fade away as soon as possible.
17
Obama tried to stay loyal to his initial financial backers who were more concerned about foreign policy relevant to Israel. Time after time he would say one thing then retract it after no doubt lobbying from that sector.
Lets hope that Trump is loyal to the country not just those who enabled his presidency
Lets hope that Trump is loyal to the country not just those who enabled his presidency
4
You're wrong. Do you really think that Donald's thoughtfulness, ignorance and buffoonery will "obliterate " President Obama's legacy of everything that is the opposite of what Donald stands for? That's a remarkably obtuse observation.
16
More Monday-morning quarterbacking, this time from a practiced Obama and Clinton basher. Thanks to James Comey, Bernie Sanders, WikiLeaks, Republican witch hunt, and a mainstream media -- including liberals like Maureen Dowd -- that equated her email "scandal" with Donald Trump's sleaze, Hillary was so diminished by election day that she only won the popular vote by nearly two million people. As a politician, she's no Barack Obama -- but who is? By the same token, Trump was no slouch, having demolished the Republican field in the primaries. I strongly suspect that he, armed with national celebrity and the ruthless ability to rouse and harness the anger of white working-class voters, would have been a much more formidable threat to Obama in 2012 than the civil Mitt Romney.
9
Maureen Dowd casually introduces the term, 'revolution,' without properly explaining what she means by it. A political revolution involves a fundamental change in the relations between the state and the citizen, which President Obama never intended. The ACA built on the relationship created by Social Security and Medicare, and even Bernie Sanders' proposed reforms to the act would have strengthened but not altered that relationship.
The New Deal, rather than any initiative of President Obama, corresponds more closely to the definition of revolution. Prior to that set of programs, except in times of war, only state and local governments had direct effects on the lives of citizens. Largely through the enactment of Social Security and other social welfare measures, however, the government in Washington assumed a direct role in the lives of millions of Americans, a role which later laws, including the ACA only intensified.
Ever since, conservatives have sought to sever that relationship by delegating control over the safety net to the states and by privatizing some of the programs. Paul Ryan's determination to repeal the ACA and to convert Medicare into a premium support program represents the latest version of this campaign.
In this sense, Trump, devoid of any political ideology, threatens the fulfillment of Ryan's dream. His passion for popularity may commit him to oppose Ryan's reform of Medicare. That, not Dowd's shallow focus on politics, is the real story.
The New Deal, rather than any initiative of President Obama, corresponds more closely to the definition of revolution. Prior to that set of programs, except in times of war, only state and local governments had direct effects on the lives of citizens. Largely through the enactment of Social Security and other social welfare measures, however, the government in Washington assumed a direct role in the lives of millions of Americans, a role which later laws, including the ACA only intensified.
Ever since, conservatives have sought to sever that relationship by delegating control over the safety net to the states and by privatizing some of the programs. Paul Ryan's determination to repeal the ACA and to convert Medicare into a premium support program represents the latest version of this campaign.
In this sense, Trump, devoid of any political ideology, threatens the fulfillment of Ryan's dream. His passion for popularity may commit him to oppose Ryan's reform of Medicare. That, not Dowd's shallow focus on politics, is the real story.
8
How is it that on the day that it's announced that Trump wants a dirty coal bought and paid for climate change denier to steer the EPA transition team, Dowd didn't choose instead to pen a worthwhile column for the future of our planet? Or if the rising seas and clean air and water thing doesn't float her boat, what about any of the other hugely alarming cabinet potentials being tossed around? Nope, instead Dowd disrespects - again - two fine, upstanding people who have devoted their lives to service. She seems to be most irritated by the president's cool - perhaps there's an envy thing going on. And she likes to mock the level of change over the last 8 years, when it's her new alt-right colleagues who shut down the government by refusing to vote.
It's really time to set the record straight. This is not an episode of Mean Girls, the new Fox sitcom - your candidate just got elected, and damage control needs to start now for the health of our country and others who rely on us.
P.S. to the public editor: in Dowd's last Clinton attack ad - announcing her new book title in the middle of the piece when there was scarcely any relevance to her column - was really an advertisement she should have paid for. Not acceptable.
It's really time to set the record straight. This is not an episode of Mean Girls, the new Fox sitcom - your candidate just got elected, and damage control needs to start now for the health of our country and others who rely on us.
P.S. to the public editor: in Dowd's last Clinton attack ad - announcing her new book title in the middle of the piece when there was scarcely any relevance to her column - was really an advertisement she should have paid for. Not acceptable.
10
The "basket of deplorables" voted for Trump, but they are not irredeemable. They voted for what they felt was survival and 'right' in their minds. For what it's worth, many voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012.
Our President was never an activist or a revolutionary. Like a politician, or more fitting: the marketer in chief, he became the most complex and confusing president we've ever had. He often smiled, played with children, was funny and welcoming, cool and collected, and most of all he was above the fray and humble. He touted progressive values, but this didn't always translate into what he did for America. He tried to cut social security, pushed forward the secretive TPP, deported millions, increased sales of arms to countries, expanded the NSA, and appointed the very same people connected to the economic downturn into powerful positions.
I am so so grateful for healthcare for all Americans, but in retrospect this is just a necessity. Food stamps, general assistance, medicaid/medicare, social security, and etc, are great welfare programs, but they are meant to stabilize the poor when Americans want to climb out of poverty. I admit to having a deep (and even irrational) admiration of President Obama, but I have to say bitterly: what legacy? It's not outstanding, nor is it underwhelming, and that may be the worst kind of legacy.
Our President was never an activist or a revolutionary. Like a politician, or more fitting: the marketer in chief, he became the most complex and confusing president we've ever had. He often smiled, played with children, was funny and welcoming, cool and collected, and most of all he was above the fray and humble. He touted progressive values, but this didn't always translate into what he did for America. He tried to cut social security, pushed forward the secretive TPP, deported millions, increased sales of arms to countries, expanded the NSA, and appointed the very same people connected to the economic downturn into powerful positions.
I am so so grateful for healthcare for all Americans, but in retrospect this is just a necessity. Food stamps, general assistance, medicaid/medicare, social security, and etc, are great welfare programs, but they are meant to stabilize the poor when Americans want to climb out of poverty. I admit to having a deep (and even irrational) admiration of President Obama, but I have to say bitterly: what legacy? It's not outstanding, nor is it underwhelming, and that may be the worst kind of legacy.
7
I finally agree with this essay and they won't print my comments, probably because I quit paying for this paper the day before the election after, oh, 40 years. I read the non-change change 'apology' from the publisher, which I can't find here anywhere, on Drudge and laughed.
I don't live that far from The City and in the red county in upstate CT, an accident of fleeing Fairfield County. At 6 freezing a.m. on election day it was hard to get a parking spot near the polling place and after I voted I asked a 75 foot buffered politician if this was the usual turnout. He gave me a no way with his eyes, a bit fearful. Like we just lit the biggest firecracker, and we did. I voted Obama twice, Trump once. You picked a fine time to become reasonable, Ms. Dowd. Just when I'm left with a few prepaid days in my subscription, spewing Miley Cyrus from between my neurons.
I don't live that far from The City and in the red county in upstate CT, an accident of fleeing Fairfield County. At 6 freezing a.m. on election day it was hard to get a parking spot near the polling place and after I voted I asked a 75 foot buffered politician if this was the usual turnout. He gave me a no way with his eyes, a bit fearful. Like we just lit the biggest firecracker, and we did. I voted Obama twice, Trump once. You picked a fine time to become reasonable, Ms. Dowd. Just when I'm left with a few prepaid days in my subscription, spewing Miley Cyrus from between my neurons.
4
In your savage attack of Hillary you would not think of mentioning that when all the votes are counted Hillary is projected to win over 2 million more popular votes than Donald. And that she will receive the second largest number of votes second only to Obama. If not for the obsolete Electoral College, she would be President. We need majority rules in Presidential elections
14
This is mostly the truth, although misogyny had a much bigger role in it than what Dowd is saying here. This could have been a one-sentence article: "Hillary should have spent less time collecting money on Wall Street and more time collecting votes in Wisconsin."
2
Maureen is no Clinton fan, but Clinton-establishment must read with sense reflexivity.
4
Wonderful assessment, as usual.
4
The takeaway from this article syncs with my e-mail to Joe Biden at the White House Web site in 2010. I told him that I would have been just as pleased if he had been the president instead of Obama and wished that he would run for the presidency when possible.
My tip off that Obama did not have Biden's sense of personal contact with voters happened after I made a contribution to Obama's campaign. Instead of receiving a thank you note from the candidate I received an e-mail from his staff saying they could not accept my donation unless I gave them my passport number due to my residence outside America. No thank you note.
Obama is personally responsible for not selecting Biden or Sanders (my candidate) for the Democratic nomination. He picked Hillary after also selecting her as sec. of state instead of Kerry the first time.
Obama is personally responsible for Trump's success. Biden would have won both electoral votes and popular votes. Biden was superb at connecting with the same white working class voters as voted for Trump. American politicians do best if they can relate with hail fellow well met as a skill, Biden's forte!
My tip off that Obama did not have Biden's sense of personal contact with voters happened after I made a contribution to Obama's campaign. Instead of receiving a thank you note from the candidate I received an e-mail from his staff saying they could not accept my donation unless I gave them my passport number due to my residence outside America. No thank you note.
Obama is personally responsible for not selecting Biden or Sanders (my candidate) for the Democratic nomination. He picked Hillary after also selecting her as sec. of state instead of Kerry the first time.
Obama is personally responsible for Trump's success. Biden would have won both electoral votes and popular votes. Biden was superb at connecting with the same white working class voters as voted for Trump. American politicians do best if they can relate with hail fellow well met as a skill, Biden's forte!
4
To suggest that Hillary should have wasted time romancing Wisconsinites for votes is tantamount to saying she should have sucked up to the German-American Bund. How hard is it for you to understand the mindset of folks who trash unions, vote for fascist Republicans who take orders off the telephone from imaginary Koch brothers.
7
Not only President Obama, but also the Democratic National Committee, made a historic blunder in promoting HIllary Clinton. Let us remember the 500 super delegates, and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, who made sure that the primaries produced the candidate they selected -- who unfortunately turned out to be the only Dem who couldn't beat Trump. Bernie Sanders or Liz Warren could have carried the independent and won the election.
Contrast DWS with Reince Priebus, who came under enormous pressure to repudiate the candidate selected by the voters, but who stuck by the primary voters and their choice through thick and thin. The Dems would have been better served by someone like Priebus, and should be wary of using super delegates in the future.
Contrast DWS with Reince Priebus, who came under enormous pressure to repudiate the candidate selected by the voters, but who stuck by the primary voters and their choice through thick and thin. The Dems would have been better served by someone like Priebus, and should be wary of using super delegates in the future.
6
Maureen, no one says it like you. It's so true. Hillary couldn't help but milk her potential candidacy by giving all those paid speeches and lost whatever connection she may ever have had even with the core democratic electorate. Bernie's words truly resonated with this segment of the electorate but alas they rigged the system against him. Some of them still voted for her because the alternative was unimaginably bad. But others just couldn't drag themselves to the polling station to vote for her. Of course, Hillary had the whole DNC in her pocket. But another aspect the party establishment was perhaps afraid of was that Bernie is so far out on the left while Hillary seemed a centrist with a well-oiled political machine. But they misread the mood of the electorate and never tried to connect. I can understand what Make America Great Again is meant to stand for. But does Stronger Together even mean?
6
As always, Ms Dowd, witty, insightful and entertaining to the max.
5
You have forgotten the first law of entertainment: Thou Shalt Not Be Boring.
If you are going to repeat the same limited tune over a period of twenty years it should have some inventive variations, but these have not been forthcoming, only the same dull and predictable hammer-thud, over and over and over.
Cat scratch columns like this never cut deep, as you demonstrate, and your attempts at psychological deconstruction always seem to end up lost in the mirror. That should be of concern to you.
If you are going to repeat the same limited tune over a period of twenty years it should have some inventive variations, but these have not been forthcoming, only the same dull and predictable hammer-thud, over and over and over.
Cat scratch columns like this never cut deep, as you demonstrate, and your attempts at psychological deconstruction always seem to end up lost in the mirror. That should be of concern to you.
7
The film ends with a close up of Katniss, as her expression changes from desperation and panic to one of steely resolve.
1
I agree with your last statement. The number of trips that Hillary and Obama made to Hollywood, collecting money was ridiculous. I work in West LA and they messed up traffic for us instead of stomping in Wisconsin.
6
I just read a Vanity Fair interview of President Obama done about a moth ago by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It was wise, optimistic, and intellectually brilliant. Maureen, Doris Kearns Goodwin you ain't. http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/09/barack-obama-doris-kearns-goodwin...
13
Great insight; why didn't Ms Dowd share it with her readers and Hillary Clinton before the election rather than afterwards?
2
The Clintons are the most shameless grifters ever to inhabit the White House. Hillary claimed they were "dead broke" when they left the White House, yet 15 years later they're worth more than $200 million! Yet Bill had no paying job except being "Honorary Chairman" with no duties for a shyster university that paid him $17.5 million for his name! And Hillary never had a salary of more than a couple of hundred thousand a year. Sure, they sold some books, but still over $200 million came from pure influece peddling. All previous First Families would have been ashamed of such greed. But the Clintons were shameless. They got what they deserved in the election.
17
An article in politico.com made a point that should be noted by all who think that HRC winning the popular vote means something. If there were a direct election for President, there would be very different campaigns. The candidates would campaign where the votes are, rather than almost exclusively in swing states. Turnout would very likely be much larger. That would be better, no doubt, but it doesn't at all follow that the popular vote result would be the same.
4
How ironic is the photograph of the Clintons and Obamas at the rally in front of Independence Hall the day after Leonard Cohen died whose haunting song the Anthem is a metaphor for the crack in the Liberty Bell. That crack in the idea of America well predates the Liberty Bell and we only see it when the light shines through and the idea is torn asunder by the eventual reckonings of history. The righteousness of theocracy and American exceptionalism, the evils of slavery, the cynical wars and now the jokers who pull the strings of social injustice have all been exposed by the light that has revealed the cracks. So once again we see but is it now too late?
3
Since Ms. Dowd feels she can tell Hillary what she should have done, allow me this bit of advice to the columnist. Get thee to a confessional and bring a few changes of clothing, as you will most likely be there for a while. At some point you have to atone for the nastiness in your heart that spills out in your columns, especially toward the Clintons and Obamas. This is not journalism, it is ugly, spiteful and jealous journal entries by a petulant writer with a severe identity crisis. You and Mr. Trump share the same emotional vacuity that is masked by an arrogant narcissism. One that plays out by demeaning others in order to feel good about yourself. Now you can turn your attentions to each other.
21
You know, Ms. Dowd, you are almost as nasty as Trump was all during the campaign. A lot of us really do believe that President Obama was the best President we have seen in our lifetimes - and my lifetime may go back further than yours - and that Mrs. Clinton would be a very capable President. Frankly, I personally believe you can't get past what appears very much to be your personal animosity to Mrs. Clinton and former President Clinton and your apparent unending disrespect of President Obama. Your snarky column does not further the careful thinking that must be done by all concerned Americans (even those who don't write columns or are talking heads on TV or who incessantly use Twitter themselves), as the President-elect becomes, unfortunately, the President
12
Ms. Dowd,
You claim that Obama lost his revolutionary side.
I would argue that he never had one. His 2008 senate vote to expand FISA was not the position a revolutionary. Anyone paying attention knew that. People who believed otherwise were just imagining him as they wished him to be, instead of as the decent, intelligent, optimistic, rational, inclusive, even-tempered, dignified, classy (qualities whose absence many of us already resent in his successor) candidate-with-vision he was.
As for any edge you think he may have lost, anyone who served two terms in a job that ages one in dog-years won't be same person he was when he first took office. It's logical that a president who grappled with constant congressional opposition might conclude that incremental progress on the part of the next president is a reasonable, attainable goal.
You claim that Obama lost his revolutionary side.
I would argue that he never had one. His 2008 senate vote to expand FISA was not the position a revolutionary. Anyone paying attention knew that. People who believed otherwise were just imagining him as they wished him to be, instead of as the decent, intelligent, optimistic, rational, inclusive, even-tempered, dignified, classy (qualities whose absence many of us already resent in his successor) candidate-with-vision he was.
As for any edge you think he may have lost, anyone who served two terms in a job that ages one in dog-years won't be same person he was when he first took office. It's logical that a president who grappled with constant congressional opposition might conclude that incremental progress on the part of the next president is a reasonable, attainable goal.
9
Hillary's campaign bragged about how much money she was raising, how talented her on the ground organizational teams were, and brandishing her ties and endorsements from establishment types and the Hollywood community. This was perfectly captured in her ending rally in Philadelphia with top tier celebrities on stage and at her side. Meanwhile rust belt voters ignored for decades did a slow burn and sent a message by turning the election around. The grandest irony is they elected a guy who has never spent one day thinking about them.
7
Mo,
Do you think she will run in 2020?
Good grief.
I do agree with her, Comey may have tipped the thing. His day before the election recant was simply to show in the future he had played 'fair'. There never was nor will there be proof of criminal action on Hill's part. It was way too late to affect the polls in a positive manner. One more percent would have done it for her.
In short, I'm glad she is gone, but wish she had won.
Weird, hey?
Do you think she will run in 2020?
Good grief.
I do agree with her, Comey may have tipped the thing. His day before the election recant was simply to show in the future he had played 'fair'. There never was nor will there be proof of criminal action on Hill's part. It was way too late to affect the polls in a positive manner. One more percent would have done it for her.
In short, I'm glad she is gone, but wish she had won.
Weird, hey?
1
And since you have been a long time Obama hater and continually and purposely failed to recognize his accomplishments, he has every right not to have his legacy obliterated by the very person who for five years spent millions on his birther lie to continue to rile up hate for the black guy. Trump's hate for Obama is why Trump ran for president, outrage that the black guy was president and not him, the dumb guy. Same hate/lie/repeat process that Newt Gingrich has been doing for years. You are a disservice to the news. I come here for factual news, not prejudice.
7
Nailed it Mauree!
But credit Trump too, he let the media mock him, even laugh at him for spending most of his campaign funds on Make America Great Again caps, while they celebrated all the "87 percent chance of winning"every morning in NYTimes predictions--all while he stealthily scooped up alienated, frustrated Midwesterners by the tens of thousands, one airplane hangar stop at a time.
If China, Iran, Putin, and Mexican drug lords under-estimate Trump even half as much as the Democrats did, America will be doing very well.
But credit Trump too, he let the media mock him, even laugh at him for spending most of his campaign funds on Make America Great Again caps, while they celebrated all the "87 percent chance of winning"every morning in NYTimes predictions--all while he stealthily scooped up alienated, frustrated Midwesterners by the tens of thousands, one airplane hangar stop at a time.
If China, Iran, Putin, and Mexican drug lords under-estimate Trump even half as much as the Democrats did, America will be doing very well.
6
Had you never seen a picture of him and judging solely by his deeds, you would have never expected the President's name was Barack Hussein Obama and not Stuyvesant Van Cleve III. He and his Attorney General Eric Holder acted purely in accordance with the dictates of their adopted class in their supine response to the financial crisis. If Obama has thrown just a few Wall Street CEO's in jail at the outset of his administration and even if the effects were purely symbolic, we would not have a Donald Trump right now but he convinced people that the game was rigged against them and the Democrats were on the opposing team.
7
The electoral college was a concession to slave owners. Slaves as 3/5s a citizen. This is the basis that we will overlook Madame Clinton's popular election, continuing to rise as we watch the coup in Trump Tower gain momentum. As I write she is currently soundly beating Trump by 630,000 votes, significantly surpassing Gores's "loss" to our last Republican regime. It's going higher, and at some point it is likely to test our patience as we realize there are lots and lots more of us than them.
3
Ms. Dowd, wondering if you have read Harry Potter? You are no unicorn and The President is rare, for he is to my mind 'The Lynx'. And, poor Trump, what about this old boar, I continue to feel sorry for the man, but my Country and its welfare is more important.
We have gone from the Sublime to the Slime, and if the President, by some accounts, does not think highly of you, this comes as no surprise, not that you should blush red over this.
A "basket of deplorables" on the part of an extraordinary woman was a mild description of unreasoned, poverty-stricken Americans in means and minds. If I grew up in a trailer, with a scrappy education, and the T.V. as my teacher, with little food on the table, depressed, and with no real hope for the future, I would support Trump like Father Christmas.
What is deplorable is a lack of responsibility on your part as a journalist, once highly respected and still admired by some of your readership, to stay the course and not go down the drain. Meanwhile, the pipes, the pipes are calling, and it will be a great shame if the People of America let Donny Boy lead us astray, and take down the Country with him.
The President is going forth as always, and whether you and I wish to remain in the dust bowl, the choice is ours.
We have gone from the Sublime to the Slime, and if the President, by some accounts, does not think highly of you, this comes as no surprise, not that you should blush red over this.
A "basket of deplorables" on the part of an extraordinary woman was a mild description of unreasoned, poverty-stricken Americans in means and minds. If I grew up in a trailer, with a scrappy education, and the T.V. as my teacher, with little food on the table, depressed, and with no real hope for the future, I would support Trump like Father Christmas.
What is deplorable is a lack of responsibility on your part as a journalist, once highly respected and still admired by some of your readership, to stay the course and not go down the drain. Meanwhile, the pipes, the pipes are calling, and it will be a great shame if the People of America let Donny Boy lead us astray, and take down the Country with him.
The President is going forth as always, and whether you and I wish to remain in the dust bowl, the choice is ours.
5
Great article Maureen, Obama seemed to have lost interest once he was elected. No vision, no drive, no passion. He allowed democratic party hacks draft ACA legislation, and was ineffective to say the least in his many showdowns with the Republicans and spent most of his time playing defence. You forgot to mention the other institution Trump obliterated; "The New York Times" which squandered 75 years worth of credibility in 7 months. I'm surprised they still allow you to work there.
14
"Of course, those are two (parents plan till 26 and existing conditions)very popular elements of the law that Republicans wouldn’t dream of killing anyway"
Yes, and the latter instantaneously means that the mandate to obtain health insurance of all is required. Otherwise people just wait and by insurance at the incidence.
So that pretty much makes it Obamacare. Voila.
Yes, and the latter instantaneously means that the mandate to obtain health insurance of all is required. Otherwise people just wait and by insurance at the incidence.
So that pretty much makes it Obamacare. Voila.
3
Earth to Mo, she won the popular vote.
Obama and the Clintons will be gone who are you going to hate on now, your best buddy Donnie?
The least qualified candidate has been elected president and your response is to dump on the losers. Mean, not meaning is the only direction you know.
Obama and the Clintons will be gone who are you going to hate on now, your best buddy Donnie?
The least qualified candidate has been elected president and your response is to dump on the losers. Mean, not meaning is the only direction you know.
11
Love it! Maureen is the best. Snooty east coast elites will never understand.
8
Ms.Clinton had much better funding and was far better organized and disciplined than her opponent who flaunted his incompetency and character flaws as well as alienated important constituencies. How could she possibly lose? She campaigned as an elitist who did not emotionally connect with the electorate, convince it that she understood their problems or convey a clear vision of what she would do to help them. If she had any vision, it was concocted from focus groups and polls and did not appear genuine. Her many speeches to wealthy donors made her beholden to their interests and unable speak to the interests of people beyond her base whose living standards were adversely affected by the policies of both parties over the past 35 years. A large portion of the country is angry, feels ignored and alienated and demands change. She did not pick up on this and adjust her campaign accordingly. Her opponent did. Her continued association with scandal prone people like Ms. Wasserman-Schultz, Ms. Abedin, and Ms. Brazile and lack of forthrightness on the e-mails recalled the history of Clinton sleaziness and turned off many people. All this re-enforced her image as a hidebound establishment elitist who uses the votes of the working and middle class but ignores their interests . Fifty three percent of presumably intelligent white women voters felt that their interests were better served by Mr.Trump than by electing a woman as President. That sums it up pretty well. Ms. Dowd is on point.
12
Yes, it was so clever to have criticized Hillary all these years, wasn't it.
5
"I want a country that loves each other" is ungrammatical. It sounds good, but makes no sense if you think about the words. Words that don't actually operate syntactically become just incoherent background noise.
4
Maureen, dear, I'm a longtime fan of you and your writing, but these last two op-eds have been unnecessarily mean-spirited and utterly devoid of anything remotely elucidating. They haven't been your usual clever constructions nor even entertaining. Though the Clintons are legally married, they are not, in fact, indivisible. You needn't endlessly demonize Hillary for Bill's misdeeds. And though she did not, in the end, win the electoral college, she certainly received more votes by a significant margin. More importantly, she also ran a decent and honorable campaign. Long-standing and baseless hatred of Ms. Clinton as exaggerated and exploited by an utterly unrepentant, unquestionably unprepared, anti-intellectual reality TV star and his naive and hoodwinked followers, buttressed by unlimited, free media presentation convinced just enough voters to gamble the country's future with vague and contradictory promises of "change". This supposedly fiendishly successful businessman and his support by the less educated, less economically advantaged portion of our country concocted a toxic brew of dishonesty and appalling debasement to the detriment of our electoral process. Though it may have hurt her, she was indeed speaking the truth in decribing many of Mr. Trump's supporters as belonging in a basket appropriately labeled "deplorable". If you can't be a little more objective, maybe you belong in that basket too.
Love,
An Adorable West Coast Cerebral Elitist
Love,
An Adorable West Coast Cerebral Elitist
19
I used to truly enjoy Dowd's columns for her acuity and wit. But they've become repetitive parodies of themselves, almost like comedic contests to emulate Maureen Dowd. There's a bitterness to her critiques and the psychoanalysis she throws out there is really just a reflection of her own psyche. Interesting once, twice, maybe thrice. But week after week after week...a sad waste of valuable NY Times column space!
14
Three days of crying about the election results and I had only one bright hope, that Maureen Dowd would finally stop the Clinton bashing and get on with being a political columnist, although as we have discovered not so much on the left. But even that hope is now dashed.
8
Maureen, you summed up in the most cogent piece I've read in the NYT opinion pages this week the true reason for Hillary's demise. Your colleagues seem to be grieving over the outcome of this election as if it marked the death of our nation. And people are "protesting" the outcome of a democratic process envied throughout the world. Hopefully they all bothered to vote.
Okay, my candidate didn't win. Our country will survive, maybe thrive. Thanks for a fresh, non-hysterical perspective.
Okay, my candidate didn't win. Our country will survive, maybe thrive. Thanks for a fresh, non-hysterical perspective.
8
Let me get this straight.
Republicans railed against Obamacare for 6 years, passing at least 60 bills to revoke the law. Dr. Ben Carson famously insisted that Obamacare was worse than slavery. Trump spent 18 months chanting that his first act in the White House would be to revoke Obamacare.
But, within minutes of a conversation with Obama, Trump became convinced that Obamacare was worth amending, not revoking. Hmmm.
More likely, Trump and Republicans always knew they could not revoke Obamacare but chose to repeatedly lie to their followers.
Pity. In four years, when Trump fails to "bring the jobs back" we will all hear of another epiphany.
Republicans railed against Obamacare for 6 years, passing at least 60 bills to revoke the law. Dr. Ben Carson famously insisted that Obamacare was worse than slavery. Trump spent 18 months chanting that his first act in the White House would be to revoke Obamacare.
But, within minutes of a conversation with Obama, Trump became convinced that Obamacare was worth amending, not revoking. Hmmm.
More likely, Trump and Republicans always knew they could not revoke Obamacare but chose to repeatedly lie to their followers.
Pity. In four years, when Trump fails to "bring the jobs back" we will all hear of another epiphany.
11
“We’re part of an interconnected global economy now, and there’s no going back from that.”
That sounds like what Republicans have been saying since 1980, or at least since Hondas and Toyotas have been arriving in appreciable numbers. Off-shoring and imports, that's what makes this country great. Remember the UAW slogan "Buy American"? It turns out the Democrats were just kidding.
I wonder if it was President Obama who wrote the "buggy whip" scene for the movie Other People's Money?
That sounds like what Republicans have been saying since 1980, or at least since Hondas and Toyotas have been arriving in appreciable numbers. Off-shoring and imports, that's what makes this country great. Remember the UAW slogan "Buy American"? It turns out the Democrats were just kidding.
I wonder if it was President Obama who wrote the "buggy whip" scene for the movie Other People's Money?
there is no chance for a fair election when the head of the F.B.I.
behaves
like the east Berlin police during the sixties.
this presidential
election will forever be tainted
behaves
like the east Berlin police during the sixties.
this presidential
election will forever be tainted
21
Yeah Moe, embrace it. You didn't really think it would happen either but it did. Donald Trump is our president. Thanks for your role in that! As I desperately try to console my brown sisters they will be okay, I read about assaults on them and I weep. I cover myself in safety pins and buy lunch for the muslim kids I see every week and I know they are still afraid. Live with it Moe. Live with what you wrought upon our country. And try to blame it on them. The Obamas were the best thing that ever happened to this country. And you did your best to make sure nobody would ever know it. That is your legacy Moe.
21
Give it a rest, Maureen.
21
In other words, Mo, along with everything else that has occurred in the empirical world since the dawn of time, the vicious, steadfast goal of the Republicans to never do a single, solitary thing on behalf of the Rust Belt is Obama's fault. Got it.
But here is my prediction, and one I wish you, as an editorialist, would address: Don's hero Putin doesn't like a free press - to say the least. As such, Don doesn't either. Will your columns preen Don like this for the next four years, or until the Pence/Ryan cabal forces an impeachment or resignation, or whichever comes first? You write freely about Obama and his unicorns and schmoozing. I doubt the "esteemed" Don would stand for it. Imagine that 3am tweet.
In fact, over at MSNBC, I predict Joy will be out first. She is much too likely to challenge lies and innuendo from Scottie Nell "mazel tov cocktail" Hughes, Steve the right-wing DJ, and other bastions of all things intellectual and informed. Next will be Rachel, another crown jewel, followed by Hayes, O'Donnell, and various featured left-wing guests like David Corn, Ron Reagan, and Jonathan Capehart. They'll keep Matthews, though; he cozies up to Kelly Anne like a kitten on a velvet pillow in front of a roaring fireplace on any given winter's eve.
But back to how it's up to Obama to rise above the birther who is planning to eviscerate eight years of solid progress...
But here is my prediction, and one I wish you, as an editorialist, would address: Don's hero Putin doesn't like a free press - to say the least. As such, Don doesn't either. Will your columns preen Don like this for the next four years, or until the Pence/Ryan cabal forces an impeachment or resignation, or whichever comes first? You write freely about Obama and his unicorns and schmoozing. I doubt the "esteemed" Don would stand for it. Imagine that 3am tweet.
In fact, over at MSNBC, I predict Joy will be out first. She is much too likely to challenge lies and innuendo from Scottie Nell "mazel tov cocktail" Hughes, Steve the right-wing DJ, and other bastions of all things intellectual and informed. Next will be Rachel, another crown jewel, followed by Hayes, O'Donnell, and various featured left-wing guests like David Corn, Ron Reagan, and Jonathan Capehart. They'll keep Matthews, though; he cozies up to Kelly Anne like a kitten on a velvet pillow in front of a roaring fireplace on any given winter's eve.
But back to how it's up to Obama to rise above the birther who is planning to eviscerate eight years of solid progress...
17
I told people from the beginning even is Obama walked up Pennsylvania Avenue with Michelle that I feared he was a sell-out. He was a plant from the beginning. I don't think he ever planned to use is great rhetoric to become what I had hoped you would be a new age FDR.
7
You can blame Obama but the one at fault is Trump. He lied about everything, I never saw so much hate in a campaign, he did every deceitful thing he could to be the nominee. Don't ever forget that.
24
We will never be a great country as long as religious fundamentalists have undue influence. Notice how the "value" voters overwhelmingly supported one of the most immoral candidates in our history.
23
This is so predictable and tedious.
11
The unspeakable arrogance of Clinton - the criminality of her foundation, his fees, and their indifference to good taste - was matched.
Donald Trump offered the tasteless - and made it stick. His lack of manners appealed. Anger and frustration have a way.
Mussolini was the label applied earlier. Sexual predator came later. That one was matched in Bill Clinton. Ask me: I told him, and he swallowed hard.
Will our nation find a way to a president that is brilliant, tasteful, effective, able to persuade us to better, unwilling to enable our worst, while challenging our best?
Shame on us.
John Adams is crying. Our best, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, are unable to look at us today without agony. An asthmatic rage has consumed TR, and he is thundering.
Rosebud... Citizen Kane, 1941.
Orson Welles, I guess you saw this coming.
What do we do, now?
Donald Trump offered the tasteless - and made it stick. His lack of manners appealed. Anger and frustration have a way.
Mussolini was the label applied earlier. Sexual predator came later. That one was matched in Bill Clinton. Ask me: I told him, and he swallowed hard.
Will our nation find a way to a president that is brilliant, tasteful, effective, able to persuade us to better, unwilling to enable our worst, while challenging our best?
Shame on us.
John Adams is crying. Our best, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, are unable to look at us today without agony. An asthmatic rage has consumed TR, and he is thundering.
Rosebud... Citizen Kane, 1941.
Orson Welles, I guess you saw this coming.
What do we do, now?
7
Still the mean girl even with Hillary off the stage. Actually I was going to say "nasty girl" but that is reserved for strong women who stand up to bullies, not for Queen Bees who actually dislike other women (they steal their spotlight) and apparently African-Americans, too.
It really doesn't become you. You're no Molly Ivins although you may think so.
It really doesn't become you. You're no Molly Ivins although you may think so.
6
Spot on, Maureen! And I'm no Trump supporter.
5
If ‘We can’t go morally numb’, and ‘We need to replace Trump with a program that addresses the problems that fueled his assent.’ [David Brooks 11 Nov. 2016], then we can’t go PRACTICALLY numb, either! It was in 1971 that Donald Schӧn described the electorate’s same view of the Federal Government as incompetent, and laid out an explicit account of the source of its dysfunction in ‘Beyond the Stable State’. Clinton and the Clinton Team seem unaware of this chronic, intractable situation, and the overwhelming cry for change it has fostered.
Hillary Clinton herself is perhaps THE poster child for Chris Argyris’ widely circulated ‘Teaching Smart People How to Learn’, which appeared in the Harvard Business Review in 1991.
No wonder that her advisors and supporters were unwilling or unable to follow Drew Westen’s unalterable prognostication to the Democratic Party movers and shakers, “Successful candidates are those who set the emotional agenda of the electorate.” [Page 437]
If a third party does emerge, its first order of business must be to select Walt Kelly’s POGO as its symbolic ‘mascot’ in deference to the famous malapropic quote on having met the enemy, 'who is us' .
Hillary Clinton herself is perhaps THE poster child for Chris Argyris’ widely circulated ‘Teaching Smart People How to Learn’, which appeared in the Harvard Business Review in 1991.
No wonder that her advisors and supporters were unwilling or unable to follow Drew Westen’s unalterable prognostication to the Democratic Party movers and shakers, “Successful candidates are those who set the emotional agenda of the electorate.” [Page 437]
If a third party does emerge, its first order of business must be to select Walt Kelly’s POGO as its symbolic ‘mascot’ in deference to the famous malapropic quote on having met the enemy, 'who is us' .
1
Some may find the fast-moving consequences of Nov 8 perplexing. Recall that when John Boehner and Eric Cantor sought to explore common ground with Obama early in 2009, their overtures were brushed aside with "Elections have consequences - I won!" Trump seems more responsive to citizen's needs and will select a few features from Obama's program for retention going forward. As to the bulk of Obamawerks - gone with the wind. Obama wasn't inclined to negotiate grueling compromises with Congress, nor issue regulations under regular order, opting instead for executive orders, selective law enforcement, and departmental guidance letters. All of those executive actions, comprising the bulk of his legacy, required electing a reliable successor, whom he had five years to select and groom. He failed in that crucial task. And his national economic policy left a large segment of the voting population with diminished prospects, lost hope, and a desire for radical change. During Obama's tenure the House, Senate, and now the Presidency were lost to the opposing party. Same at the state level. His legacy could include a legislative rollback of 25 years of progressive policy accomplishments. If Trump is the incompetent fool he's characterized to be on these pages, not to worry - he'll blow it. If Trump's minimally competent, Obama has risked the whole progressive program on one roll of the dice, got snake eyes, and lost it all. Hubris and arrogance are the words that apply. And the MSM?
2
It's Comey's fault. It's Oprah's fault. It's Jill Stein's fault. It's Putin's fault. It's the non-voters' fault. Wait. It's not Comey's fault. He's a great man. Oops. It is Comey's fault after all.
Obviously, it is the fault of Hillary Clinton aiding in this wreck by her lurking husband, Bill. It is also the fault of a corrupt democratic party. It is the fault of people like Donna Brazile and Wolf Blitzer - feeding questions to Hillary.
People are revolted when they learn of these matters.
And then - there is the increasing awareness of the press. The New York Times not only chose not to print information revealed in the emails of Podesta, it chose not to even acknowledge that the information had been published at all.
This is the New York Times that allowed Cheney to plant bogus information on its pages to encourage support for going to war in Iraq. The New York Times that once published the Petagon Papers had been willingly destroyed. And its readers knew it. It fed into the perception of a corrupt Clinton campaign.
Obviously, it is the fault of Hillary Clinton aiding in this wreck by her lurking husband, Bill. It is also the fault of a corrupt democratic party. It is the fault of people like Donna Brazile and Wolf Blitzer - feeding questions to Hillary.
People are revolted when they learn of these matters.
And then - there is the increasing awareness of the press. The New York Times not only chose not to print information revealed in the emails of Podesta, it chose not to even acknowledge that the information had been published at all.
This is the New York Times that allowed Cheney to plant bogus information on its pages to encourage support for going to war in Iraq. The New York Times that once published the Petagon Papers had been willingly destroyed. And its readers knew it. It fed into the perception of a corrupt Clinton campaign.
8
Go Ahead, pile some more on Hillary and kick Obama in the shins in the process.
Nice, standard work for a pulpit occupier.
On your lofty perch you should understand and explain what it takes to be under siege ALL the time.
With your long tenure you should have relentlessly emphasized the danger of a Russia sympathizer in Chief, as relentless as Trump supporters are in their repetitions of long debunked myths about Obama.
You prolong the disservice to our country of the failure of the press.
You continue to break down the good, Obama being gracious, and laud the looming threat, Trump yet again exhibiting his staggering ignorance. "Obama is a good man". He just never bothered to look until now.
Besides the press's failure of content, there is its failure of writing in such a way that it reaches the heartland, less punditry and sarcasm, shorter sentences, no one-upmanship in nastiness and speculation, your whole arrogant elitism bit that you accuse others of.
Hang up the pencils and go home. It is later than you think.
Nice, standard work for a pulpit occupier.
On your lofty perch you should understand and explain what it takes to be under siege ALL the time.
With your long tenure you should have relentlessly emphasized the danger of a Russia sympathizer in Chief, as relentless as Trump supporters are in their repetitions of long debunked myths about Obama.
You prolong the disservice to our country of the failure of the press.
You continue to break down the good, Obama being gracious, and laud the looming threat, Trump yet again exhibiting his staggering ignorance. "Obama is a good man". He just never bothered to look until now.
Besides the press's failure of content, there is its failure of writing in such a way that it reaches the heartland, less punditry and sarcasm, shorter sentences, no one-upmanship in nastiness and speculation, your whole arrogant elitism bit that you accuse others of.
Hang up the pencils and go home. It is later than you think.
8
I enjoy reading these comments as much as I enjoy reading Ms. Dowd's columns as they are as familiar & predictable as my mother's home cooking & my father's solicitous advice on my future once were. I always thought that the problem with the recent campaigners was that they were both retreads of my now nearly superannuated generation. It seems that we have since the last 20 years been fighting the same set of issues we've been failing to resolve since the days of LBJ & Nixon. Much passionate intensity with no resolution of conflict. I do have a modest proposal to the NYT re future op ed columnists/commentators. How about a moratorium or muzzle on those of us born before 1960? Haven't we already shown younger generations that we are not up to the standards our parents set? I only wish we had set an age limit on our recent presidential contenders. Maybe we can swap a constitutional amendment re maximal age for the electoral college. How much worse could that be? Pax vobiscum.
1
Even in the highly sensitized state that we're in, we shouldn't be so quick to bash Maureen for bashing Hillary.
Hillary didn't need to set up an email server in her basement and give her opponents an ongoing weapon to exploit and exaggerate. Why she couldn't she simply walk around with two mobile device like millions of office workers used to do as dictated by corporate IT dept's? More to the point, why didn't she have her staff go to the State Department IT security team and ask them to direct on her the best, most secure and most importantly, approved method of handling email? She knew she would be under intense scrutiny - she always had been. Why take the risk?
And why, in the 2 years leading up to her presidential run did she think it would be a good idea to take millions of dollars from the very financial institutions that not only would she have to regulate, but the ones she would have to tell her Progressive supporters we need to reign in? Why didn't she go on speaking tours to High School auditoriums and union halls? Did she think that when she started running no one would have noticed where she was generating her income and from whom?
And although the Clinton Foundation has done wonderful work, did they have to take money from countries with such shoddy human rights records? I thought women's rights were human rights and vice versa.
We lost this election for a number of reasons and yes, Hillary Clinton was one of them.
Hillary didn't need to set up an email server in her basement and give her opponents an ongoing weapon to exploit and exaggerate. Why she couldn't she simply walk around with two mobile device like millions of office workers used to do as dictated by corporate IT dept's? More to the point, why didn't she have her staff go to the State Department IT security team and ask them to direct on her the best, most secure and most importantly, approved method of handling email? She knew she would be under intense scrutiny - she always had been. Why take the risk?
And why, in the 2 years leading up to her presidential run did she think it would be a good idea to take millions of dollars from the very financial institutions that not only would she have to regulate, but the ones she would have to tell her Progressive supporters we need to reign in? Why didn't she go on speaking tours to High School auditoriums and union halls? Did she think that when she started running no one would have noticed where she was generating her income and from whom?
And although the Clinton Foundation has done wonderful work, did they have to take money from countries with such shoddy human rights records? I thought women's rights were human rights and vice versa.
We lost this election for a number of reasons and yes, Hillary Clinton was one of them.
11
So you're good with the new guy, then? You think he and Mr. P will make America a better place? And foundries and knitting mills and hat factories will reopen? And people will start shopping at the department store on Main Street instead of the mall? And women will be happy to be barefoot and pregnant again (and again)? And now you won't have to invite your aunt's 'friend' to Thanksgiving dinner and have to explain to the kids the 'funny' nature of their relationship? And now you'll feel free to use [insert your favorite racial/sexual epithet] around the table? And when the Affordable Care Act is ditched, sick people won't stick around so long messing up the economy? You're good with all that?
Good, I'm glad you're fine. Because you own some of this. Don't misconstrue my comment. You're probably taking this as a compliment. I don't mean it that way. Happy Thanksgiving. It looks like you have a lot to be thankful for.
Good, I'm glad you're fine. Because you own some of this. Don't misconstrue my comment. You're probably taking this as a compliment. I don't mean it that way. Happy Thanksgiving. It looks like you have a lot to be thankful for.
23
It's strange that the well oiled Clinton machine actually was just a rusting jalopy.
4
Let's face it my fellow elites, Hilary appealed to us and not the rest of the electorate. What I can't understand is how all of us, and especially Clinton's campaign team, didn't seem to notice or care that Trump's rallies were attended by a HUGE amount of people, and not all of them are deplorable-just folks that are very tired of the way our country is run and how their voices were not being heard. Trump is a clever man and he's not going to want go down in history as the President who ruined our country. It's easy to hope yet difficult to change. Lets wish him well. We had the choice and we lost fair and square.
6
Exactly. And Comey did not prevent Hillary from campaigning in Wisconsin during the general election. Nor did the FBI cause Hillary to have many days with no public campaign events and many others with just 1 or 2 during the general.
Her level of interest reminded me of a question posed in a Times editorial in January 1992 about G.H.W. Bush's lethargic re-election bid: Are you really interested in doing this?
Her level of interest reminded me of a question posed in a Times editorial in January 1992 about G.H.W. Bush's lethargic re-election bid: Are you really interested in doing this?
2
Who is Maureen going to write about now that Hillary is going to fade away?
11
Will there ever, ever, ever be a time when Maureen Dowd will stop beating up on Hillary Clinton? I just don't get the meanness if this horrible person.
20
Obama was a Republican in everything but name. It's funny, and I do mean entertaining to read all of self-righteous fury penned (keyed) in reply to Ms. Dowd's insightful, honest and often humorous articles on the perils of Pauline Clinton. If Ms. Clinton had paid heed, she might have been merrily hobnobbing with her "Ivy League East Coast cerebral elitist" buddies right now in her past and future home. Alas, it is not to be....and by the way, Ms. Clinton is hardly an intellectual; that's a no-brainer.
5
I confess that I have never been a big fan of Maureen Dowd's columns...but I am becoming one. Dowd has lately been spot on in pointing out that Barack Obama (whom I supported in 2008 and 2012) gave "Hope and Change" the old heave-ho in his first Inaugural Address, surrounded himself with a gang of Ivy Leaguers, ignored workers' concerns, and fiddled while the Democratic Party burned. This year, Obama tried to foist Hillary Clinton and the Clintons' centrism on Democratic voters. The result: Donald J. Trump, virtually the anti-Obama, is poised to undo Obama's eight years of hard work. Trump will not merely undermine Obama's legacy--he is a big part of that legacy. I still support President Obama, but the past week's startling events will seriously diminish his place in history.
11
The silver lining in this debacle is that the Clinton machine has been dismantled after a twenty five year grip of just this side of legal or just this side of illegal behavior that has gripped this country. It is over for two of the most self-destructive people in political history -lying under oath which brought about articles of impeachment for Bill and a computer server lodged in the basement of their Chappaqua home without running it past anyone to ensure Republican right -wing conspiracists would have fodder for claiming Hillary jeopardized national security. There will be a fresh, new wind blowing through the Democratic Party once the Clinton machine and the hangers on are history. A true moment of freedom and liberation. Good riddance to the Clinton machine and their deplorable behavior.
18
Would love to hear your opinion about who Trump is surrounding himself with now that he is president elect.
57
Interesting column. I agree with your comments on the Democrats annointing Hillary being a big problem given what happened to Jeb Bush. However, I mainly blame her for the missteps in her campaign. Bernie got 47% of the vote in the primaries. What if Hillary pulled a JFK and asked Bernie to be her VP? Instead, she went with Tim Kaine who added very little. She did get hurt by Comey but her deplorables statement along with hobnobbing with the stars instead of getting the Rust Belt to vote with her were major flaws. What I don't agree with are the points you raise about Obama. He was careful in not appearing biased in the Democratic primaries until it was obvious Hillary had it. Both Michelle and the President campaigned vigorously for her since she was the only Democrat in town. Of course, he's going to lobby with Trump. What would you expect? Given all of that, Hillary was ultimately defeated mainly by older white males who feel that women and blacks have gotten ahead of them mainly because of PC. The reality is that they fell behind because they did not understand the impact of technology and globalization in today's world The other issue that was a major motivator is the fear stoked in the uneducated white male that she would take away their guns. In the last few days I saw many ads proclaiming this fear. It worked......and now we all suffer except Maureen's brother who will get a plum job.
83
Mo, you forgot about a GOP congress that blocked "the revolution" at every opportunity
7
The election is over Maureen. Time to drop the Clinton/Obama bone out of your mouth and bark at something more useful, like the mailman.
5
Dowd gets closer to most liberals to understanding why Hillary lost. Yes, part of it was a resistance by "the deplorables" to "Ivy League East Coast cerebral elitists".
But Dowd appears to incorrectly conflate magnitude with direction. Yes, voters rejected the idea of "incremental changes". But this misses the point. Blue collar voters were willing to give Trump a try because he at least had ideas of how they could recoup some of their lost jobs and, more importantly, lost dignity. In this respect, Obama who patronized those who "cling to guns and religion" was part of the problem. These voters wanted to go in a different direction.
Similarly, college educated whites who were willing to give to the person who spoke "not of red States or blue States but the United States" a chance to unite the country. But instead, they saw someone who pushed through even more redistribution and chided the successful saying "they didn't build that". Even worse, when voters tried to tell Obama to slow down this leftward push in the midterms, he chose not to hear saying that he "could listen to those who didn't vote". Consequently, he arrogantly discarded our system of Checks and Balances and instead issued royal edicts in immigration, the environment and other areas. Even the Supreme Court barely slowed him down.
So now the only force powerful enough to reverse tracks spoke up - the American voter. Trump may not have all the answers - but he's certainly a new direction.
But Dowd appears to incorrectly conflate magnitude with direction. Yes, voters rejected the idea of "incremental changes". But this misses the point. Blue collar voters were willing to give Trump a try because he at least had ideas of how they could recoup some of their lost jobs and, more importantly, lost dignity. In this respect, Obama who patronized those who "cling to guns and religion" was part of the problem. These voters wanted to go in a different direction.
Similarly, college educated whites who were willing to give to the person who spoke "not of red States or blue States but the United States" a chance to unite the country. But instead, they saw someone who pushed through even more redistribution and chided the successful saying "they didn't build that". Even worse, when voters tried to tell Obama to slow down this leftward push in the midterms, he chose not to hear saying that he "could listen to those who didn't vote". Consequently, he arrogantly discarded our system of Checks and Balances and instead issued royal edicts in immigration, the environment and other areas. Even the Supreme Court barely slowed him down.
So now the only force powerful enough to reverse tracks spoke up - the American voter. Trump may not have all the answers - but he's certainly a new direction.
2
Obama is why I left the democrats. His HUD, OCC and Treasury personally affected me by fraudulent foreclosure. So I deliberately left the presidential line blank, in a swing state, as a message. The press, Clinton and Obama prove it was an even better decision by ignoring there are democrats and former democrats angry enough to be part of the claimed 49% non vote. It's more comforting to say people didn't vote because they were lazy than to admit the voted in the way I did out of protest. Obama called people whose lives were ruined by the banks "deadbeats." So I showed my appreciation. Yeah, right.
1
Trump, the artist of the deal, is unlikely to have promised some acceptance of Obamacare without exacting a price. Could it have been a promise from Obama not to pardon Hillary?
I used to enjoy reading your columns. You have become snarky, fault finder, and Hillary hater. What happened to you?
7
Hillary was in a football game where her slightest missteps sank her. But this was a football game where the men only allowed her two downs while they took five. So naturally she seemed to be punting all the time. And on the winning goal kick, the Ref turned possession of the ball over to the men and added time on the clock.
5
One of the reasons we have Trump ascending to the presidency is Maureen Dowd who for decades has viciously attacked the Clintons. Every column of Ms. Dowd's that I still read, more and more infrequently, I come away wondering if the Clintons slighted her in some way that inflicted such a narcissistic wound that she never recovered.
Ms. Dowd never writes really humorous columns, and she never writes really serious columns. She always writes snarky, nasty pieces that leave me persuaded of only one real fact. Ms. Dowd's contribution to political discourse is a net negative.
Ms. Dowd never writes really humorous columns, and she never writes really serious columns. She always writes snarky, nasty pieces that leave me persuaded of only one real fact. Ms. Dowd's contribution to political discourse is a net negative.
8
I take some of Ms. Dowd's points but the notion of Obama's failure to make headway with a hostile Congress because he "scorned the art of political persuasion" sounds fanciful to me. Congressional Republicans hated Obama from Square One. How do I know? Congressional leaders stated it baldly, and behaved accordingly throughout most of his Administration.
I voted for Clinton without regret of apology but I understand that she was the wrong messenger at the wrong time for our country today. For this, the Democratic Party must be held accountable. Hell-bent for a Clintonian coronation, the Party ignored the tea leaves that ought to have pushed it in a different direction, and not necessarily toward Bernie.
As David Brooks suggested several days ago, there exists a profound vacuum in America for sane centrism. The task of establishing a third-channel political movement to express it seems superhuman, requiring a figure of Lincolnesque character.
Maybe such a figure exists somewhere. After all, Lincoln happened and his influence remains strong despite the relentless efforts of his some of his successors to tear down what he built.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
I voted for Clinton without regret of apology but I understand that she was the wrong messenger at the wrong time for our country today. For this, the Democratic Party must be held accountable. Hell-bent for a Clintonian coronation, the Party ignored the tea leaves that ought to have pushed it in a different direction, and not necessarily toward Bernie.
As David Brooks suggested several days ago, there exists a profound vacuum in America for sane centrism. The task of establishing a third-channel political movement to express it seems superhuman, requiring a figure of Lincolnesque character.
Maybe such a figure exists somewhere. After all, Lincoln happened and his influence remains strong despite the relentless efforts of his some of his successors to tear down what he built.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
3
"You know how desperate President Obama is — he tried to persuade Donald Trump."
Spot on Maureen. First time in his presidency he felt the need to persuade anyone, since Barry knows he cannot dictate and ridicule Trump into submission like everyone else.
Spot on Maureen. First time in his presidency he felt the need to persuade anyone, since Barry knows he cannot dictate and ridicule Trump into submission like everyone else.
4
Maureen, what President Obama is doing is called influencing, it's a great skill to have. Hey, if you can make someone think the way you do, that will be awesome, especially if this is for the good of many Americans out there who need health insurance, why not ?
3
Maureen is now tedious and boring. She's written this article 1,000,000,times before and offered no new insights. She's part of the endless "do-loop" media that is no longer a functioning part of democracy. The First Amendment is wasted here.
8
Hillary and Barack made plenty of mistakes, and her staying around long past her shelf life was one of them Siccing Debbie Wasserman Schultz on Bernie Sanders during the Democratic Primary might have cost her the election. She is tone deaf when empathy would be most useful: e.g. in making DWS her honorary co-chair when she had just been caught lying about the "violent" Sanders delegates, and calling good American voters in the flyover "the intolerables." She was hard to listen to. She has no vision, no new ideas. Incrementalism is boring and doen't appeal to people who are desperate.
Obama forgot who brought him to the dance as soon as he was sworn in. He had a huge email list of supporters who would do any thing for us. He cut us off and hired Tim Geithner. That was just the beginning of him undergoing a complete sea change - completely betraying those of us who got on board in Springfield when he seemed like a wild idea.
I think all the Hillary sob sisters and brothers are just being weirdly politically correct and welcome Maureen's viewpoint in this article. I think Barack Obama sowed the seeds of his own destruction. Axelrod doesn't know what hit them (as on Bill Maher's show last night), and Barack and Michelle believed that they were the chosen family who had no responsibility to ordinary American. They put the rich first - etending W.'s tax breaks for the super wealthy.
Now we are at the mercy of the Republicans.
Obama forgot who brought him to the dance as soon as he was sworn in. He had a huge email list of supporters who would do any thing for us. He cut us off and hired Tim Geithner. That was just the beginning of him undergoing a complete sea change - completely betraying those of us who got on board in Springfield when he seemed like a wild idea.
I think all the Hillary sob sisters and brothers are just being weirdly politically correct and welcome Maureen's viewpoint in this article. I think Barack Obama sowed the seeds of his own destruction. Axelrod doesn't know what hit them (as on Bill Maher's show last night), and Barack and Michelle believed that they were the chosen family who had no responsibility to ordinary American. They put the rich first - etending W.'s tax breaks for the super wealthy.
Now we are at the mercy of the Republicans.
6
@Matthew Carnicelli: Hillary Clinton lost the election because folks got wise to her, African Americans lost interest in her candidacy, and Latinos,more pragmatic than they r given credit for being, share DT's aspirations for an economic revival."Rebooting the economy" is a euphemism for stagnation.Here in south Florida where I live temporarily in a smistamento with my 4 kids on a river bank,I see a high degree of unemployment, the jobs that people take out of desperation, the Publix supermarket employees whose hours r restricted and who r reshuffled at will by an ownership that is in the catbird seat. HRC lost because the past is a predator, and the accumulation of "maguilles(deceits)" became too much to digest and tolerate, even for her staff.HRC's lack of empathy for the common folk is truly amazing for someone running for the highest office in the land. Don't blame Comey. If HRC had played it straight, obeyed the rules,she never would have had the FBI chasing after her. To paraphrase FSF,you cannot lie to others and call it honor.
3
Well Mo, whatever Hillary said about Trump supporters, Dear Don himself said he "loved the poorly educated" people who were cheering him. No, her campaign was not perfect, but Trump is not the champion of low-income people his voters think he is.
7
Precisely right, Maureen. Try this: the democratic party has lost its soul, the promise not to leave people behind, to work with the working man and woman to improve their lot. Instead, we got Wall Steet Chuck Schumer, "entitled" Hillary Clinton and her staff of the real deplorables. You could see it all over John Podesta's face: we're better than you, we've earned our title of Elitists.
And now everyone knows too late that Bernie wins it. Handily. Because he doesn't call them deplorable, he calls them to ask what he can do. He tells them he's really going to do something about their bad jobs and bad pay.
Comey didn't lose this thing, Hillary. You did. And I'd stay out of sight for a while because good people who get the real facts like Dowd's column, are going to start really, really not appreciate what you did. And they'll blame you, too.
And now everyone knows too late that Bernie wins it. Handily. Because he doesn't call them deplorable, he calls them to ask what he can do. He tells them he's really going to do something about their bad jobs and bad pay.
Comey didn't lose this thing, Hillary. You did. And I'd stay out of sight for a while because good people who get the real facts like Dowd's column, are going to start really, really not appreciate what you did. And they'll blame you, too.
6
Yeah, well, what I want to know is why these suddenly much-sympathized-with working class voters who, yes, include some racists, are saying the government needs to give them jobs.
Aren't they supposed to be the self-sufficient types?
The GOP blocked every attempt to help the working class, lied to them about giving them high-paying jobs that don't require them to learn the new skills required by the digital age, and in four years will come up with some other fib for the gullible voters to explain why the jobs didn't appear.
Quit griping about the elites and that black man in the white house and help yourselves instead of demanding some sort of handout.
This is why we can't have nice things, children. Angry people who want to pull down the temple and destroy the environment because people won't give them stuff.
Aren't they supposed to be the self-sufficient types?
The GOP blocked every attempt to help the working class, lied to them about giving them high-paying jobs that don't require them to learn the new skills required by the digital age, and in four years will come up with some other fib for the gullible voters to explain why the jobs didn't appear.
Quit griping about the elites and that black man in the white house and help yourselves instead of demanding some sort of handout.
This is why we can't have nice things, children. Angry people who want to pull down the temple and destroy the environment because people won't give them stuff.
7
So glad I won't have to read any more of your nasty columns about President Obama. Being clever and writing well isn't all that important really. You act like a columnist spurned getting her revenge. I felt privileged to have a President like Obama, more privileged than to read than to read these columns. You have it all figured out, Maureen Dowd. You should run. But cynicism doesn't make for much of a platform. Thank goodness, no more of these.
6
I don't get it. Why the NYT allow such a prejudiced person a place in the otherwise highly regarded journalistic paper ? If idea is to present an opportunity to present an opposing view then perhaps once a month by people from different arenas would be fine. Let Ms Dowd express her vitriol at Fox news and perhaps at CNN where she would be in good like minded circles.
5
I was looking forward to reading Maureen Dowd's post-election op-ed for a nuanced view of what happened. Sadly, I'm as disappointed as I was in the outcome of the election.
4
Trying to explain or disentangle the election in one column and a few hostile posts is an act of futility but fun I suppose for the writers to see their names in "print." I especially love the ones predicting the end is near. How egotistical.
Dowd is like a long-lasting prostate cancer; it just hangs around and slowly kills you - it can take years. Hillary Clinton has had more than her share of enemies, but with Maureen Dowd around, looking in every nook and cranny for fault, Clinton had serious enemy writing from the pulpit of the most important newspaper in America, the NYT.
I don't know what it is about Maureen Dowd, relative Clinton. I heard a Dowd interview o the NPR show Fresh Air, wit Terry Gross". Gross asked Dowd about why Dowd has been so negative re: Clinton, over years. Down finessed that question like a "Donald Trump"; she was basically self-congratulatory in her response to Terry Gross, and she pulled it off in a way that shined the best light on *Dowd*.
Well, Ms. Dowd, you won't have Hillary Clinton to kick around any more, but I can honestly say that your judgmental tone re: Ms. Clinton over the years is has been but part of a patchwork quilt of yours and others envy, back-biting, out-of-context judgement and many other sins of the soul that helped to create the meme that Clinton was "untrustworthy", or "is a liar" or "is untrustworthy".
You have not helped this nation Ms. Dowd; you contributed to the outrageous distortions and exaggerations that created the "Hillary meme" that every Tom, Dick, and Jane has been mouthing for years. It's a sad, sad, sad part of your legacy - especially now that you have helped elect Donald Trump. Congratulations!
I don't know what it is about Maureen Dowd, relative Clinton. I heard a Dowd interview o the NPR show Fresh Air, wit Terry Gross". Gross asked Dowd about why Dowd has been so negative re: Clinton, over years. Down finessed that question like a "Donald Trump"; she was basically self-congratulatory in her response to Terry Gross, and she pulled it off in a way that shined the best light on *Dowd*.
Well, Ms. Dowd, you won't have Hillary Clinton to kick around any more, but I can honestly say that your judgmental tone re: Ms. Clinton over the years is has been but part of a patchwork quilt of yours and others envy, back-biting, out-of-context judgement and many other sins of the soul that helped to create the meme that Clinton was "untrustworthy", or "is a liar" or "is untrustworthy".
You have not helped this nation Ms. Dowd; you contributed to the outrageous distortions and exaggerations that created the "Hillary meme" that every Tom, Dick, and Jane has been mouthing for years. It's a sad, sad, sad part of your legacy - especially now that you have helped elect Donald Trump. Congratulations!
11
"How can it be that in the end, Barack Obama did not understand the Obama revolution?"
Good God, so now MD will replace her fervid, catty attacks on Hillary with attacks on Obama?
Good God, so now MD will replace her fervid, catty attacks on Hillary with attacks on Obama?
5
Dowd hit the nail square on the head. Unfortunately, the DNC leadership and Team Hillary still blames Comey instead of looking in the mirror and accepting the blame for this loss.
3
People are mistaking that Trump won because he had some kind of a telepathic connection with distraught voters. He actually underperformed McCain and Romney. But what got him elected was that Hillary Clinton heavily underperformed. She was a very flawed candidate, who scared would be primary opponents with her war chest of hundreds of millions and support of superdelegates even before the primaries began. Then the Democratic leadership rigged the primary when Sanders came out strong. Many Democrats, especially the young, were repulsed and sat this election out.
The Democratic Party needs to clean up its own internal mess. Get rid of superdelegates (even the GOP does not have them) to start with.
The Democratic Party needs to clean up its own internal mess. Get rid of superdelegates (even the GOP does not have them) to start with.
1
Trump listens to the last person who flatters him. Obama couldn't persuade Congress. But, maybe he'll have more success with his successor. Doubt it.
Maureen, I totally agree with you. Obama was part of the problem, ditching Bernie and Biden.
4
This is the last Dowd column I will ever read.
You are not clever and are as clueless as the Trump supporters who think that Obama sent their jobs to Mexico, the ACA ruined their lives and their jobs in the steel mill are coming back.
And yet here we have yet another disingenuous rant about HRC.
Funny that you mention Wall Street, did you forget they were rejoicing when Trump won? Jamie Diamond is getting a cushy seat at the Trump table and the forgotten Wisconsin voter is about to be forgotten again. There was no way she could have collected votes in Wisconsin or in my home state of Ohio since the media thought that emails were more important than fraud and sexual assault.
I hope you get a cushy job in the Trump administration, you've earned it.
You are not clever and are as clueless as the Trump supporters who think that Obama sent their jobs to Mexico, the ACA ruined their lives and their jobs in the steel mill are coming back.
And yet here we have yet another disingenuous rant about HRC.
Funny that you mention Wall Street, did you forget they were rejoicing when Trump won? Jamie Diamond is getting a cushy seat at the Trump table and the forgotten Wisconsin voter is about to be forgotten again. There was no way she could have collected votes in Wisconsin or in my home state of Ohio since the media thought that emails were more important than fraud and sexual assault.
I hope you get a cushy job in the Trump administration, you've earned it.
11
Good riddance to the Clintons, they have been a plague on the Democratic Party for 20 years.
Obama must take some responsibility for the current situation.
Hillary is "likeable enough", Not!
The Clintons always catered to special interest first.
Obama understood this, yet rejuvenated the Clinton brand by taking Hillary into his administration. This mistake and Obama's failure to put Wall Street in jail after 2008 take us to President Trump today.
Obama must take some responsibility for the current situation.
Hillary is "likeable enough", Not!
The Clintons always catered to special interest first.
Obama understood this, yet rejuvenated the Clinton brand by taking Hillary into his administration. This mistake and Obama's failure to put Wall Street in jail after 2008 take us to President Trump today.
5
I'm guessing that Ms. Dowd is not thrilled with having Trump as president. So she takes it out on President Obama instead.
2
The Democratic Party, recently hustled into the Intensive Care Unit after having suffered a severe and prolonged stroke of neoliberalism, is now in an electorally induced coma. It is hoped that, while in this near vegetative state, the Party will start growing vital progressive organs--organs that will take over for those that had atrophied due to the aforementioned stroke of neoliberalism.
The patients condition is guarded and currently yet to be stabilized. Full recovery is possible. Caregivers are cautiously optimistic.
The patients condition is guarded and currently yet to be stabilized. Full recovery is possible. Caregivers are cautiously optimistic.
3
The the election is over Maureen. Time to drop the Clinton/Obama bone out of your mouth and bark at something more useful, like the mailman.
4
Democrats should pay attention to this shrewd analysis. But they won't. It's so much easier to blame Bernie/Comey/misogyny/bigotry ... anybody and anything other than their wilful blindness to Hillary Clinton's grievous flaws.
3
I have a relative who is dying from ineffectively regulated workplace asbestos exposure. On the way to the hospital in pain from fluid build up and having trouble breathing he insisted on stopping to cast an absentee ballot just in case he didn't return. His vote: Trump. Although his hatred of Clinton seems as unbounded as it is irrational, he didn't vote as the lessor of evils. He is an enthusiastic Trump supporter, despite the fact that Trump promises to further reduce workplace regulation, and despite his love for his wife, daughter and granddaughter, and despite the fact that government health insurance stands between him and bankruptcy. He has multiple college degrees. I can't figure his vote out, but it wasn't him that elected Trump. (His state went Clinton.) It was all those discouraged voters who stayed home. Perhaps many of them believed the polls and felt no need to waste their time voting.
84
As a "Feel the Bern" Sanders supporter, I was anxious when a Wall Street, establishment candidate won the Democratic nomination. with a little "rigged" help from Clinton insiders running the Democratic National Committee. I was stunned even more when her first action was to ignore the progressive wing and choose a centrist as her running mate. The Clinton campaign thus was left with no central message and absolutely no charisma to attract the Obama coalition to the polls. Democrats always lose low turnout elections, and despite the weakest possible opponent, Hillary Clinton, like All Gore before her, lost an election that was hers to loose.
5
Maureen you are part of Donald Trumps Manhattan inner circle and are incapable of objectivity when it comes to this election. Your man Donald Trump is a fascist that threatens our democracy and this is all you have to offer. Shame on you.
16
As usual, Maureen gets right to the heart of the matter. That's why Hillary voters like me were not passionate for her. We voted for her out of fear of what Trump would bring. Based upon the words and actions of his campaign he created an image of impending Fascism.
4
Maureen, you never let me down, your Hillary perceptions are spot on.
Your newspaper is claiming that it was fair in it's election coverage, yea right ask Bernie what he thinks.
Hillary the ultimate flawed candidate should have stood down and let Bernie take the mantle.
And to the ladies i say, have patience, and wait for a women that will make you proud.
Your newspaper is claiming that it was fair in it's election coverage, yea right ask Bernie what he thinks.
Hillary the ultimate flawed candidate should have stood down and let Bernie take the mantle.
And to the ladies i say, have patience, and wait for a women that will make you proud.
7
Dowd belongs in the basket of deplorables. It's self aggrandizing pundits like her that presented a grossly distorted picture of hillarys flaws and so called scandals, that was a factor that resulted in a fascist coming to power. And will allow the Republicans to take away the hard earned benefits of our citizens. Paul Ryan is already talking about changing medicare. Why not write about that instead of another petty dig at hillary and Obama? Are you proud of yourself Maureen?
14
RE: He came away from that elated whoosh in 2008 not comprehending that many voters viewed him as the escape hatch from Clinton Inc.
You're right about that! I even sent him contributions as the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
You're right about that! I even sent him contributions as the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
3
I am still in shock that Donald Trump's been elected president. He won the Electoral College and Hillary Clinton is winning the popular vote. It's also unusual for one party to occupy the White House for more than two consecutive terms. And despite the fact that so many people wanted change - Hillary Clinton ran, with the help of the president, on continuing Obama's legacy.
I am still convinced that Donald Trump is not interested in governing - but is a power hungry demagogue who will continue to use the presidency as a cash cow for himself and his family's business interests. A great salesman - he has conned millions of desperate people into believing that he really cares about them - desparate people who have been for too long ignored by the political establishment.
I am a Bernie Sander's supporter who voted for Hillary Clinton. Too bad that the election wasn't between Sanders and Trump because Sanders is really and truly concerned about the welfare of struggling Americans. Trump is not. I really fear for the welfare of our nation - and the free world - with Donald Trump at the helm.
I am still convinced that Donald Trump is not interested in governing - but is a power hungry demagogue who will continue to use the presidency as a cash cow for himself and his family's business interests. A great salesman - he has conned millions of desperate people into believing that he really cares about them - desparate people who have been for too long ignored by the political establishment.
I am a Bernie Sander's supporter who voted for Hillary Clinton. Too bad that the election wasn't between Sanders and Trump because Sanders is really and truly concerned about the welfare of struggling Americans. Trump is not. I really fear for the welfare of our nation - and the free world - with Donald Trump at the helm.
4
Blah, Blah, Blah, Hindsight is always 20/20. If Bernie had been the nominee and lost we would be incredulous that we didn't see the 74 year old Socialist who spent his his honeymoon in Moscow being so easily and mercilessly thrashed by the Republican attack machine. It's SO easy now to find fault.
The fault lies with Republican and Democratic voters who fell for a con. With Democrats who couldn't make it to the polls. And with third party purity voters who just couldn't make a rational choice. Period.
The fault lies with Republican and Democratic voters who fell for a con. With Democrats who couldn't make it to the polls. And with third party purity voters who just couldn't make a rational choice. Period.
8
Ms. Dowd,
It's difficult to express my distaste for you. Those of us voting for Obama were not voting against Bill (or Hillary) Clinton - who we know you hate. We were voting for a Democrat, and against the Republicans. And Hillary's comment about those "deplorables" was clearly true. I would include you in that basket, btw.
It's difficult to express my distaste for you. Those of us voting for Obama were not voting against Bill (or Hillary) Clinton - who we know you hate. We were voting for a Democrat, and against the Republicans. And Hillary's comment about those "deplorables" was clearly true. I would include you in that basket, btw.
12
What you mean to say is that the birther-elect will never be my president, and that my President Barrack Hussein Obama defines class, grace, and respectability.
11
I used to enjoy Maureen Dowd but I am so, so tired of her hatred of the Clintons and her repetitious columns week after week. Now that she doesn't have Hillary and Bill to pick on anymore what can she possibly she write about? Maybe she should follow them into retirement.
13
They should have listened. Bill ousted the first President Bush by focusing on “you” rather than “I,” what the voters wanted. Hillary’s campaign message boiled down to “It’s my turn, dammit.”
Clinton forgot Tip O'Neil's lesson from his first loss, all politics are local. She decided to run out the clock in the fourth quarter and sit on her lead and play prevent defense (prevented her from winning). Took the states and their people for granted that she had the vote. Not surprising she lost. She was/is a lousy candidate. In retrospect (I never cared for her politically) she ran the Bush I campaign in 1980, I have served and it is my turn, that is my vision. Regardless of polls, I do not think Bernie would have one.
Now like a sore loser, she blames Comey (one horrible person) who is not responsible for Clinton, she is.
Clinton forgot Tip O'Neil's lesson from his first loss, all politics are local. She decided to run out the clock in the fourth quarter and sit on her lead and play prevent defense (prevented her from winning). Took the states and their people for granted that she had the vote. Not surprising she lost. She was/is a lousy candidate. In retrospect (I never cared for her politically) she ran the Bush I campaign in 1980, I have served and it is my turn, that is my vision. Regardless of polls, I do not think Bernie would have one.
Now like a sore loser, she blames Comey (one horrible person) who is not responsible for Clinton, she is.
5
Dowd simply can't understand that President Obama cares about the country, and has the grace to try to work with the unqualified Trump who has been elected to succeed him. As usual Dowd is eager to criticize Democrats -- while giving a pass to her favorite mysogynist, Trump.
9
Another snarky piece by Maureen Dowd. I actually found her analysis at least worth considering, but her sneering sounds less like truth and more like I told you so.
11
Maureen, most of us are more worried about Trump and Pence obliterating our democracy. I guess time is running out for you to vent your spleen on Obama and Clinton, who did win the popular vote.
12
Pathetic column, zero depth or insight. More of the same Hillary bashing and effort by Dowd to reclaim Trump as her special buddy. Think it's time Dowd retired. Plenty sick of her.
17
Pre existing conditions and 26 year olds are the low hanging fruit. Trump understands that is how you build a concensus, Obama will never understand that. Those conditions were mainly found in the individual market prior to Ocare. They lied to the public to get it passed. Now it needs to be untangled. Even Bubba told us that.
HRC lost because she marginalized the Trump voters, that's what elites do. IDentity politics is ugly, and hopefully now it is dead.
The other big mistake she made was engaging the President to campaign for her, like bringing your daddy to a job interview, doesn't instill much confidence in the voter.
HRC lost because she marginalized the Trump voters, that's what elites do. IDentity politics is ugly, and hopefully now it is dead.
The other big mistake she made was engaging the President to campaign for her, like bringing your daddy to a job interview, doesn't instill much confidence in the voter.
6
Times readers lobby for obliteration of Dowd's writings.
12
I voted for Hillary Clinton and I'm heartbroken about the election results. Since then, I have appreciated the many columns that took a clear-eyed approach to the numerous and varied reasons why she did not win. I have begun examining my own bias towards fellow citizens with viewpoints different than my own and tried be a good sport when Trump supporters revel in their victory. I have absorbed and mimicked the words of President Obama about coming together and rooting for the president-elect's success so that America will succeed. This column does none of those things, Ms. Dowd. It is mean spirited and nasty on a level that seems quite personal. Shame on you.
17
And the FBI, Russia and democracy (beyond electoral college charade) were against her. And the hate-media controlled by wealthy elites who know how to lie, cheat and steal.
A friend of mine, not dumb, listens to right-wing, hate-radio. He tells me he just 'listens' to part of what they say. Then, he says, 'Where's your stations? I'll listen to those, too.' Well, well, there are no liberal, progressive stations where we live. There are no stations like that across America. We've sold-out the 'message', 'communication', 'information' to those billionaires and their cronies that pay to play. The poor and workers have no such wherewithal to bankroll radio or tv stations. And so, many hear only one, very selfish, angry, hateful side. And one that undersells the real core of the message: don't tax the rich.
Sure, we need a real movement to help the average American, but once in the upper-income levels, both parties (and media personnel) become somewhat seduced by such money. Very little talk of raising taxes on the rich (especially across the media) as a means of promoting both equality and economic health. Very few ideas of how to create less inequality in this tech age of hedge funds and private equity.
No, we're lost in the wilderness due to our own political ignorance and apathy. We're lost due to basic human greed (if I got mine, I'm not particularly that interested if you got yours). Hillary and Bill are now multi-millionaires. That should take some of the sting out.
A friend of mine, not dumb, listens to right-wing, hate-radio. He tells me he just 'listens' to part of what they say. Then, he says, 'Where's your stations? I'll listen to those, too.' Well, well, there are no liberal, progressive stations where we live. There are no stations like that across America. We've sold-out the 'message', 'communication', 'information' to those billionaires and their cronies that pay to play. The poor and workers have no such wherewithal to bankroll radio or tv stations. And so, many hear only one, very selfish, angry, hateful side. And one that undersells the real core of the message: don't tax the rich.
Sure, we need a real movement to help the average American, but once in the upper-income levels, both parties (and media personnel) become somewhat seduced by such money. Very little talk of raising taxes on the rich (especially across the media) as a means of promoting both equality and economic health. Very few ideas of how to create less inequality in this tech age of hedge funds and private equity.
No, we're lost in the wilderness due to our own political ignorance and apathy. We're lost due to basic human greed (if I got mine, I'm not particularly that interested if you got yours). Hillary and Bill are now multi-millionaires. That should take some of the sting out.
5
I did not think there could be a worse article that what has appeared in the media during the campaign, but I was wrong. This stuff is just junk; idle amateur psychology from someone who referred to the president as Barry, similar denigration that 10 year old use when they cannot think of a rational thing to say. The author continues to go down hill from a not very high perch initially; maybe she has not adjusted to day light savings time and is having another bad day.
21
This was simply mean spirited and snide.
6
Dowd is clearly desperate to remain relevant in anticipation of Trump's shutdown of the free press
5
Trump told The Wall Street Journal that he would consider leaving in place the parts of Obamacare that allow children to stay on their parents’ health plan until they are 26 and that prevent people from being refused insurance because of existing conditions. “I told him I will look at his suggestions, and out of respect, I will do that,” Trump said.
---------------------------
Once Trump realizes that the premium increases that many consumers are hit with, and that the absence of choice in marketplace are caused by adverse selection, with not many, if any, young and healthy buying insurance and with nearly all infirm and sickos buying insurance at cheap rates thanks to the one-third rule, he is not going to keep that provision in place. If the only people who buy car insurance are those who have just had major total-wrecks, then Geico will not be in business.
Trump promised to LOOK AT HIS SUGGESTION, and if he does, then he will be stupid to let Obamacare stand the way it is created.
---------------------------
Once Trump realizes that the premium increases that many consumers are hit with, and that the absence of choice in marketplace are caused by adverse selection, with not many, if any, young and healthy buying insurance and with nearly all infirm and sickos buying insurance at cheap rates thanks to the one-third rule, he is not going to keep that provision in place. If the only people who buy car insurance are those who have just had major total-wrecks, then Geico will not be in business.
Trump promised to LOOK AT HIS SUGGESTION, and if he does, then he will be stupid to let Obamacare stand the way it is created.
1
Well, Maureen Dowd, are you proud of yourself?
You've spent the last 24 years scandal-mongering the Clintons. Like a mean high school girl, you've never missed a chance to vilify them (not to mention their colleague, Al Gore). (Not to say they're flawless, but you've been vicious.)
You have contributed mightily to the defeat of Al Gore and now Hillary Clinton.
So what are you going to do now that you no longer have the Clintons to kick around? One-note Maureen will have to find a new song.
You've spent the last 24 years scandal-mongering the Clintons. Like a mean high school girl, you've never missed a chance to vilify them (not to mention their colleague, Al Gore). (Not to say they're flawless, but you've been vicious.)
You have contributed mightily to the defeat of Al Gore and now Hillary Clinton.
So what are you going to do now that you no longer have the Clintons to kick around? One-note Maureen will have to find a new song.
7
I hope President-elect Trump will show President Obama just as much fairness and respect as Obama did to Presidential candidate Trump in the last months of the campaign.
The delicious irony of Trump defeating Hillary and taking over the White House and country from Obama in one fell swoop is priceless!
Hopefully, Trump will whip out his pen as soon as he walks into the Oval Office and repeal A L L of Obama's many executive orders (especially the immigration orders...Ignore the will of the American people at your own peril).
Although I was an enthusiastic supporter of Obama in 2008 and voted straight Democrat to give him a majority in Congress and Senate, the honeymoon was over for me by the midterm elections in 2010. I am glad to see him go and know he and his family will be rich and famous for the rest of their days. Good for them (...as long as Michelle Obama doesn't pull a Hillary Clinton on us).
The delicious irony of Trump defeating Hillary and taking over the White House and country from Obama in one fell swoop is priceless!
Hopefully, Trump will whip out his pen as soon as he walks into the Oval Office and repeal A L L of Obama's many executive orders (especially the immigration orders...Ignore the will of the American people at your own peril).
Although I was an enthusiastic supporter of Obama in 2008 and voted straight Democrat to give him a majority in Congress and Senate, the honeymoon was over for me by the midterm elections in 2010. I am glad to see him go and know he and his family will be rich and famous for the rest of their days. Good for them (...as long as Michelle Obama doesn't pull a Hillary Clinton on us).
3
Listen to Bill Maher " Stop being nice'"- his mantra to the democrats who think decency trumps incivility. We have to go low and cry louder when they go low and stop allow others to define you. Democrats now need to show some spine and set examples for people to vote again for the party. It is alarmingly high time for democrats to be the party of obstruction and demand every piece of legislation remain intact in the new administration. if Obama was railing against the congress and the republicans for obstruction and not confirming the supreme court justice, the election would have turned out differently. You democrats have won more votes-close to 2 million. If you are fighting , please stand up!
4
Even as Melania's modeling days are past, now the handsome Obama can pursue his true calling in fashion--Harvard style!
The election is over. Trump won. Like most Americans I did not vote for him but now that he will be the next president let's follow President Obama's example and help Trump succeed for everyone -and the planet's - sake. Like Obama, Trump is not an ideologue. Nor is he a dyed in the wool Republican. I'm an independent centrist who thinks Obama is the best president since perhaps Lincoln.
Trump would do well to heed Obama's counsel pretty much across the policy board. Obama is very popular at the moment and the country is really sick of R and D tribalistic polarization. There are more of us in the center than on the lefty and right wing fringes. So why am I forced to head left and my right-of- center friends, with whom I agree on 60-70 maybe even 80 % of things, turn right? Independents and centrist members of the two major parties should do whatever we can to convince Trump to govern like one of us. Obama could be his greatest advisor and asset in doing so. Let's be productive and encourage this sort of thing rather than continue to rip each other apart. It's worth a try and we will have absolutely nothing to lose.
Trump would do well to heed Obama's counsel pretty much across the policy board. Obama is very popular at the moment and the country is really sick of R and D tribalistic polarization. There are more of us in the center than on the lefty and right wing fringes. So why am I forced to head left and my right-of- center friends, with whom I agree on 60-70 maybe even 80 % of things, turn right? Independents and centrist members of the two major parties should do whatever we can to convince Trump to govern like one of us. Obama could be his greatest advisor and asset in doing so. Let's be productive and encourage this sort of thing rather than continue to rip each other apart. It's worth a try and we will have absolutely nothing to lose.
"Make America Great Again" = The Greatest Grift of All Time
God save us from this crackpot con man!
God save us from this crackpot con man!
3
MoDo has her pit bull fangs in Obama and Hillary and, if the world reversed rotation suddenly, she would still use her column to bash Obama and the Clintons. Few of us understand the reason for Dowd's never-ending antipathy toward them, but it surpasses all reasonable standards of journalism. With the country's most urgent dilemmas hanging in the balance, Dowd takes time out to bash Obama and Hillary, one more time. It's shocking that she can't let go of it, but these endless hate columns serve only to diminish Dowd. She is truly past her sell-by date.
11
If anyone out there thinks that a poll two days before the election showing Clinton up by 6 points in Wisconsin (she lost it by 5) is some sort of wacky poll that got it wrong, ask anyone in Wisconsin about the Marquette University poll. It's the gold standard. Are we to believe that there was an 11 point swing that they somehow totally missed? Doubtful. I'm sure Clinton lost PA and Michigan fair and square (maybe) but Wisconsin looks suspect to say the least. Too bad there is no press or real journalism anymore to look into it.
5
A misogynistic, sexist, sexual predator, who foments racism, xenophobia, bigotry, anti-semitism, religious zealotry and white supremacy is to become the President and you're still going on about Obama and the Clintons? You're just as depraved as the groper in Chief, so consumed with your petty vengances that you miss the catastrophe about to befall this once great nation. For the record, you and many others criticized Obama because, in trying to accomplish so much, he accomplished too little (in your judgment, not mine). Now, you criticize him for evolving and seeking incremental change, largely because of the toxic environment created by the petulant brats on Capitol Hill. It's whiplash.
And do you appreciate the irony in criticizing Hillary for focusing on "I" (which isn't accurate, but let's say it is, for argument's sake) when the biggest "I" on the planet, Donald Trump, won the electoral college (though he wasn't elected)?
Here's what really happened:
1. Trump lied to everyone at all those rallies, and they bought it, hook, line and sinker. The con man conned.
2. Comey realized that his attempt to tip the scales in July, when he editorialized on the FBI's conclusion that there was no criminal wrongdoing, had failed. To feel powerful again (likely violating law and definitely violating protocol), he flexed his egotistical muscles, ran to Congress, then tried to save his rep by saying, "never mind" two days before the election.
Time to come up with new material.
And do you appreciate the irony in criticizing Hillary for focusing on "I" (which isn't accurate, but let's say it is, for argument's sake) when the biggest "I" on the planet, Donald Trump, won the electoral college (though he wasn't elected)?
Here's what really happened:
1. Trump lied to everyone at all those rallies, and they bought it, hook, line and sinker. The con man conned.
2. Comey realized that his attempt to tip the scales in July, when he editorialized on the FBI's conclusion that there was no criminal wrongdoing, had failed. To feel powerful again (likely violating law and definitely violating protocol), he flexed his egotistical muscles, ran to Congress, then tried to save his rep by saying, "never mind" two days before the election.
Time to come up with new material.
16
Ah, and I thought for a moment that the instinct to snark had faded. I was wrong.
9
"Of course, those are two very popular elements of the law that Republicans wouldn’t dream of killing anyway"
Wanna bet? Republicans, in Congress, have tried to repeal the law lock, stock, and barrel. I don't think they care if 22M million people loose their health insurance + millions more under the age of 26 who are in their parent's plan. For most of them, Obamacare cannot be allowed to succeed lest Democrats actually deliver on their promises to the American people.
The irony is that policies Trump espouses would hurt the very working-class people who elected him. This includes everything from his proposed policies on taxes, the environment, healthcare, and trade.
Wanna bet? Republicans, in Congress, have tried to repeal the law lock, stock, and barrel. I don't think they care if 22M million people loose their health insurance + millions more under the age of 26 who are in their parent's plan. For most of them, Obamacare cannot be allowed to succeed lest Democrats actually deliver on their promises to the American people.
The irony is that policies Trump espouses would hurt the very working-class people who elected him. This includes everything from his proposed policies on taxes, the environment, healthcare, and trade.
3
Congratulations, Maureen! You can relax now that that Black President and that brilliant female Presidential nominee you so despise will soon be returning to private life. You can now simmer in adulation for that racist, mysogynistic, narcissistic President-Elect you so adore. I'm just wondering, do you have daddy issues? Hopefully Trump can give you the love, peace and security you so desperately crave.
5
Who knew Ms. Dowd was such a populist champion of the downtrodden worker in the hinterlands? She's not recognizable without her hard hat and coveralls posed in front of the double wide.
She might have mentioned for six of the eight years in office the McConnell strategy was to make sure President Obama could not pass a single piece of legislation which would have helped men losing their jobs to the inevitability of technology and globalization.
President Obama's greatest failing was believing for much too long a time that he could negotiate with the Republicans in good faith. He refused to realize that McConnell meant what he said when he allowed that the his first job was to destroy the Obama Presidency.
McConnell succeeded and Ms. Dowd is cheering.
She might have mentioned for six of the eight years in office the McConnell strategy was to make sure President Obama could not pass a single piece of legislation which would have helped men losing their jobs to the inevitability of technology and globalization.
President Obama's greatest failing was believing for much too long a time that he could negotiate with the Republicans in good faith. He refused to realize that McConnell meant what he said when he allowed that the his first job was to destroy the Obama Presidency.
McConnell succeeded and Ms. Dowd is cheering.
6
Storm of imperfect events, nothing to do with your Clinton inc. ridiculous lines for voting( 400 less voting precincts in Texas alone), voter suppression, the FBI and above all, profoundly flawed polling that everyone believed. Many Democrats/independents would not have made their protest vote if they knew Hillary had a chance of losing and Trump being President (Times -Hillary 85% chance of winning)
1
And so it begins--the excuses that the Trump voters aren't really racist. It's just that they want a gig. As if one couldn't be both.
2
Maureen Dowd writes this piece as a political critic. The job of the critic is, after the battle is over, to show up and shoot the wounded. This critique of President Obama and Hillary Clinton is so full of inaccurate shading of reality that it is hardly understandable except as an example of the critic's job stated above. No one would see resorting to an incremental approach to change in light of an obstructionist congress as any thing other than realistic and rational. But somehow Maureen sees elitism. This piece, at this time, must finally be called indecent.
7
I read somewhere that the Democrats used to be the party of Decatur, now they are the party of Martha's Vineyard. Very telling.
3
Obama was a good president.
Now he is history and will be replaced by a man whose supporters, the deplorables, have no use for him or his Establishment, snotty, Washington world.
People are not so stupid as to take being insulted, left out of the party, treated like dirt and then rush to the polls to elect those who openly despise them.
I live in Maryland, a heavily Democratic state. The Dems here control everything in site.
They and their arrogance are the reason that we now have a Republican governor, Hogan.
How could this happen?
The Dems put up a HRC type machine candidate and did zero campaigning in my area. They assumed their shill would automatically win. So the Dem voters just stayed home. We all felt used and insulted. Of course, we are not going to support the Dem candidate.
This year I left the Democratic party for which I have voted my whole life ( 67). I am now a registered Libertarian, joined the national and state party, and am working for the first time in my life to end the disgusting duopoly that plays all the rest of us for suckers.
We got one million votes in 2012. This year four million. Next election a lot more than that.
America deserves better than two self-serving parties that carve up the nation between them.
We are taking back our country.
And plenty of Americans agree and are supporting us locally and nationally.
www.lp.org
Now he is history and will be replaced by a man whose supporters, the deplorables, have no use for him or his Establishment, snotty, Washington world.
People are not so stupid as to take being insulted, left out of the party, treated like dirt and then rush to the polls to elect those who openly despise them.
I live in Maryland, a heavily Democratic state. The Dems here control everything in site.
They and their arrogance are the reason that we now have a Republican governor, Hogan.
How could this happen?
The Dems put up a HRC type machine candidate and did zero campaigning in my area. They assumed their shill would automatically win. So the Dem voters just stayed home. We all felt used and insulted. Of course, we are not going to support the Dem candidate.
This year I left the Democratic party for which I have voted my whole life ( 67). I am now a registered Libertarian, joined the national and state party, and am working for the first time in my life to end the disgusting duopoly that plays all the rest of us for suckers.
We got one million votes in 2012. This year four million. Next election a lot more than that.
America deserves better than two self-serving parties that carve up the nation between them.
We are taking back our country.
And plenty of Americans agree and are supporting us locally and nationally.
www.lp.org
Maureen Dowd is irrelevant.
7
Bill complained in meetings that campaign manager Robby Mook was ignoring white working-class voters, according to Politico, but his concern was waved off as the plea of “a talented but aging politician who simply refused to accept the new Democratic map.” Hillary’s campaign message boiled down to “It’s my turn, dammit.”
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Donald, like Bill Clinton, has good instincts. He even prophesied that Huma Abedin, so near to Hillary, would pass on secret information to the sexter-in-chief Weiner. Likewise, Bill, with all his sex-gate scandals, became the president by having his finger on the pulse of the people. Donald and Bill are poles apart but they have many things in common: women and good instincts.
As for Hillary, she now blames Comey for her loss. No, Hillary, you should take responsibility for your own failure. You did not campaign in the last stretch; you were more about entertaining by Jay-Z and Beyonce, and your surrogate Obama was all about telling us how unworthy Donald is. They never talked about the issues that matter to many minorities and white working class folks. Obama thought he could 'order' his base into voting for Hillary, with his thunderous 'don't boo, vote' admonitions.
Obama was even so sure that Donald will never be the president that he replied to a mean tweet from @realDonaldTrump that "at least I will go down as A president (and you won't)".
It was a hubristic campaign that was out of touch with American voters. Look in the mirror, Hill.
-------------
Donald, like Bill Clinton, has good instincts. He even prophesied that Huma Abedin, so near to Hillary, would pass on secret information to the sexter-in-chief Weiner. Likewise, Bill, with all his sex-gate scandals, became the president by having his finger on the pulse of the people. Donald and Bill are poles apart but they have many things in common: women and good instincts.
As for Hillary, she now blames Comey for her loss. No, Hillary, you should take responsibility for your own failure. You did not campaign in the last stretch; you were more about entertaining by Jay-Z and Beyonce, and your surrogate Obama was all about telling us how unworthy Donald is. They never talked about the issues that matter to many minorities and white working class folks. Obama thought he could 'order' his base into voting for Hillary, with his thunderous 'don't boo, vote' admonitions.
Obama was even so sure that Donald will never be the president that he replied to a mean tweet from @realDonaldTrump that "at least I will go down as A president (and you won't)".
It was a hubristic campaign that was out of touch with American voters. Look in the mirror, Hill.
7
Now more than ever do we need one of Barack's inspirational speechs. This time emploring us not to commit suicide. Which, I guess, is what a lot of people are hoping for.
Obama was not the escape hatch from Clinton Inc. He was a detour back to Clinton Inc. The unholy alliance began in 2008 in earnest when Obama offered Hillary the plum job of Secretary of State in return for Bill and Hillary’s supporting him to win the White House in 2008. The duo quickly set up shop, using a private server, and peddled influence while enriching themselves through this incredible machine called the Clinton Foundation. Obama wanted Hillary to win badly so the Clintons would occupy the White House and return the favor. He might have been thinking of a foundation of his own and a private “Air Force One” as well!
1
A graceless and utterly superficial take on this past election. She offers no real analysis -- blaming Clinton and Obama for being too establishmentarian is repeating the noise that's been echoing around the internet for over a year -- and her ending by her finger-wagging criticism of what Mrs. Clinton should have done is spiteful, petty, and unequal to the grace and strength Mrs. Clinton embodied despite the shocking ugliness of her opponent.
I would just point out that Ms. Dowd used to like Obama until he, apparently, shunned her. I wonder what blow to her ego led her to hate the Clintons so much that she couldn't bring herself to find one positive thing to say about the first female candidate for President, who was not perfect but who do a remarkable job against unrelenting attacks and who, in fact, won the popular vote.
I would just point out that Ms. Dowd used to like Obama until he, apparently, shunned her. I wonder what blow to her ego led her to hate the Clintons so much that she couldn't bring herself to find one positive thing to say about the first female candidate for President, who was not perfect but who do a remarkable job against unrelenting attacks and who, in fact, won the popular vote.
6
Whether we like it or not elections are to a great extent based on irrational impulses. Even if you are horrified by the irrational you still have to pay attention to it. In this election one of the main irrational impulses was the need for change. Even if that was inarticulately stated or defined it was a real and deeply felt need. Instead of paying attention to that clear need the Dems put up Clinton whose studied and robotic personality came across as someone out of touch with whole groups of people. Not to mention only offering an incrementalist message that was uninspiring, vague and lost on most voters. When it takes a village to deliver your core message there is clearly a problem with the candidate. This seemingly willful misreading of the electorate showed an astounding degree of disconnect with the concerns of Middle America. Both Obama and Clinton lost sight of a big segment of their base, one that was traditionally the backbone of the party. They totally lost touch with the facts on the ground while giddily counting their many paths to victory.
1
"It's my turn" says it all.
4
The efforts and words of numerous celebrities, late night entertainers, Barack and Michelle Obama, and Hillary Clinton herself were very likely counterproductive from start to finish.
They all mocked Trump, and his supporters and prospective supporters felt that they were being mocked as well. It didn't help that they were directly patronized and condescended to also.
Those who put Trump over the top in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania had long taken instruction from Democratic leaders and union bosses and voted for Democrats to protect their interests though they otherwise had little in common with the rest of the Democratic base.
But, insults and the failure of the Democratic Party to protect them drove them away and they are unlikely to return to the current version of the Democratic Party.
They all mocked Trump, and his supporters and prospective supporters felt that they were being mocked as well. It didn't help that they were directly patronized and condescended to also.
Those who put Trump over the top in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania had long taken instruction from Democratic leaders and union bosses and voted for Democrats to protect their interests though they otherwise had little in common with the rest of the Democratic base.
But, insults and the failure of the Democratic Party to protect them drove them away and they are unlikely to return to the current version of the Democratic Party.
2
Amen to every syllable, sister!
But the fact remains that Trump got only 25 per cent of registered voters, and even that wasn't enough to get the majority of the popular vote.
Americans brag about how great their democracy is, but this election showed that most of them have neither the wit nor the inclination to exercise it when it matters.
Which is precisely the result Putin wanted from his intervention this year.
But the fact remains that Trump got only 25 per cent of registered voters, and even that wasn't enough to get the majority of the popular vote.
Americans brag about how great their democracy is, but this election showed that most of them have neither the wit nor the inclination to exercise it when it matters.
Which is precisely the result Putin wanted from his intervention this year.
2
I voted for Obama twice but he got what he deserved. He paid too much attention to foreigners (e.g. Syrians), illegal Mexicans, gays, transgenders, global climate change, Palestinians/Israelis etc., and ignored tens of millions of rust-belt Americans suffering everyday and trying to get by right at home.
Many of them voted for him, but just couldn't take another 4 more years of the same. Best of luck to Trump, but he better not be persuaded by Obama. That's not what we voted him in for.
Many of them voted for him, but just couldn't take another 4 more years of the same. Best of luck to Trump, but he better not be persuaded by Obama. That's not what we voted him in for.
3
"How can it be that in the end, Barack Obama did not understand the Obama revolution?"
As usual (at least again) Ms Dowd hits the mark. But Obama was between a rock and a hard place.
"Keep you friends close and enemies closer." Giving HRC State kept her close so the Clintons would not undermine him. And the Obama's may have wanted another ceiling broken by their successor--yet another noble cause.
Even then she snipped and sniped--hopping on board at the end only because he was still popular. She would have run in opposition if that would have helped- her--as she did against Trans Pacific. To some extent that's just the ugliness of politics.
You warned Obama (and Sanders) to take care not to stain their own pure brands by association. A risk they took as the lesser evil.
Sanders predicted the outcome. And now the blame is spreading to Comey and her staff for allowing the private server and
sanctioning the speeches--paradoxically implying she was a mere puppet (out the pan into the fire).
Yes--"He was dismissive of Bernie Sanders"--calling him "comrade". But so was the Times--indeed everyone but Dowd tried to spin her into a silk purse. That alone might have cost Sanders the nomination and Dems the election.
Let's hope the Times does some soul searching. Sanders too.
Either strengthen Pacific trade and ties or be outflanked by China.
Trump schadenfreude at beggaring-thy-neighbor might reprise The Ugly American abroad, actually aggravating illegal immigration.
As usual (at least again) Ms Dowd hits the mark. But Obama was between a rock and a hard place.
"Keep you friends close and enemies closer." Giving HRC State kept her close so the Clintons would not undermine him. And the Obama's may have wanted another ceiling broken by their successor--yet another noble cause.
Even then she snipped and sniped--hopping on board at the end only because he was still popular. She would have run in opposition if that would have helped- her--as she did against Trans Pacific. To some extent that's just the ugliness of politics.
You warned Obama (and Sanders) to take care not to stain their own pure brands by association. A risk they took as the lesser evil.
Sanders predicted the outcome. And now the blame is spreading to Comey and her staff for allowing the private server and
sanctioning the speeches--paradoxically implying she was a mere puppet (out the pan into the fire).
Yes--"He was dismissive of Bernie Sanders"--calling him "comrade". But so was the Times--indeed everyone but Dowd tried to spin her into a silk purse. That alone might have cost Sanders the nomination and Dems the election.
Let's hope the Times does some soul searching. Sanders too.
Either strengthen Pacific trade and ties or be outflanked by China.
Trump schadenfreude at beggaring-thy-neighbor might reprise The Ugly American abroad, actually aggravating illegal immigration.
1
How many organizations are likely to call Hillary in the future and ask to pay her six figures for a speech?
1
The Democrats and their true believers want money influence out of the political system. Yet this year, we read and hear about Hillary giving speeches to Wall Street and collecting big money. The Hillary fund raisers in California with the Technorati and the Hollywood elites gives the wrong optics to the average voters. At least Bernie's donation average $27 dollars each. The donations to the Clinton Foundation from foreign sources that have to hidden via a Canadian partnership to hide the donors' identities. All these donors to Hillary are "paying" a lot for influence at the President's table. Too bad Hillary could convince the average people to vote for her.
1
I honesty think it is about time the NYT stops publishing this writer's articles. She seems to have run out of any insightful things to say for quite a while and just keeps on blabbering! Wasted space.
9
You overlook the possibility that Obama gained faith in Hillary over the course of his presidency. Also, you overlook that a Clinton escape-hatch in 2016 would be as attractive as it was in 2008.
1
It is writing like Dowd's weekly revenge screed that causes me to subscribe to the Times solely for the crossword puzzle.
4
Many of your commentators owe you an apology, Ms. Dowd. You've always been brutally clear-eyed about the Clintons. Commentators savaged you for it, but you were right. Folks don't want to hear what they don't want to hear.
2
Okay, Maureen, if your such a brain why didn't you set aside your snark and attempt to contribute something constructive to this recent election cycle (actually, let's say the last eight years) instead of offering one judgement after another in the direction of Obama and Clinton. Look, Mo, no one is going to get it right all the time -- not the President, not Clinton, not you -- but someone in your position might spend less time baking up bons mots and cleverly confected insults. Honestly, I don't know how Obama held it together for eight years with all the obstructionist nonsense blowing in his face, nor do I know how Clinton was able to keep herself together with the endless witch hunts. I think with the sulfuric, fire-breathing likes of Trump, Fox, every fringe news source and a whole pack of GOP do-nothings both Obama and Clinton have done remarkably well. Out of touch? Perhaps. Complacent. Hardly. But neither of them tweeted vitriol and lies at 3 am to an eager and salivating pack of media hounds who in turn showered it unchecked and unfiltered on a gullible public. All I can think of is Les Moonves talking about how great Trump is for the bottom line of of CBS.
Hey, I hope Obama was attempting to advise Trump on a few things because the new President-Elect could sure get some straight talk from someone who knows what he's been doing. I hope Trump has Obama on speed dial. He would be wise to listen.
Hey, I hope Obama was attempting to advise Trump on a few things because the new President-Elect could sure get some straight talk from someone who knows what he's been doing. I hope Trump has Obama on speed dial. He would be wise to listen.
9
Excellent synopsis as to why Ms. Clinton lost to an unqualified reality TV show host and mediocre businessman. I would also add that extreme political correctness of coastal elites coupled with fear of rising crime by college educated suburban women, also were contributing factors to her defeat.
3
My experiences with four Democratic campaigns guides my take of the Clinton loss. The first was Mondale-Ferraro in 1984. I did "knock and drop" in Madison, Wi. We engaged all voters regardless of their political background, but of course it was Madison. The second was Obama-Biden in 2008. I phone banked and canvassed neighborhoods; we connected only with supporters, committing them to vote. Voter enthusiasm was palpable. The third campaign was Obama-Biden in 2012. It was the same procedure as last time. However this time the "get out the vote" strategy seemed mechanical and hollow, but far superior to Romney and President Obama won. The Terry McAuliffe for governor campaign in 2013 used the same "get out the vote" strategy. The polls had him far ahead of "the Cuch", Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, but Terry's lead barely translated on Election Day. The polls were accurate but Democrats did not get out and vote.
I only saw the "get out the vote" strategy with the Clinton campaign, limited enthusiasm and a Democratic electorate that did not vote. Democrats need to get back to convincing the general electorate, not just modern Democrats and minorities, so I would agree with Ms. Dowd’s assessment of the Clinton campaign and the need to employ it for the future of the Democratic party. President Obama may face a “Harold Washington” fate given the Great Recession and a Trump presidency but I hope he lives to a ripe old age and still creates a legacy he can own.
I only saw the "get out the vote" strategy with the Clinton campaign, limited enthusiasm and a Democratic electorate that did not vote. Democrats need to get back to convincing the general electorate, not just modern Democrats and minorities, so I would agree with Ms. Dowd’s assessment of the Clinton campaign and the need to employ it for the future of the Democratic party. President Obama may face a “Harold Washington” fate given the Great Recession and a Trump presidency but I hope he lives to a ripe old age and still creates a legacy he can own.
3
Oooh, gee, a NY Times pundit bewailing that a President of the United States "lost touch with his revolutionary side."
Hhmm, I wonder what that "revolution" would have looked like?
For sure, given the politics of the times, it would have looked nothing like what a NY Times pundit (however snarky and filled-with-herself) would have liked it to look. Instead, given those politics, it would (and will) look like one which is dominated by bought-and-paid-for legislators and by fear-filled, want-filled, easily manipulated moronic voters, voters who would never, ever, ever vote for that which is best for the whole, but who can only see and vote for that which they believe, however idiotically, is best for THEM.
Hence the Trumpmeister and whatever evil and whatever "revolution" he will wreak on this planet.
Hhmm, I wonder what that "revolution" would have looked like?
For sure, given the politics of the times, it would have looked nothing like what a NY Times pundit (however snarky and filled-with-herself) would have liked it to look. Instead, given those politics, it would (and will) look like one which is dominated by bought-and-paid-for legislators and by fear-filled, want-filled, easily manipulated moronic voters, voters who would never, ever, ever vote for that which is best for the whole, but who can only see and vote for that which they believe, however idiotically, is best for THEM.
Hence the Trumpmeister and whatever evil and whatever "revolution" he will wreak on this planet.
6
obama did some great things. he brought back the economy when measured in financial terms which is to say he helped rich people like me. he also helped the poorest by giving them healthcare through subsidies. this was all at the expense of the middle working class and it reflected in how they voted in this election.
3
It's clear who won and whether it was a male or female was irrelevant. The winners was Wall Street, the military industrial complex, and corporate America. The 'voters' were left to bicker among themselves, thinking they had profound differences. They don't. Both left and right are sick of the aforementioned 'winners' of this election. So now what? Four years of parsing Trumpian sturm und drang by Ms. Dowd? Maybe we could have a real election and subscribers to the NYT could vote in or out oped writers.
5
Do Liberals believe in fair play?
I thought Mo's analysis was spot on. IMHO, had Obama been true to himself, he would have gotten behind Bernie as I truly believe Obama was closer in ideolgy to Bernie than he was to Clinton, Inc. Had he had done this early, he would not have had to begrudgingly support Hilary in the final stretch.
The Clintons and Obamas hated each other, if anyone cares to remember. And allowing the DNC and Clinton, Inc rig the Primary was the single biggest failure of the Dem's campaign for the WH.
Had Obama stepped in to right the wrong against Bernie, 6 million Dems voters would not have stayed home. Not to mention the ones that voted for Trump.
Silly Liberals, you own the Trump Presidency!
I thought Mo's analysis was spot on. IMHO, had Obama been true to himself, he would have gotten behind Bernie as I truly believe Obama was closer in ideolgy to Bernie than he was to Clinton, Inc. Had he had done this early, he would not have had to begrudgingly support Hilary in the final stretch.
The Clintons and Obamas hated each other, if anyone cares to remember. And allowing the DNC and Clinton, Inc rig the Primary was the single biggest failure of the Dem's campaign for the WH.
Had Obama stepped in to right the wrong against Bernie, 6 million Dems voters would not have stayed home. Not to mention the ones that voted for Trump.
Silly Liberals, you own the Trump Presidency!
2
You are the rooster that thinks it made the sun rise.
Hillary will win the popular vote with a plurality of nearly a million. She would have won this election without the Republican dirty tricks of James Comey and endless voter suppression. IN the end, she accepted the result for the sake of the country--something the Trumpistas would never have done.
Endless post-election autopsies on Hillary's message and her establishment supporters do not obscure the fact that she was the only qualified candidate in the race. That a portion of the American people are too stupid to understand that they have now elected someone who could care less about them or their problems does not make this wealthy, white American feel better about accepting the windfall of government lucre that this corrupt ignoramus is about to bestow upon his 1% ilk.
Hillary will win the popular vote with a plurality of nearly a million. She would have won this election without the Republican dirty tricks of James Comey and endless voter suppression. IN the end, she accepted the result for the sake of the country--something the Trumpistas would never have done.
Endless post-election autopsies on Hillary's message and her establishment supporters do not obscure the fact that she was the only qualified candidate in the race. That a portion of the American people are too stupid to understand that they have now elected someone who could care less about them or their problems does not make this wealthy, white American feel better about accepting the windfall of government lucre that this corrupt ignoramus is about to bestow upon his 1% ilk.
7
Maureen Dowd is a national treasure.
She distinguished between the white nationalists supporting Trump and those who had economic problems. Don't rewrite the election...
3
Nice analysis about the Democratic lapses during the campaign, Maureen. But I see in other pages that Hillary is pinning the loss on FBI Director Comey. Ah yes, that vast right wing Republican conspiracy.
4
The FBI successfully executed a coup d'etat.
The pundits need to talk about that or shut up.
The pundits need to talk about that or shut up.
7
Perhaps Hillary's campaign was thrown off balance by the unexpected and unconventional Bernie. Then she was tripped by an unexpectedly outlandish barbaric egomaniac that incredibly was taken seriously by the basest of base of supporters. Not to mention being stabbed in the back for decades by the right wing slashers of the GOP. How does one defend against obvious and preposterous lies when they are accepted as truths and facts by half the population while constantly watching your back?
The basket of deplorables, that she rightfully dismissed, were those who viciously attacked and threatened her - "Lock Her Up" and much MUCH worse! Didn't you see them? They were EVERYWHERE! If anything, those people are a basket of despicables. These same basket of people now feel vindicated - entitled - to continue making bigoted, threatening, racist and other offensive and divisive language against other citizens - including children and other vulnerable or marginalized people.
Divide and conquer - that's the GOP and Trump way - to obliterate civil discourse, competent governance, and the common good. Trump is the Greatest in the "selfish good," regardless of the people, businesses and now country he obliterates on his way to great wealth. He is the definition of the Anti-Common-Good represented by the GOP.
After a lifetime of selfishness, Trump is now to be a public servant? What a GREAT con!
The basket of deplorables, that she rightfully dismissed, were those who viciously attacked and threatened her - "Lock Her Up" and much MUCH worse! Didn't you see them? They were EVERYWHERE! If anything, those people are a basket of despicables. These same basket of people now feel vindicated - entitled - to continue making bigoted, threatening, racist and other offensive and divisive language against other citizens - including children and other vulnerable or marginalized people.
Divide and conquer - that's the GOP and Trump way - to obliterate civil discourse, competent governance, and the common good. Trump is the Greatest in the "selfish good," regardless of the people, businesses and now country he obliterates on his way to great wealth. He is the definition of the Anti-Common-Good represented by the GOP.
After a lifetime of selfishness, Trump is now to be a public servant? What a GREAT con!
162
Maureen gets it right, again. We should be celebrating the demise of the Clintons on the political stage. Their walk in the woods, obviously a photo shoot set-up, was a good starting point. They should just keep going.
President Obama will be remembered as a classy, stable head of state. The opposite of Bill Clinton. Hopefully the President -elect will take his cues from his predecessor.
President Obama will be remembered as a classy, stable head of state. The opposite of Bill Clinton. Hopefully the President -elect will take his cues from his predecessor.
47
If Trump wants a country that loves each other--or at least is less divided--the best thing he can do is to take control of the Washington GOP establishment, rather than letting it get control of him.
2
Sort of makes me recall Obama's blanket description of anyone not voting for him and the coastal elite's candidates:
"And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."
But could you imagine the uproar if someone described the Muslim world in such a bigoted blanket fashion as people clinging to religion, the idea that anyone who holds to a different faith is ultimately an infidel, that honor killing and suicide bombings are justified, and a woman's place is inside a tent -- one she has to wear anytime she's out of the house. You'd never hear the end of it. And then he wonders why the "deplorables" -- as Michael Moore aptly described -- issue forth one giant f-you.
"And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."
But could you imagine the uproar if someone described the Muslim world in such a bigoted blanket fashion as people clinging to religion, the idea that anyone who holds to a different faith is ultimately an infidel, that honor killing and suicide bombings are justified, and a woman's place is inside a tent -- one she has to wear anytime she's out of the house. You'd never hear the end of it. And then he wonders why the "deplorables" -- as Michael Moore aptly described -- issue forth one giant f-you.
7
This debacle isn't Obama's fault.
Don't blame Comey, the whites or the Russians.
The rich are getting richer. The affordable care act is not affordable and makes the cost of living higher. The new economy of temporary benefitless employment blows.
It is true that love trumps hate, but Clinton didn't run on love.
We need a leader with a vision. Green energy independence. Free college. Stop wars. Heal the Earth. Embrace peace. Evolve.
And let's stop talking about the minimum wage. Start talking about a maximum wage. Today there is wealth that would make Pharos of old blush. $500k max? $350k? When does an individual's wealth become exorbitant? Enough.
Let us relinquish our illusions and dream a new vision to be made manifest: beauty and love. We shall overcome. Love trumps all.
Don't blame Comey, the whites or the Russians.
The rich are getting richer. The affordable care act is not affordable and makes the cost of living higher. The new economy of temporary benefitless employment blows.
It is true that love trumps hate, but Clinton didn't run on love.
We need a leader with a vision. Green energy independence. Free college. Stop wars. Heal the Earth. Embrace peace. Evolve.
And let's stop talking about the minimum wage. Start talking about a maximum wage. Today there is wealth that would make Pharos of old blush. $500k max? $350k? When does an individual's wealth become exorbitant? Enough.
Let us relinquish our illusions and dream a new vision to be made manifest: beauty and love. We shall overcome. Love trumps all.
8
Not always a fan, but this time spot on, Maureen!
3
Does anyone doubt that Maureen is thrilled with the election results? Sad thing is: Mo's opinion pieces form a nice companion to the Times' coverage of this election--focused on the inanities of Hillary and her team and mostly unmoved by the extinction level event hurtling towards our country.
5
The Republican president-elect first act is to play a crucial role in curbing
the disquieting conduct going around the country since his election. If after the first 100 days we are not fighting a civil war, Mr. Trump's presidency would be a success.
After almost 3 days of drinking whiskey, I woke up loving Trump to pieces. I have to in order to prevent drinking continuously for the next 4 years. "We have to give him respect and a chance" (duh)
I'm very happy with Trump, and even more happy that the Clintons finally found some reflecting times in the Chappaqua bushes.
Trump - so long he feels respect - will eat anything that is put in front of him. What I'm really, really scared of, are the GOP buffoons that will feed him.
I love reading M. D. Lately she has been on all kinds of shows doing some promoting. It struck me that she's actually a very disappointing speaker, or maybe she's just shy.
Since I am at it: can Charlie Rose please stop interrupting just as his guests are making, what seems to be, a stunning remark? Thanks!
I'm very happy with Trump, and even more happy that the Clintons finally found some reflecting times in the Chappaqua bushes.
Trump - so long he feels respect - will eat anything that is put in front of him. What I'm really, really scared of, are the GOP buffoons that will feed him.
I love reading M. D. Lately she has been on all kinds of shows doing some promoting. It struck me that she's actually a very disappointing speaker, or maybe she's just shy.
Since I am at it: can Charlie Rose please stop interrupting just as his guests are making, what seems to be, a stunning remark? Thanks!
2
Voters waited in line for hours at those early Obama rallies because they were thunderously naive. They bought into the best market campaign politics money could buy. It should have been Hillary-Barack for 8 years, and he could have learned about governing and service at the master's feet. Instead we got his overwhelm and republican obstruction.
The people I know don't want an orator or reality star, they appreciate an expertise in the art of governing and compromise. But the media swamped everyone with click-bait false equivalence and greedy-greedy claptrap. Hillary's coverage, according to the Harvard study earlier this year was 84% negative. We've come to expect it from you, Maureen, with your talent for clever and snark, but the rest, straight reporting included? You've all gifted us with a sociopath.
The people I know don't want an orator or reality star, they appreciate an expertise in the art of governing and compromise. But the media swamped everyone with click-bait false equivalence and greedy-greedy claptrap. Hillary's coverage, according to the Harvard study earlier this year was 84% negative. We've come to expect it from you, Maureen, with your talent for clever and snark, but the rest, straight reporting included? You've all gifted us with a sociopath.
5
Please redeem yourself by going to see what the Standing Rock protest is about. It may get you out if your depression and cynical mood. You tried marijuana. Now try something incredibly more worth writing about
5
So a Trump Presidency was the ultimate price for finally putting a stake through the heart of the Clinton machine controlling the DNC? It really needn't have come to this, surely...
3
An estimated 400 million dollars was spent on just the off year elections in 2010, most of it by Republican connected groups trying to demonize Obama and take away the power of the presidency he had won only two years earlier. This was historic. This was a shift in American political influence power that had never occurred previously. The endless campaign had been born.
The gridblocking of Congress by Republicans thereafter was no mere snit fit. It was a calculated strategy. They had learned that the voters would not blame them, but rather blame "the mess in Washington" and vote against established powers. The manipulation of House districts after the census also played a huge part in allowing Republicans to seize control.
The Internet, Facebook and Twitter fueled rumor mills have almost completely replaced carefully edited, reasonably unbiased news coverage. People believe what they see on their Facebook page and discount the major media. This is a seismic shift that we will be dealing with for decades.
Yet, given all this, Hillary Clinton could have won. The Democrats have largely ignored the disappearance of good jobs in the heartland and, as far as I can tell, it was barely mentioned by her. Still, had she been able to share the relaxed, kind and generous soul she presented in video on election day, she would have gotten millions more votes. Citizens would have discounted the "scandals" cooked up by Republicans and voted for her as a person. There's the pity.
The gridblocking of Congress by Republicans thereafter was no mere snit fit. It was a calculated strategy. They had learned that the voters would not blame them, but rather blame "the mess in Washington" and vote against established powers. The manipulation of House districts after the census also played a huge part in allowing Republicans to seize control.
The Internet, Facebook and Twitter fueled rumor mills have almost completely replaced carefully edited, reasonably unbiased news coverage. People believe what they see on their Facebook page and discount the major media. This is a seismic shift that we will be dealing with for decades.
Yet, given all this, Hillary Clinton could have won. The Democrats have largely ignored the disappearance of good jobs in the heartland and, as far as I can tell, it was barely mentioned by her. Still, had she been able to share the relaxed, kind and generous soul she presented in video on election day, she would have gotten millions more votes. Citizens would have discounted the "scandals" cooked up by Republicans and voted for her as a person. There's the pity.
3
Thus the paper-thin silver lining of this national catastrophe:
Clintonism is now and finally politically dead. Elitists like Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Donna Brazile are either in permanent exile or soon will be. Boomers no longer have the focus or energy stay atop their hobbie horses.
If there was ever a time to dismantle and remake the Democratic Party, we've reached it.
Clintonism is now and finally politically dead. Elitists like Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Donna Brazile are either in permanent exile or soon will be. Boomers no longer have the focus or energy stay atop their hobbie horses.
If there was ever a time to dismantle and remake the Democratic Party, we've reached it.
4
I am no great fan of Ms Dowd, but her last sentence has an awful lot of truth to it.
Orange, NJ
Orange, NJ
7
Yes. Obama caught the attention of voters because he promised change. But even *he* was astounded that he won. He was transformed overnight from a field black worker to a house black worker, and at that point he got scared, not wanting to rock the boat. His aloofness came from fear, and the Republicans sensed that immediately, going on the attack even when the Democrats held Congress. Obama let his chance slip by, turning to establishment rather than revolution.
Both Trump and Sanders called for revolution. Bernie called for a "political" revolution; Trump, any kind at all. The voters, millions of them, still wanted change, feeling betrayed by the Obama administration. By embracing the establishment, clinging to it, reeking of entitlement and arrogance, Hillary sealed her doom. The more she recalled her "years of experience", the more she reminded voters of what they hated. The voters did not *care* much what Trump said, They believe he would change the system. Get ready for a rough ride.
Both Trump and Sanders called for revolution. Bernie called for a "political" revolution; Trump, any kind at all. The voters, millions of them, still wanted change, feeling betrayed by the Obama administration. By embracing the establishment, clinging to it, reeking of entitlement and arrogance, Hillary sealed her doom. The more she recalled her "years of experience", the more she reminded voters of what they hated. The voters did not *care* much what Trump said, They believe he would change the system. Get ready for a rough ride.
2
You played a role in this disaster, Maureen. You've become a gossip columnist more than an editorial writer.
8
Like Rima, I, too, received the Letter from a coupla' guys (suits) from "The Times." I, too, agree that "The Times" in its entirety "got some 'splaining to do"!
All of the media brethren and sistren have "'splaining" to do. "The Times" and all media were way out over their skis for on the order of two years during the Campaign and Election. There was NO objectivity in the daily writing, reporting, editorializing of The New York Times.
Somewhere along the line the nation forgot that Barack had already sold to the Clintons when he gave State to Hillary. That was a bought and sold done deal with the Devil. The Barack Administration was just a puppet of the Clintons. Barack had to toss Joe Biden under the Clinton bus just as the Clintons toss and drag everyone under their buses and jets.
A lot of heads need to roll at "The Times." People need to be sent to journalism re-education camps for intensive study. The bias, discrimination and prejudice exhibited by "The Times" during the 2015/2016 Campaign and Election has been disgraceful. "Times" ethics need to be completed examined and overhauled and reformed.
Endorsements regarding candidates are fine near the conclusion of a Campaign; they are indeed expected. But "The Times" was the house organ of the Hillary Clinton Campaign and therefore an invalid source of news about the campaign and election in its entirety. "The Times" attempted to manufacture, massage, create and distort news.
All of the media brethren and sistren have "'splaining" to do. "The Times" and all media were way out over their skis for on the order of two years during the Campaign and Election. There was NO objectivity in the daily writing, reporting, editorializing of The New York Times.
Somewhere along the line the nation forgot that Barack had already sold to the Clintons when he gave State to Hillary. That was a bought and sold done deal with the Devil. The Barack Administration was just a puppet of the Clintons. Barack had to toss Joe Biden under the Clinton bus just as the Clintons toss and drag everyone under their buses and jets.
A lot of heads need to roll at "The Times." People need to be sent to journalism re-education camps for intensive study. The bias, discrimination and prejudice exhibited by "The Times" during the 2015/2016 Campaign and Election has been disgraceful. "Times" ethics need to be completed examined and overhauled and reformed.
Endorsements regarding candidates are fine near the conclusion of a Campaign; they are indeed expected. But "The Times" was the house organ of the Hillary Clinton Campaign and therefore an invalid source of news about the campaign and election in its entirety. "The Times" attempted to manufacture, massage, create and distort news.
8
Trump and Republican's will not obliterate Obama's legacy. You can't take away the security that 15 million American's gained from the jobs they got under the Obama economy. You can't tear down the family homes that were refinanced due to Obama's actions. You cant delete the Auto Industry rescue or the fact that the stimulus plan stopped the recession. You can't do away with the fact that Obama eliminated Bin Laden and has beaten ISIS back from many of its strongholds in Iraq. You wont destroy the fact that Obama Care has saved lives nor its provisions protecting those with pre-existing conditions or allowing young people up to 25 to stay on their parents insurance. You cant ignore the level of civility, maturity, compassion, and decency that the Obamas reintroduced to the White House. History will remember his record of creating economic growth, reducing unemployment, and increasing family incomes.
Rather than obliterating Obama's record of achievement, the Trump Presidency may end up burnishing Obama's legacy if only by the contrast it creates.
Rather than obliterating Obama's record of achievement, the Trump Presidency may end up burnishing Obama's legacy if only by the contrast it creates.
159
You can say Hillary should have spent less time collecting money on Wall Street, but who's the real Wall Street candidate? Trump earned speaking fees of up to $1.5 million per for talking to big businesses- we never heard about that. Per CNN Money. Wall Street traders were booing and shouting "Lock her up" and "the witch is dead" during her concession speech. How did she become the only "friend" to Wall Street in the media? Believing Trump's lying words again?
207
Hillary looks nothing like the old dudes on our money. You know who does? Trump wasn't a hope-and-change vote: it was atavism.
And as for Obama abandoning his revolutionary side... perhaps, when your favorite revolutionaries learn and adapt, you should think about what that can teach you, rather than castigating them for falling short of an imaginary standard.
And as for Obama abandoning his revolutionary side... perhaps, when your favorite revolutionaries learn and adapt, you should think about what that can teach you, rather than castigating them for falling short of an imaginary standard.
37
And the upshot is...Now we have Trump.
4
Can you fast forward and write about Trump impeachment
69
I did not see Obama as the "escape hatch from Clinton" in 2008. I was going in her direction decidedly but when my 20 something daughter and 70 something mom both found out about Obama independently of each other , I knew to trust that without hesitation , though it was sad for me to leave Hillary behind . I admired her in the debates for speaking so authentically passionate about repairing diplomatic ties with countries all over the world damaged by Bush. That Obama gave her the opportunity to be Secretary of State was incredibly kind , generous and smart! She did a great job ... and made some mistakes.
I have been around a long time , despite my youthful spirit , and I disavow the ugly , bitter and wrongheaded critique of Hillary and " the Clintons" . That ugliness I think reflects on the "stinking thinking" of the criticizer him/her self.
Hillary would have been a great president . Mistakes were made ...period .
I am still sad .
I have been around a long time , despite my youthful spirit , and I disavow the ugly , bitter and wrongheaded critique of Hillary and " the Clintons" . That ugliness I think reflects on the "stinking thinking" of the criticizer him/her self.
Hillary would have been a great president . Mistakes were made ...period .
I am still sad .
87
I wonder how many homeless refugees would of voted for Clinton?
This election was clearly tainted by electoral manipulation by the partisan FBI director. The consequences are going to be immense for the 22 million people losing their health insurance. I don't know about anyone else, but I am done with letting Republicans getting away with their underhandedness. I want to hear the story of every single person who loses their health insurance. I want every such story reaching everyone's Facebook page. We have to make sure that this time the proper political price is paid for greed and callousness.
80
Here's your first story. Before Obamacare my son and daughter in law had decent insurance they could afford. Obamacare took that away, it did not work for them. Thankfully he got a job that has benefits so his family now has affordable insurance.
Why don't to you discuss the effect of the lack of Hillary's veto to prevent the Ryan plan to have old, sick people pay for their Medicare by buying it from private insurers or to eviscerate the protection of Social Security by turning over Social Security to Charles Schwab or some other broker? Can't do that right, that's for the Krugmans or Kristofs at the NYT. Well you like to play psychoanalyst or spider on the wall and its looks like so much fun, I think I will try. First I think you know fully well what Congress is about to do. But you are single and well older (an old maid that is) and all you have is your red meat family. To fit in you must deal with cognitive dissonance and make up stuff to fit in with them. You have added nothing to the exposure of what I call the GOP genocide plan to accelerate the deaths of the older, sicker and well in the words of Trump losers in America. Your personal misery has made you into a vicious gossip columnist without the wit of Dorothy Parker.
118
Wow, Maureen really describes me as a voter in 2008. Obama was such an alluring candidate and I was excited to vote for this guy, who so convincingly touted himself as the agent of change, someone who knew how to 'bring people together'. Unfortunately the change he promised seemed to come from him -- he became a different person once the campaign was over.
So, I did want Trump to win this time, in hopes he might shake up the establishment and spare us of Clintons back in the White House, but this time around I'm older and wiser and my expectations are set at zero.
So, I did want Trump to win this time, in hopes he might shake up the establishment and spare us of Clintons back in the White House, but this time around I'm older and wiser and my expectations are set at zero.
29
Lisa, your post describes me perfectly. I feel exactly the same way.
2
As if Maureen Dowd doesn't hang out with East Coast political elites and celebrities. Perhaps she could report on the concerns of working-class voters, or do any real reporting at all rather than write snarky columns of no real reporting substance.
168
Not going to happen. The coastal leftist elite live in a fishbowl, willingly, because it allows them to ignore reality and focus on manipulation and erosion of the rights and lives of others.
1
This is a deadly accurate analysis. Obama was ushered in on a wave of good feelings buoyed by energetic supporters who were subsequently left standing at the gate while he squandered his first two years with a democratic majority in congress. Whatever happened to 'shovel ready' projects? What happened to his first 100 days? They were wasted away while he hunkered down with Larry Summers (as elite as you can get) and Tim Geithner who he compared to Alexander Hamilton. Puhleeze. Even Ann Coulter said that Bernie would have been the only candidate to go up against Trump. Trump and Sanders represented change while - to paraphrase Matt Taibbi - Clinton jammed her blood funnel into anything that smelled like money. And please, the NY Times needs to explain WHY they endorsed Hilary before the primary. Shame on you. And let's stop listening to to Nate Silver et. al. They're in a bubble.
60
Then they left Obama twisting in the wind in the census year election of 2010, and the rest of the Obama years were Gulliver in Lilliputia. Democratic voters are erratic fools.
3
Maureen’s nitpicking after the fact is pointless. By any reasonable standard Hillary had an effective campaign with few missteps.
The best analysis I’ve read about what happened Tuesday night was actually written when it mattered – before the fact. It’s an op-ed by David Axelrod that appeared in this newspaper on Jan. 25, 2016. In it he explains the phenomenon of Trump:
“Open-seat presidential elections are shaped by perceptions of the style and personality of the outgoing incumbent. Voters rarely seek the replica of what they have. They almost always seek the remedy, the candidate who has the personal qualities the public finds lacking in the departing executive.”
The entire op-ed is worth revisiting.
It seems as if the only point of Maureen’s column is to get a couple of last jabs at Obama and Clinton. Like Trump she can’t let go of a grudge.
The best analysis I’ve read about what happened Tuesday night was actually written when it mattered – before the fact. It’s an op-ed by David Axelrod that appeared in this newspaper on Jan. 25, 2016. In it he explains the phenomenon of Trump:
“Open-seat presidential elections are shaped by perceptions of the style and personality of the outgoing incumbent. Voters rarely seek the replica of what they have. They almost always seek the remedy, the candidate who has the personal qualities the public finds lacking in the departing executive.”
The entire op-ed is worth revisiting.
It seems as if the only point of Maureen’s column is to get a couple of last jabs at Obama and Clinton. Like Trump she can’t let go of a grudge.
91
Need I say more than Dowd's incisive conclusion, except to suggest she DOES sound a bit angry, frustrated . . .
"In September, Hillary stumbled when she dismissed half of Trump supporters as a 'basket of deplorables.' Tellingly, the snooty remarks were made at a high-dollar fund-raiser hosted by Barbra Streisand and other sparklies at Cipriani Wall Street. Hillary should have spent less time collecting money on Wall Street and more time collecting votes in Wisconsin."
"In September, Hillary stumbled when she dismissed half of Trump supporters as a 'basket of deplorables.' Tellingly, the snooty remarks were made at a high-dollar fund-raiser hosted by Barbra Streisand and other sparklies at Cipriani Wall Street. Hillary should have spent less time collecting money on Wall Street and more time collecting votes in Wisconsin."
23
Red tee: they should be dismissed. Raging haters who think the world owes them a living, they will forever stay stuck. It's not easy accepting responsibility for your life's failures.
2
Maureen, you know very well it was the Comey letter. Hillary's stats dropped from double digits 12 days before the letter came out and to only a 1% lead after. Is there anyone you like? You let trump skate by and can't stop bad mouthing anything the deems do. Your a great disappointment to me. Have you nothing nice to say about Warren or are you going after her next?
95
@kilika
Since I voted for Elizabeth Warren, I have something to say about her. She put her ambition ahead of her ethics to throw Sanders under the bus in the rigged Dem primary, to endorse Clinton, who she disagrees with on almost very major issue. I voted for Jill Stein, and likely may not be voting for Democrats again, including "Saint" Warren, Ed Markey and Richie Neal. As with Trump, criminality and corruption will never get my vote.
Since I voted for Elizabeth Warren, I have something to say about her. She put her ambition ahead of her ethics to throw Sanders under the bus in the rigged Dem primary, to endorse Clinton, who she disagrees with on almost very major issue. I voted for Jill Stein, and likely may not be voting for Democrats again, including "Saint" Warren, Ed Markey and Richie Neal. As with Trump, criminality and corruption will never get my vote.
2
Well, Mo, how many more columns left to bash Hill and Bill? Let us count the weeks. Just think, you won't have Hillary to kick around any longer, or will you? Will Trump's inevitable disasters which are as sure to come somehow make their origins be blamed on Hillary?
Go ahead, get it all out of your system. You know what's coming: a trove of material for you and comedy writers everywhere, gauging and critiquing the unsteady hand of Captain Trump at the helm. Thought George W. was a godsend? What must they be thinking of Trump? You have hit the mother lode.
In fact, nix the Hillary, Bill and Barack stuff and start focusing on The Orange One. You'll be able to take a four-year sabbatical. The column will write itself.
DD
Manhattan
Go ahead, get it all out of your system. You know what's coming: a trove of material for you and comedy writers everywhere, gauging and critiquing the unsteady hand of Captain Trump at the helm. Thought George W. was a godsend? What must they be thinking of Trump? You have hit the mother lode.
In fact, nix the Hillary, Bill and Barack stuff and start focusing on The Orange One. You'll be able to take a four-year sabbatical. The column will write itself.
DD
Manhattan
65
To employ a rock concert metaphor: Hubris is the warm up act for Nemesis.
Popping champagne on the campaign (kinda rhymes don't it?) plane celebrating victory before the defeat sort of reminded me of the $100K in hors d'oeuvres for the victory party after the Iowa primary in 2008.
In the end, the Clintonistas convinced Obama that this 'change' business was overrated. Good things come (in tiny increments) to those who wait and don't rock the royal yacht was not a winning catchphrase.
I voted against Trump. The Dems are now talking about installing Keith Ellison as DNC chair to drive the 2020 effort. They want me out too.
Popping champagne on the campaign (kinda rhymes don't it?) plane celebrating victory before the defeat sort of reminded me of the $100K in hors d'oeuvres for the victory party after the Iowa primary in 2008.
In the end, the Clintonistas convinced Obama that this 'change' business was overrated. Good things come (in tiny increments) to those who wait and don't rock the royal yacht was not a winning catchphrase.
I voted against Trump. The Dems are now talking about installing Keith Ellison as DNC chair to drive the 2020 effort. They want me out too.
13
Good for you, Maureen. These are my thoughts and sentiments exactly. My first Presidential vote was for John Kennedy and this was the most tone deaf campaign I have ever witnessed since then. Neither Clinton nor Obama had a clue which is amazing considering their experience and high position. Sanders would have wiped the floor with Trump but the Clintonian ego triumphed and then lost at a great cost to us all. Sad story indeed and history is full of similar tales.
41
Feel better Maureen? I bet you do.
20
As usual cute but glosses over the fact that the Hump is not likeable, a liar and listens to no one. She passes blame to others. Zero saw it but was romanced back in. Thank God the American people can see a phony even if it takes 20 years. Get a man Mo.
11
Remember, Obama's the guy who said we could keep our doctors.
Lets' all hope he is as slick and deceitful as Republicans have been insisting he is for the last 7 years.
Lets' all hope he is as slick and deceitful as Republicans have been insisting he is for the last 7 years.
5
It's amazing but her 2008 campaign and 2016 campaign were so similar.
The same people around her, the same lack of message and the same wooden candidate.
2016 was even worse though. Little acknowledgment that Occupy Wall Street changed the conversation among Democratic voters. Losing the electoral college to an unqualified presidential candidate with the highest disapproval rating in history. What a waste.
The same people around her, the same lack of message and the same wooden candidate.
2016 was even worse though. Little acknowledgment that Occupy Wall Street changed the conversation among Democratic voters. Losing the electoral college to an unqualified presidential candidate with the highest disapproval rating in history. What a waste.
23
When many people move to cities, their votes become worth nothing under the Electoral College of Permanent Slavery.
1
Dismissiveness has been one of Obama's core behavior patterns, let's face it. He dismissed Romney in the 2012 debates when Romney named Russia as remaining the US' chief adversary. He dismissed concerns over racist, Jew-hating Jeremiah Wright being his spiritual advisor for 20 years, as well as dismissed the need to disavow the endorsement he received from another racist Jew-hater Louis Farrakhan (liberals who denounce Trump's laziness in the face of David Duke have selective memories). He dismissed the need to horse trade with the opposite party in order to enact laws the country would accept, relying on smooth speeches and executive orders if his brilliance didn't quite sink through. He dismissed signs Obamacare was not living up to the hype. He dismissed the rise of ISIS as an amateur terrorist "JV team." He dismissed the slaughter in Syria as "not doing stupid stuff." He dismissed the original Syrian rebels as nothing more than shopkeepers with no fighting skills (never mind that about sums up the people who went against the British Empire at Lexington and Concord in 1775 -- that seemed to have gained some traction). He dismissed anyone who questioned his vaunted Iran deal for the gaul to suggest all he did was re-legitimize and refinance a theocratic Holocaust-denying terror regime for nothing in return except putting their secretive nuclear weapons program on hold for ten years. Basically, dismissed anyone who was not totally convinced of his superior judgement.
29
I rather find this to be true.
1
The very fact that you can analyze the campaign with the help of the Complete Works of John Podesta's Hacked/Stolen (not leaked, as you put it) E-Mails is just one example of how this contest reeks of unfairness. Did the Trump campaign not pour over the intimate details of the Clinton campaign strategy? Why were the e-mails of just one side hacked? What was that late one-two punch from someone who wasn't even the ring: the F.B.I.? And if Clinton was so inadequate as a candidate, why is she said to have won about 2 million more votes than the "winner." Clinton did NOT run as if it was "her turn." But many people, men and women, hoped the moment had finally come to put a super-qualified woman in the White House. As one woman said to me this afternoon, the glass ceiling gets lifted higher and higher. I guess this is it for seeing a woman in the White House in my lifetime. But then emancipated male slaves got the vote in 1870. Women had to wait another 50 years.
61
Yes, the system is rigged! (Oops, that's what Trump said.)
1
You ignore the fact that the elite establishment Dem DNC ran a candidate who is a liar, cheat and a criminal. On a level playing field, without the stranglehold of the corrupt two major party system, Jill Stein of the Green Party would have had a great chance to win. You want a woman candidate with a chance, nominate a clean ethical one, not one who cheats, takes big money from foreign donors in pay to play and votes for Republican wars of choice.
3
Mo, I am so tired of your snarky comments about Clinton and Obama. Nobody is perfect, not even you. It would be nice if you used your considerable writing and language skills to write a real analysis of what has happened. You give the loutish, crotch grabbing Trump almost a pass or at least a low ball critique and demean the President - the man with no scandals in his administration and his dignity intact - the back of your hand and sarcastic observations. Are you one of those women who can't abide another strong woman getting a prized position? I know Clinton has her faults and was not always the candidate she could have been. But, given the mood of the country in many places and the juggernaut of the Trump campaign (don't forget all the lies in every speech and the impact of a tall, white, wealthy man telling the populace what they wanted to hear) it would have taken a Margaret Thatcher or a Golda Meier to prevail. Who will you pick on next?
97
There is only one way to deal with an immature man like Trump who has landed the most important job in America, and that is just to treat him like the man/baby that he is. Obama has to do that, but we don't. Trump is not going to get a country that loves one another under him. He's a man/baby; he goes to twitter to deny that protestors are reacting negatively to his presidency; he claims the media is falsifying this? More votes were for Hillary, and that's a fact. One would think he has more important things to do now than to play around on twitter. I have so little respect for him. I believe most citizens feel if they were to bump into him on the street that they wouldn't pay him much mind. Looking forward to the end of his term, like most others.
26
More votes are simply thrown away in cities. That's why the tail wags the dog in this land of completely erratic protection of the law and unconstitutional religious government.
1
Bottom-line - - it is male cruelty dow through the ages, herein in the forefront in America today, in its forms of male greed manifest through slavery, wage-slavery, racism, sexism, lgbt-phobia, ethnocentrism, murder, torture; all the aforementioned anti-democratic behaviors toward others for the sake of self-righteous power and control over others and ownership of everything and everyone.
May we have the power to stop this cruel greedy power and control in the hands of a few who do not want economic equality and liberty and justice for all.
May we have the power to stop this cruel greedy power and control in the hands of a few who do not want economic equality and liberty and justice for all.
11
Not likely in the face of the slavery-preserving Electoral College presidential election system.
1
Ms. Dowd, are you planning on retiring now that you'll no longer have the Clintons or the Obamas to kick around any more?
95
I think Ms. Dowd nailed it here. Bravo!
5
It's the system, Maureen.
Apparently you can't admit that anymore than Hillary can, and certainly not Donald, who hoodwinked his followers with pie in the sky promises about bringing jobs back to their moldering, outdated cities and towns. Case in point: Carrier's move to Mexico was announced to its workers in Indiana by an executive of the company as "strictly a business decision." In other words, profit before people, to use Noam Chomsky's phrase.
Donald picked up the Carrier example and hammered it week after week, saying he would bring those jobs back. But he can't and he won't, because he's made his fortune following the same ethos: profits come first. Until corporate capitalism bites the dust, the problems in this country are unsolvable.
And of course, Donald knows this. He's a world class liar and will appoint those very moguls and lobbyists and politicians and oil industry shills to his administration who he spent months vilifying and things will only get worse. And four years from now the by then truly desperate white working class will vote a career Democrat into the White House and the Game will go on.
Either real revolution happens -- a true change of the system under which we live -- or forget about it. The rest is window dressing, spin, and subterfuge.
Apparently you can't admit that anymore than Hillary can, and certainly not Donald, who hoodwinked his followers with pie in the sky promises about bringing jobs back to their moldering, outdated cities and towns. Case in point: Carrier's move to Mexico was announced to its workers in Indiana by an executive of the company as "strictly a business decision." In other words, profit before people, to use Noam Chomsky's phrase.
Donald picked up the Carrier example and hammered it week after week, saying he would bring those jobs back. But he can't and he won't, because he's made his fortune following the same ethos: profits come first. Until corporate capitalism bites the dust, the problems in this country are unsolvable.
And of course, Donald knows this. He's a world class liar and will appoint those very moguls and lobbyists and politicians and oil industry shills to his administration who he spent months vilifying and things will only get worse. And four years from now the by then truly desperate white working class will vote a career Democrat into the White House and the Game will go on.
Either real revolution happens -- a true change of the system under which we live -- or forget about it. The rest is window dressing, spin, and subterfuge.
14
In her sepulchral column today, Maureen Dowd cannot find any philosophic generosity to President Obama which demonstrates her profound limitations as a catty entertainer for the New York Times. In her previous puff essays on Donald Trump, Ms. Dowd did manage her version of Jimmy Fallon fluffing the President-elect's preternatural hair. Certainly, Ms. Dowd is more illuminating and necessary when she shines light on her conservative brother but ultimately the literary weight of her wry expression pales next to Dorothy Parker.
8
"As late as February, Hillary’s chief strategist, Joel Benenson, was fretting that the candidate had no vision or message compared to Sanders."
That was the piece that did her in. Running for president was clearly something she did not enjoy. She was awkward on the stump, did not appear to like meeting supporters and was under constant fire from the GOP.
Given all that even her supporters had to wonder: Why? Why is she doing this to herself? What is so important about being president that she'll put up with all this?
We never got an answer beyond "she's very qualified and she's not Donald Trump."
In the end that wasn't enough.
That was the piece that did her in. Running for president was clearly something she did not enjoy. She was awkward on the stump, did not appear to like meeting supporters and was under constant fire from the GOP.
Given all that even her supporters had to wonder: Why? Why is she doing this to herself? What is so important about being president that she'll put up with all this?
We never got an answer beyond "she's very qualified and she's not Donald Trump."
In the end that wasn't enough.
20
I understand the urge as we grow older to feel relevant, like Rudy and Newt. Who knows, Maureen, maybe you can join the new administration as their press secretary?
25
Obama is a good man but please don't site his Nobel Prize which was rewarded based on his potential and not on any results. The Nobel has turned out to be a joke like many things the elitist left wing of the Democratic Party has embraced.
Maureen is right on as usual. Hilary is blaming Comey but that is lame. She ran a poor campaign that focused mostly on the coasts. Her "it is my turn attitude" set her up for a great disappointment. It is a shame because I believe she would have made a good president. Until the elites do something about the bubble they live in, they will continue to be marginalized by the majority of America. Great results Chuck Todd, Chris Mathews and Robbie Mook. If you had jobs in the real world, your results would cry out for termination!
Maureen is right on as usual. Hilary is blaming Comey but that is lame. She ran a poor campaign that focused mostly on the coasts. Her "it is my turn attitude" set her up for a great disappointment. It is a shame because I believe she would have made a good president. Until the elites do something about the bubble they live in, they will continue to be marginalized by the majority of America. Great results Chuck Todd, Chris Mathews and Robbie Mook. If you had jobs in the real world, your results would cry out for termination!
18
Did Trump know anything about the ACA as he flew around the country in his fancy jet shouting about its repeal and calling it a total disaster that couldn't be fixed? Did he know that under the ACA insurance companies must provide coverage to people with preexisting conditions? That it extends coverage for children under parents' plans up to the age of 26? This column was devoted, in typical Dowd fashion, to fruitlessly bashing President Obama and Hillary Clinton. But the fact that really stood out for me in the column is that it seems as if President-elect Trump may have been ignorant of two important parts of the law that protect millions of Americans from living in America without health insurance. As the Beastie Boys sang it takes a second to wreck it it takes time to build. Maybe Dowd you should devote a column to what President-elect Trump thinks he knows but in fact does not. I'd wager that it would take a team of editors to cut it to the required 800-word length.
22
I am aghast at Maureen Dowd's audacity to criticize our president in the light of what faces our nation.
This 74 year old avowed liberal who has seen presidents from both parties govern, knows the difference between a class act and a blowhard columnist. President Obama conducted his presidency with grace and dignity under unbelievable circumstances and utter disrespect from his adversaries.
So, with all due respect........Maureen, you can eat my girts!!!!
This 74 year old avowed liberal who has seen presidents from both parties govern, knows the difference between a class act and a blowhard columnist. President Obama conducted his presidency with grace and dignity under unbelievable circumstances and utter disrespect from his adversaries.
So, with all due respect........Maureen, you can eat my girts!!!!
66
We all have to agree on one important thing, Our president didn't deliver the right message to hoist HRC across the line. It is true statement that he has been, and are an Ivy League elitist. This is his comfort zone.
1
The Democrats need desperately to stop being the Wall Street party. The celebration of diversity is fine and needed, but the uncritical acceptance of "free" trade agreements that do not provide enforceable labor and environmental standards must stop. The Democrats must also work much harder to recruit candidates and open up the party to new voices and new faces.
The world's oldest political party has a very thin bench now. Elizabeth Warren, though talented, is at retirement age. Joe Biden is well into his 70s now. The party needs to look to younger officials like Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Martin O'Malley, Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, and Jeff Merkley to set the tone and reach out sincerely to find new talent. And the DNC needs to be rebuilt.
Republicans will want to get rid of Trump before Nov. 2018 unless he succeeds far more than circumstances indicate is likely. He will be an albatross for them and he may not be sufficiently controllable from their perspective. So I don't rule out an impeachment to get Pence into the Oval Office. Democrats should be ready for this gambit.
The world's oldest political party has a very thin bench now. Elizabeth Warren, though talented, is at retirement age. Joe Biden is well into his 70s now. The party needs to look to younger officials like Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Martin O'Malley, Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, and Jeff Merkley to set the tone and reach out sincerely to find new talent. And the DNC needs to be rebuilt.
Republicans will want to get rid of Trump before Nov. 2018 unless he succeeds far more than circumstances indicate is likely. He will be an albatross for them and he may not be sufficiently controllable from their perspective. So I don't rule out an impeachment to get Pence into the Oval Office. Democrats should be ready for this gambit.
110
The naivety of Obama hasn't diminished in 8 years. He believed and tried to convince us all that all you had to do to get good things done was bring us all together.
He's got that backwards. You bring people together by getting good things done that they can rally around.
In 2009, the country needed good healthcare reform. Obama congratulated himself in ushering in a clumsy piece of junk, the ACA, and expected the country to be grateful. He saved the bankers in 2009, and he expected the working class to understand that the bankers had priority over them because the "system" had to be saved. He and his heir apparent Hillary couldn't understand why the working class were unhappy with their 2nd place status to bankers.
If Obama had accomplished worthwhile healthcare reform and had valued the wellbeing of the working class over the wellbeing of that abstraction called the "financial system," then that working class and more voters could have rallied around his heir apparent Hillary.
Hillary's mistake was in not recognizing that Obama had done very little for the working class. Her promise of being a 3rd Obama term thus was of no comfort to the working class.
He's got that backwards. You bring people together by getting good things done that they can rally around.
In 2009, the country needed good healthcare reform. Obama congratulated himself in ushering in a clumsy piece of junk, the ACA, and expected the country to be grateful. He saved the bankers in 2009, and he expected the working class to understand that the bankers had priority over them because the "system" had to be saved. He and his heir apparent Hillary couldn't understand why the working class were unhappy with their 2nd place status to bankers.
If Obama had accomplished worthwhile healthcare reform and had valued the wellbeing of the working class over the wellbeing of that abstraction called the "financial system," then that working class and more voters could have rallied around his heir apparent Hillary.
Hillary's mistake was in not recognizing that Obama had done very little for the working class. Her promise of being a 3rd Obama term thus was of no comfort to the working class.
100
"You bring people together by getting good things done that they can rally around." Obama wasn't allowed to do that, with the Congress he had. Never underestimate the stupidity of the American electorate.
4
Peddlng the false media narrative. Under Obama, millions of jobs were added, working class incomes ROSE (by the biggest percentage since the '60s), inlflation and gas prices were kept low, and the stock market made huge advances. And, yes, working class people own stocks, too. I'm one of them, and I tripled my smaill investment under Obama. This was not about "working class" values. This was about white patrician values.
4
I am one of those voters who expected more guts from Obama, not just "pragmatism." I am a progressive and I wanted change. He was promising change but his toolkit for achieving it was very limited. Pragmatism does not work with ugly, nasty people like Mitch McConneIl or Putin. You cannot rely on academic reasoning to defeat these types. You have to be tough, you have be passionate (like Michelle) and most importantly, you have to get help, not just from the powerful few within the government but from the commoners outside the government who voted for you. But once elected, Obama lost interest in staying in touch with the Obama movement. He became a self-contained president, clearly more comfortable with the big shots and celebs than with the average Jane and Joe. Why didn't he invite a few folks from rural Ohio to his birthday party?? The hunger for change is still around after 8 years of Obama, and so is the disconnect between the people and the government. And it brought us Trump.
124
"But Obama lost touch with his revolutionary side and settled comfortably into being an Ivy League East Coast cerebral elitist who hung out with celebrities, lectured Congress and scorned the art of political persuasion."
The best one-sentence description of Obama ever written. Unfortunately. A nice man and praiseworthy president, but non-political in the most political office on earth. I think Hillary's decision to link herself with Obama contributed mightily to her defeat. His political side carried no weight, and his good-guy aura--the source of his approval rating--had not a chance of a snowball in hell of being bestowed on Hillary. Maybe the Democrats now will discover who they are, beginning with wining over large numbers of thos working class males.
They need to compensate for the poor showing of blacks and Hispanics.
The best one-sentence description of Obama ever written. Unfortunately. A nice man and praiseworthy president, but non-political in the most political office on earth. I think Hillary's decision to link herself with Obama contributed mightily to her defeat. His political side carried no weight, and his good-guy aura--the source of his approval rating--had not a chance of a snowball in hell of being bestowed on Hillary. Maybe the Democrats now will discover who they are, beginning with wining over large numbers of thos working class males.
They need to compensate for the poor showing of blacks and Hispanics.
77
Of course, you are right, Maureen. And I say that as a diehard Obama supporter who I think did wonderful things on health care, climate, and reviving the economy in the teeth of a hurricane of Republican opposition. A reprise of Clinton Inc. was clearly going to be a foolhardy enterprise, and that should have been obvious to everyone, starting with Bill and Hillary, and everyone else. The message of every election has been change, and a candidate who despite her good intentions was Ms. Establishment personified could not, would not, succeed. Her lengthy resume was the problem, not the solution. Barack himself proved that eight years ago.
73
What happened in America a few days ago has happened many times in other lands . A demagogue won telling people what they wanted to hear . More serious politicians were more measured in their promises and sounded condescending to the ears of the people that felt forgotten . Many decades ago in Argentina a right wing demagogue and populist , called Juan Domingo Peron , reached power supported by the " descamisados " or shirtless ones . Argentina was then a very rich country with a bright future . Peron destroyed that future . Let us hope Trump does not destroy our country`s future .
262
Every single, stinking analysis of why Hillary lost should at least have an asterisk pointing to the Electoral College. We need a new system. We need to have a popular vote trigger at around 51.4% that says if a candidate gets that much of the popular vote, the state by state totals are thrown out.
How many millions of people might have voted in states like Texas or Mississippi but didn't bother because they knew their vote for Hillary would be cancelled out? What kind of messed up, undemocratic system is it that allows votes to be made meaningless, anyway? Not acceptable. This cannot go on.
We can use the Electoral College well to decide razor thin elections, as this one was (at least until the full popular vote totals are known), but we must no longer rely on the voting by states to decide who gets to be president.
Most Trump voters know almost nothing about his actual record in business (very mixed with some huge failures that he bragged about walking away from with millions), his actual personal life as opposed to the one video record about sexual aggression and, indeed, even his most outrageous statements, like killing the families of terrorists (international law violation) or firing all the generals in the Pentagon. They didn't know.
It is a waste of precious time to cut and slice this election as if it revealed deep things about America. It doesn't, except the success of the Republican effort to make Washington, DC, and Obama, look hapless. That worked.
How many millions of people might have voted in states like Texas or Mississippi but didn't bother because they knew their vote for Hillary would be cancelled out? What kind of messed up, undemocratic system is it that allows votes to be made meaningless, anyway? Not acceptable. This cannot go on.
We can use the Electoral College well to decide razor thin elections, as this one was (at least until the full popular vote totals are known), but we must no longer rely on the voting by states to decide who gets to be president.
Most Trump voters know almost nothing about his actual record in business (very mixed with some huge failures that he bragged about walking away from with millions), his actual personal life as opposed to the one video record about sexual aggression and, indeed, even his most outrageous statements, like killing the families of terrorists (international law violation) or firing all the generals in the Pentagon. They didn't know.
It is a waste of precious time to cut and slice this election as if it revealed deep things about America. It doesn't, except the success of the Republican effort to make Washington, DC, and Obama, look hapless. That worked.
15
I see HRC is telling her fat cat financial backers today that they can lay her loss at the feet of FBI Director Comey. Even after she lost what should have been an un-losable election, she still does't get it. Well, Hillary, maybe I can help. Here's the bottom line. There would be no Comey controversy and you probably would be President today if you hadn't treated your confidential e-mail like it was a Snap-Chat account. Look in the mirror, kiddo. It's all on you.
17
We Liberal types forget that Obama is black; but no one else does. Obama knows he's black, which is why he always has to be the "friendly Negro".
And he played it just right. His accomplishments were exceptional compared to his opportunities. Let's take a moment of silence to remember what he inherited.
So I'd not be too quick complaining that his governance fell short of the hoped for change we dreamed of.
We got far more from President Obama than we deserved.
And he played it just right. His accomplishments were exceptional compared to his opportunities. Let's take a moment of silence to remember what he inherited.
So I'd not be too quick complaining that his governance fell short of the hoped for change we dreamed of.
We got far more from President Obama than we deserved.
32
Another snarky trashing of Obama and Hill but..... MD nails it with her final sentence. "Hillary should have spent less time collecting money on Wall Street and more time collecting votes in Wisconsin."
The message from our loss is you need to have a message and it can't be my opponent is an ass. President Obama was my president, the best in my lifetime. I voted for and worked for Hillary but with no sense of enthusiasm, no sense of mission that I had in 08 and 12. In fact I worried about the next 4 years being a string of tone deaf Clinton type mistakes and mini-scandals.
So no mini-scandals, maybe only giant soul-crushing mistakes that destroy us. My mood is summed up by Garison Keillor "let them deal with him" I am going to clean my garage and work in the garden.
The message from our loss is you need to have a message and it can't be my opponent is an ass. President Obama was my president, the best in my lifetime. I voted for and worked for Hillary but with no sense of enthusiasm, no sense of mission that I had in 08 and 12. In fact I worried about the next 4 years being a string of tone deaf Clinton type mistakes and mini-scandals.
So no mini-scandals, maybe only giant soul-crushing mistakes that destroy us. My mood is summed up by Garison Keillor "let them deal with him" I am going to clean my garage and work in the garden.
10
Ms. Dowd -- you are a great writer, but your "words" are not great. You never quite cut through to the real issue or the real problem with a very dangerous man like Donald J. Trump in the White House. You can only talk about Hillary and her determination and your perception that she felt, she "deserved this damn it". Well, she did deserve it "damn it" -- no matter how you put the words together, there is no real dispute about that fact -- if you want to just base it on votes alone, which says a lot! I remember your brilliant columns back (oh, was it only 8 years ago) when Obama first ran -- tight, polished and factual and yes, beautifully written. This time, not so, sadly -- I miss your fine writing. I hope it comes back over the very (which I predict) dark years ahead.
14
What happened to the Democrat party? They were once the party of the "little" guy—the uneducated, the down trodden and those in society that were actually the backbone of America. Now, the Democrat party are elitist that shun the uneducated to the point of laughter. What happened? Where did the entitled elitist come from and where did the ship make such a drastic course change?
10
What ultimately happened to the Democratic Party was Bill Clinton's decision to move the party to the center, away from its traditional blue-collar roots. We won elections, but lost the soul of the party. The party is now paying a price because not enough blue collar, middle class voters rally to democrats, not seeing the party as representing their core interests. It really was time to move on from the Clinton era.
Ffirst, it's Democratic party, this isn't the Rush Limbaugh show. Second, I rather doubt your party is on the precipice of a thousand year reich. When the country realizes it's been conned it will show your rear ends to the door just as readily as it's done before. It's not if, only when.
For the life of me, I cannot imagine why President Obama did not recount to the American people frequently and loudly that the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, announced during the depths worst economic turn since The Depression, that his number one goal was to make Mr. Obama "a one term president." On one level, treasonous, on another, certainly unpatriotic. I marveled at how the Sunday morning talking heads said that Mr. Obama should be more compliant because the Democrats had lost the Congress. An insult to all Americans! Mr. Trump would go far to make that pronouncement and, in draining the swamp"," make himself a hero.
7
Sorry Barack.
Maybe you shouldn't have humiliated him at the Press Corp dinner?
You legacy will be deleted, with an impact similar to that of Millard Filmore or William Henry Harrison.
El Caudillo will continue his fight, aid by McConnell and Ryan to wipe your achievements off the books.
Maybe you shouldn't have humiliated him at the Press Corp dinner?
You legacy will be deleted, with an impact similar to that of Millard Filmore or William Henry Harrison.
El Caudillo will continue his fight, aid by McConnell and Ryan to wipe your achievements off the books.
6
It would seem that the cards are already revealing themselves as Trump, three days in, is already shifting the hard stuff over to Pence and leaving the fun stuff for himself. Like hiring a decorator to gild everything in the oval office that doesn't move, and hiring the best chef from McD's that money can buy.
8
Is it possible to be more out of touch with reality than Maureen Dowd?
She writes: "Obama lost touch with his revolutionary side and settled comfortably into being an Ivy League East Coast cerebral elitist..."
So his "settling comfortably" had nothing to do with the Republicans' obstructionism in Congress? Nothing to do with refusing to pass budgets? Nothing to do with refusing for nearly a year to confirm his Supreme Court nominee? He was just "settling comfortably"?
Maureen writes that "dismissive of working-class voters."
Is that why he passed the ACA that extended health insurance to some 20 million Americans, most low or middle-income Americans in places like Kentucky?
Maureen Dowd is as delusional as Donald Trump. No wonder she coddled him.
She writes: "Obama lost touch with his revolutionary side and settled comfortably into being an Ivy League East Coast cerebral elitist..."
So his "settling comfortably" had nothing to do with the Republicans' obstructionism in Congress? Nothing to do with refusing to pass budgets? Nothing to do with refusing for nearly a year to confirm his Supreme Court nominee? He was just "settling comfortably"?
Maureen writes that "dismissive of working-class voters."
Is that why he passed the ACA that extended health insurance to some 20 million Americans, most low or middle-income Americans in places like Kentucky?
Maureen Dowd is as delusional as Donald Trump. No wonder she coddled him.
44
Maureen, while you're slamming President Obama for Clinton's failure to win the presidency, please acknowledge that Ms Clinton leads the popular vote by nearly 600,000 votes.
Some "obliteration."
Some "obliteration."
15
Do some research on the Electoral College, Sean. You need to be informed of how our system works.
Remember, too, that the "Blue Wall" was all about electoral votes. Yes, in that regard, it was "obliteration."
Remember, too, that the "Blue Wall" was all about electoral votes. Yes, in that regard, it was "obliteration."
1
You're right Dowd --- “Hillary should have spent less time collecting money on Wall Street and more time collecting votes in Wisconsin.”
Nice to see Dowd’s sudden concern with ‘working class’ voters, so long neglected by our politics
.
Obama, so charming and civil, now wears a bright halo for many, celebrated as a liberal by those who have affordable h/c, and a decent retirement ahead. But millions need more than the Obama/Clinton 'incrementalism'.
Unlike many nations, US millions lack affordable medical care, worker and family protections, and have insecure gig or pt jobs at low pay, & dashed retirements.
Our banks are still TBTF, imperiling the economy said 170 economists, and rationalized by Dems who are into ‘incremental reforms’. You see what that got Hillary? And opened the way for Pres Drumpf.
See this: “Analysts: No hope for TPP after Trump win” - POLITICO
Thomas Frank who wrote “What’s the Matter With Kansas” re those voting against their interests, has written “Listen Liberal, Or Whatever Happened to the Party of the People”? This is what the under 35s, our future majority, are wondering. Who in our main media is going to speak for them?
Bill ousted Bush by focusing on “you” rather than “I,”? But then he focused on the elites, with Nafta, repealed bank laws, and anti monopoly laws for media. Fox News got super dominant across the USA.
But hell, as Michelle said---no such thing as the perfect candidate. So we feel better.
Nice to see Dowd’s sudden concern with ‘working class’ voters, so long neglected by our politics
.
Obama, so charming and civil, now wears a bright halo for many, celebrated as a liberal by those who have affordable h/c, and a decent retirement ahead. But millions need more than the Obama/Clinton 'incrementalism'.
Unlike many nations, US millions lack affordable medical care, worker and family protections, and have insecure gig or pt jobs at low pay, & dashed retirements.
Our banks are still TBTF, imperiling the economy said 170 economists, and rationalized by Dems who are into ‘incremental reforms’. You see what that got Hillary? And opened the way for Pres Drumpf.
See this: “Analysts: No hope for TPP after Trump win” - POLITICO
Thomas Frank who wrote “What’s the Matter With Kansas” re those voting against their interests, has written “Listen Liberal, Or Whatever Happened to the Party of the People”? This is what the under 35s, our future majority, are wondering. Who in our main media is going to speak for them?
Bill ousted Bush by focusing on “you” rather than “I,”? But then he focused on the elites, with Nafta, repealed bank laws, and anti monopoly laws for media. Fox News got super dominant across the USA.
But hell, as Michelle said---no such thing as the perfect candidate. So we feel better.
7
Hillary was all about the pay difference between men and women and not the fact that many whites, especially men who still see their role as head of household, had lost the ability to provide for their families period.
She couldn’t let go of Trump’s boorish sexual behavior, while completely ignoring an all pervasive degenerating culture which dismisses faith and replaces spirituality with political correctness. As if these geniuses have the sole handle on truth drawn from the latest sociology text.
Her whole message reached out to every group but white men; yet many white women are not at war with men and recognize how entwined our relationships are.
The whole blob of elites told us our western values, our faiths, our very ethnic identity are doomed to go the way of the dinosaurs and to resist was futile and selfish.
Her speeches could have been lifted from the dialogue ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’.
She was the perfect foil to Trumps outlandishness.
She couldn’t let go of Trump’s boorish sexual behavior, while completely ignoring an all pervasive degenerating culture which dismisses faith and replaces spirituality with political correctness. As if these geniuses have the sole handle on truth drawn from the latest sociology text.
Her whole message reached out to every group but white men; yet many white women are not at war with men and recognize how entwined our relationships are.
The whole blob of elites told us our western values, our faiths, our very ethnic identity are doomed to go the way of the dinosaurs and to resist was futile and selfish.
Her speeches could have been lifted from the dialogue ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’.
She was the perfect foil to Trumps outlandishness.
10
For the love of G*d please just stop!
Why don't you andyour fellow journalists get cracking by digging deeper into Trump's tax returns, business deals, supposed blind trust to be run by ivanka, eric and donald jr (also in transition team)?
You don't think you played some part in the relentless hammering of Hillary? Of course she us imperfect and flawed
And the relative kid glove treatment of DOnald?
I suggest you go take a long hard look in the mirror.
Why don't you andyour fellow journalists get cracking by digging deeper into Trump's tax returns, business deals, supposed blind trust to be run by ivanka, eric and donald jr (also in transition team)?
You don't think you played some part in the relentless hammering of Hillary? Of course she us imperfect and flawed
And the relative kid glove treatment of DOnald?
I suggest you go take a long hard look in the mirror.
47
Not this column, not now Maureen. I am numb from the idea that President Trump will take office in January. I know you are thrilled there will be no President Clinton, and President Obama will be gone. Could you just give it a rest? Post mortems of elections are always 20-20 in hindsight. Michael Moore told us in September what was going to happen and why. I wish the Democratic elite had listened, but they didn't. However, no matter the mistakes, no one can discount the damage Comey did, which didn't even rate a mention by you. Clinton is gone now, so please let her have some peace. She deserves it.
As for President Obama: Did it never occur to you that President Obama being the decent, gracious, intelligent man he is made a plea to Trump about Obamacare because he truly understands what it is like not to have insurance from watching his own mother suffer because she lacked it? President Obama did a remarkable job as President given the obstructionist climate in of the Republicans in Congress, not to mention the clearly racially motivated disrespect he received at their hands. I have a feeling you might be missing his cool intellect this time next year.
Why are you so bitter? There is constructive criticism, and then there is mean-spirited criticism. Yours is the latter. You are looking to wound egos, with your sharp claws.
As for President Obama: Did it never occur to you that President Obama being the decent, gracious, intelligent man he is made a plea to Trump about Obamacare because he truly understands what it is like not to have insurance from watching his own mother suffer because she lacked it? President Obama did a remarkable job as President given the obstructionist climate in of the Republicans in Congress, not to mention the clearly racially motivated disrespect he received at their hands. I have a feeling you might be missing his cool intellect this time next year.
Why are you so bitter? There is constructive criticism, and then there is mean-spirited criticism. Yours is the latter. You are looking to wound egos, with your sharp claws.
46
Donald Trump has said just one the right in his life: The economy is better under a Democrat. The last time the US had a robust economy Bill Clinton was president. He left the country in solid financial shape. Then along comes George W. Bush who empties the treasury with his tax cuts and two wars. Eight years later, enter Barak Obama. He inherits Bush's mess. Starting at a great disadvantage he slowly, in spite of all the obstructionist in Congress and the Senate, improves the economy somewhat. Just as we are getting on our feet again, along comes Donald the Great Trumpkin to knock everything over.
10
In the face of the catastrophe ahead I find it very hard to read Ms. Dowd's snark. She's got great health insurance, so the potential loss of it for 20 million seems to carry no weight with her, and Obama's efforts to persuade Trump about this she treats with contempt. I suspect that Obama cajoles alot. That's what presidents do. Has it occurred to Ms. Dowd that in the face of partisan opposition the very point of which to ruin his presidency, Obama's ambitions were necessarily constrained? I think this column is graceless.
19
How how exactly do you extrapolate from a conversation that you did not witness that President Obama is "desperate" or "cajoling" Donald Trump? Perhaps the President, a class act from start to finish, was able to explain the tenets of the ACA to Mr. Trump, who many sources report has the attention span of a gnat. Maybe, just maybe, Mr. Trump finally understood the importance of the ACA and the political backlash if he truly dismantled it.
Perhaps my own silver lining in the heinous results of this election is the knowledge that Maureen Dowd will not likely spend the next four years spewing her mindless hate of HRC.
Perhaps my own silver lining in the heinous results of this election is the knowledge that Maureen Dowd will not likely spend the next four years spewing her mindless hate of HRC.
20
Have no doubts about it; Donald Trump will make a terrible president. However, that doesn't excuse the failings of the Democratic party this time around. I know there are a lot of Clinton supporters who will even years from now will believe somehow the election was "stolen" from them.
I concur that Comey's antics cost her some support, but I believe that was way compensated for by all the good press she got in the mainstream media and the incredible effort the sitting President put in on her behalf. The Democratic candidate should have been way over the top, and won even with Comey factored in.
However, that wasn't the case. Why? Dowd was point on about two things; Clinton's sense of entitlement this time around, and the lack of a clear message to the voters from the Clinton campaign. For sure, it's easy to blame other and hard to look at one's self in the mirror and say "what did I do wrong?" But unless the Democrats do that in a sincere way, the grief isn't over.
I concur that Comey's antics cost her some support, but I believe that was way compensated for by all the good press she got in the mainstream media and the incredible effort the sitting President put in on her behalf. The Democratic candidate should have been way over the top, and won even with Comey factored in.
However, that wasn't the case. Why? Dowd was point on about two things; Clinton's sense of entitlement this time around, and the lack of a clear message to the voters from the Clinton campaign. For sure, it's easy to blame other and hard to look at one's self in the mirror and say "what did I do wrong?" But unless the Democrats do that in a sincere way, the grief isn't over.
4
Hillary would have squeaked over the finish line the victor on Tuesday had it not been for Comey's love letter to Congress the week before. I'm not saying she was the perfect candidate. She wasn't. And she wouldn't have won by a landslide. Nevertheless, she would have won in spite of herself but Comey made sure that didn't happen.
11
Your columns continue to view our national political scene as soap opera. Can we try to dig a little deeper into the electorate, Maureen, and focus less on our hero/heroines, their star turns, and their travails and setbacks?
As to Hillary's supposed "it's my turn, dammit," which you pull, whole cloth, from nonsense Republican talking points, I never, ever felt that Hillary considered herself entitled to the Presidency. Rather, that she'd seen plenty and been around enough to know what worked and what didn't -- what was wrong and what was doable and right.
I could point to a few missteps in her campaign, but Republican leaning white women reverted to form, particularly after the Comey letter.
If Hillary had more fiercely defended the false allegations against the Clinton Foundation, and more fiercely asserted that "there was no true harm done" with her emails, she might have prevailed. But, once again, she risked the double standard imposed on women of being "shrill."
I felt her thinly disguised forbearance during the debates did nothing to reach out to voters who hadn't as yet come to her side. A greater fighting spirit could have carried over to her dealings with Congress during a Clinton Presidency.
Wow, what more effective President than she will we get a glimpse of in the foreseeable future? Americans will begin to have remorse about their votes in short order.
As to Hillary's supposed "it's my turn, dammit," which you pull, whole cloth, from nonsense Republican talking points, I never, ever felt that Hillary considered herself entitled to the Presidency. Rather, that she'd seen plenty and been around enough to know what worked and what didn't -- what was wrong and what was doable and right.
I could point to a few missteps in her campaign, but Republican leaning white women reverted to form, particularly after the Comey letter.
If Hillary had more fiercely defended the false allegations against the Clinton Foundation, and more fiercely asserted that "there was no true harm done" with her emails, she might have prevailed. But, once again, she risked the double standard imposed on women of being "shrill."
I felt her thinly disguised forbearance during the debates did nothing to reach out to voters who hadn't as yet come to her side. A greater fighting spirit could have carried over to her dealings with Congress during a Clinton Presidency.
Wow, what more effective President than she will we get a glimpse of in the foreseeable future? Americans will begin to have remorse about their votes in short order.
7
Anti-establishment Republicans can be pure in their dislike of government and Wall Street, but their dislike of government leaves them no way to clip the wings of Wall Street. They wind up surviving the coming disaster with militias and stashes of gold, rather than taking action to prevent it. Anti-establishment Democrats also dislike both (the present) government and Wall Street, but their strategy is to liberate government from the establishment and use it to stand up to the rest of the establishment. The anti-establishment Republicans with no answer brand the Democratic strategy as socialism, and win elections.
The anti-establishment Republicans think they have an answer -- get rid of the immigrants and thereby produce a labor shortage that will raise their wages and restore their power without needing unions. This strategy will work only if the establishment cannot counter it, but the establishment counters it by damping down economic activity (except speculation) until worker bargaining power is minimized.
The anti-establishment Republicans think they have an answer -- get rid of the immigrants and thereby produce a labor shortage that will raise their wages and restore their power without needing unions. This strategy will work only if the establishment cannot counter it, but the establishment counters it by damping down economic activity (except speculation) until worker bargaining power is minimized.
3
Have you no decency Dowd ? To flip this horrific presidential outcome back to your snarky grudge against the Clintons is intellectually bankrupt.
Obama won because Bush had crashed the country. He dwarfed Hillary in 2008 by mobilizing a tsunami of black voters and just about everyone who witnessed the Bush bungles. She was never charismatic.
Obama did not betray a revolutionary mandate. He was calm, smart and inspiring, coming to life in campaign speeches, but was always a rational moderate who hoped to succeed with conciliation. He wasn't an 'establishmentarian' - he was a pragmatist facing racist & rigid partisan obstruction. Incremental change was all he could expect. He did not do stupid stuff.
To trash Hillary for raising money (chump change in the world of oligarchs who will be governing soon) or being simply competent and informed- is foolish & not smart.
Rage fueled both the Obama win and Trump's.Bernie was an angry voice too.HRC had to be steady.Decades of Big Lie smears- aided by Dowd - branded Hillary as a Crook. Putin-hacks & Comey's rogue agents ssnatched victory from her hands. 1.5million more Americans chose her over Trump.
Yes- focusing on Trump's deficits was misguided, but most of the world believed that was the most important issue. She should've shown outrage at the GOP blocking infrastructure spending which could have rejuvenated the rust belt.
But now we face the dismantling of federal oversight tof the public good & a kleptocracy. Dowd-do better.
Obama won because Bush had crashed the country. He dwarfed Hillary in 2008 by mobilizing a tsunami of black voters and just about everyone who witnessed the Bush bungles. She was never charismatic.
Obama did not betray a revolutionary mandate. He was calm, smart and inspiring, coming to life in campaign speeches, but was always a rational moderate who hoped to succeed with conciliation. He wasn't an 'establishmentarian' - he was a pragmatist facing racist & rigid partisan obstruction. Incremental change was all he could expect. He did not do stupid stuff.
To trash Hillary for raising money (chump change in the world of oligarchs who will be governing soon) or being simply competent and informed- is foolish & not smart.
Rage fueled both the Obama win and Trump's.Bernie was an angry voice too.HRC had to be steady.Decades of Big Lie smears- aided by Dowd - branded Hillary as a Crook. Putin-hacks & Comey's rogue agents ssnatched victory from her hands. 1.5million more Americans chose her over Trump.
Yes- focusing on Trump's deficits was misguided, but most of the world believed that was the most important issue. She should've shown outrage at the GOP blocking infrastructure spending which could have rejuvenated the rust belt.
But now we face the dismantling of federal oversight tof the public good & a kleptocracy. Dowd-do better.
10
I was, am, and will forever be a fervent Obama supporter but I concur that backing the Clinton as successor horse was his greatest failure. If for whatever reason he did not see Biden in the On deck circle then he should have run with a different V.P. In 2012 and let the next person up get lots of limelight on big issues. We are here now and as the hats given out by Bill Maher said WE ARE STILL HERE! My love of country and military training and will not allow me to concede to the bigots.
3
Thanks for an expanded story, Ms. Dowd, peering into some new corners. I'm heartened the President-Elect finds he has something to learn from Obama. He looked almost star-struck in the video clip of their handshake - perhaps freshly impressed with the job he's not prepped for? What ARE the P-E's talents applicable to the job? Team-building? Administration? Comprehensive policy? Wheeling and dealing?
1
M. Dowd is certainly good at hindsight. Maybe she should do something real for a change like run for president.
All - If you're unhappy but reluctant to join any street demonstrations, feel free to visit "change.org" and sign the petition to the Electoral College asking them to vote for Hillary in view of the fact that she won the popular vote. Copy the information and send the note to your own contacts who are in sympathy with this effort. Following is the relevant information:
I just signed the petition, “Electoral College Electors: Electoral College Make Hillary Clinton President on December 19.” I think this is important. Will you sign it too?
Here’s the link:
https://www.change.org/p/electoral-college-electors-electoral-college-ma...
Read the letter. It's perfectly legal for the Electors to vote for a candidate other than the one with an Electoral College plurality.
Despite the best efforts of Putin, the KGB, WikiLeaks and the FBI, Hillary won the popular vote, so it's time in this year of "change" to update our antiquated election system.
Thanks,
Please send this along to your contacts whom you know to be in sympathy with our fellow Democrats.
I just signed the petition, “Electoral College Electors: Electoral College Make Hillary Clinton President on December 19.” I think this is important. Will you sign it too?
Here’s the link:
https://www.change.org/p/electoral-college-electors-electoral-college-ma...
Read the letter. It's perfectly legal for the Electors to vote for a candidate other than the one with an Electoral College plurality.
Despite the best efforts of Putin, the KGB, WikiLeaks and the FBI, Hillary won the popular vote, so it's time in this year of "change" to update our antiquated election system.
Thanks,
Please send this along to your contacts whom you know to be in sympathy with our fellow Democrats.
5
"she dismissed half of Trump supporters as a “basket of deplorables.” How many white middle income voters did she lose with that comment? Many states were decided by a few thouisnad votes - was that the reason? Dowd doesn't mention that Hillary's audience howled at that remark. Outside Cipriano it went over like a lead balloon; a remark Bill, who feels your pain, wouldn't have made in a million years. The "deplorables" heard her insult, retched at the name and the laughter, and decided their votes.
But Maureen is right; Obama needs to share the blame for the nation wide collapse of democrat leadership. Basically his administration has been terribly unstrategic picking ridiculous fights for no reason but to force citizen subservience to a left-wing agenda. Under the AFC the most silly was forcing a group of catholic nuns to submit to buying insurance coverage for abortions. Why? Was this and a thousand other inconsequential fits really worth fighting? Obama drifted into ruling by edict - many found by courts to be unconstitutional. "I've got a pen" might have upped the glee in progressive land but was a bitter pill and a prime indication for fear of Obama 3.0 promised by Clinton in white land. And they responded accordingly.
But Maureen is right; Obama needs to share the blame for the nation wide collapse of democrat leadership. Basically his administration has been terribly unstrategic picking ridiculous fights for no reason but to force citizen subservience to a left-wing agenda. Under the AFC the most silly was forcing a group of catholic nuns to submit to buying insurance coverage for abortions. Why? Was this and a thousand other inconsequential fits really worth fighting? Obama drifted into ruling by edict - many found by courts to be unconstitutional. "I've got a pen" might have upped the glee in progressive land but was a bitter pill and a prime indication for fear of Obama 3.0 promised by Clinton in white land. And they responded accordingly.
4
Well explained in a long, arduous manner. But sometimes it's the simple things that matter most.
The joke that the Clintons could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory has been around for a while, and repeated over and again as Hillary blundered into defeat. The straw that broke the camel's back and assured the defeat was her attendance of the Beyoncé - Jay Z concert.
Jay Z, the rapper with n words, f bombs, and a variety of descriptions for women and their body parts, in other words an I wanna be like Trump.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Hillary mistook that Jay Z concert as a star-studded promotional event that would endear her hip persona. Instead, Jay Z was the last nail in her election coffin.
The joke that the Clintons could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory has been around for a while, and repeated over and again as Hillary blundered into defeat. The straw that broke the camel's back and assured the defeat was her attendance of the Beyoncé - Jay Z concert.
Jay Z, the rapper with n words, f bombs, and a variety of descriptions for women and their body parts, in other words an I wanna be like Trump.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Hillary mistook that Jay Z concert as a star-studded promotional event that would endear her hip persona. Instead, Jay Z was the last nail in her election coffin.
5
Obama betrayed his friend Joe Biden to enter into a Faustian deal with Clinton Inc.
Joe would have won.
Now his "legacy" is in the toilet because he didn't leave the dance with the one he brought.
Too cool for school sometimes has consequences much like elections.
Joe would have won.
Now his "legacy" is in the toilet because he didn't leave the dance with the one he brought.
Too cool for school sometimes has consequences much like elections.
4
At some point, you will finally go after Donald Trump because you don't have Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to kick around anymore.
Why did it take you so long as a journalist to reveal what you see as character flaws in Trump after spending so many years attacking President Obama and the Clintons?
Why did it take you so long as a journalist to reveal what you see as character flaws in Trump after spending so many years attacking President Obama and the Clintons?
6
And yet Hillary won the popular vote despite being sabotaged by FBI Director Comey. We need to abolish the Electoral College. Yes, it requires a constitutional amendment, but the Constitution has many amendments so it is doable and most support abolishing it.
8
If the result had been reversed would you still want to abolish the Electoral College?
Obama's accomplishments are many and known: economic rescue being first and foremost. Health care. Same sex marriage. Successful raid on Osama Bin Laden, Nuclear treaty with Iran. His legacy and reputation as one of our greatest presidents is assured, Ms Dowd. Your column cannot sully it.
16
As usual, Miss Dowd writes a good political column BUT the best is yet to come! The Dark Lord Trump ensconced in the Barad-Dur, er I mean Trump Tower, along with the Nazgul of Newt, Chris, Rudy et al, plots the domination of the free peoples of Middle America. Only Chuck Schumer and his band of Democratic Hobbits led by Keith Ellison stand in his way.
Plenty of newsworthy material will be forthcoming over the next four years. I also predict a Gollum like figure (Anthony Wiener) will make another unexpected appearance. Let the games begin!
Plenty of newsworthy material will be forthcoming over the next four years. I also predict a Gollum like figure (Anthony Wiener) will make another unexpected appearance. Let the games begin!
3
As a life long die hard hard Democrat. .. a 3rd generation mexican american too. You may blame me. I supported Bernie and prayed at church last Sunday that Hillary would lose. Thank you God.
7
It is a sure thing that Mo will be pressing Trump on his promise to jail Clinton. Will exile suffice for Mo?
8
Where are the in-depth, Pulitzer-worthy columns that you wrote during the months leading up to the election? You know, where you devote an entire column on October 31 to Melania Trump's fuschia pussy-bow blouse vs. Hillary's pantsuit. Where on November 1, the week before the election you explore your new-found allegiance to the Cubs because you're in Chicago on your book tour. Or when you cite brother's and sister's opinions about the election over and over and over again. To paraphrase your final line of today's column, maybe you should have spent less time on your book tour and more time writing about the substantive issues facing all of us. Too little, too late.
18
Can't you for once give it a rest, Ms. Dowd?
Just one week without bashing President Obama and Hillary Clinton?
You must be bereft. What are you going to write about now that your two favorite piñatas are out of the picture?
I guess all that's left is for you to take on Trump. I'm waiting.
Just one week without bashing President Obama and Hillary Clinton?
You must be bereft. What are you going to write about now that your two favorite piñatas are out of the picture?
I guess all that's left is for you to take on Trump. I'm waiting.
17
Yes, with mrs. Dowd many people are looking for scapgoats. Obama and Clinton are easy targets now. Mrs. Dowd obviously saw for herself a leading role in blaming and shaming. For me as an outsider it' sort of disgusting.
Obama's mistake that came back to haunt this week: embracing Clinton after the 2008 election and appointing her Secretary of State. Voters in 2008 wanted a break from the past. I attended one of those Obama rallies in 2007 -- nearly 20,000 people showed up. It was before he even announced as a candidate. We wanted real change.
Instead, in 2016, we got looped back to the 1990's. Clinton never had anything close to that level of enthusiasm at her rallies. Tiny turnouts early on in the campaign were a warning signal for the party to shift to another candidate. Hence, the enthusiasm gap and eventual loss.
Instead, in 2016, we got looped back to the 1990's. Clinton never had anything close to that level of enthusiasm at her rallies. Tiny turnouts early on in the campaign were a warning signal for the party to shift to another candidate. Hence, the enthusiasm gap and eventual loss.
20
Ms. Dowd is onto something. Obama does have strange blind spots. And Clinton Inc fit neatly into one of them. But Obama's biggest fault was that he wanted to wash his hands of politics once an election ended and get down to the business of figuring out how to fix the U.S. ECONOMY (check), fix the health care system (politically a disastrous move, given how awful the Obama communications shop was), fix America's foreign wars and errors (here the record is mixed), and fix police-Black relations (here he was not sufficiently sensitive to the inevitable white backlash--whitelash in Van Jones's coinage). But by far the biggest problem Obama could not fix really had little to do with him: This was the Republican determination to destroy him politically from his first day in office. Today, non-Trump voters who don't like Trump's signature racism, sexism and policy ignorance are marching in the streets. In 2008 Republican leaders were plotting in the halls of Congress, in the most nefarious and even undemocratic manner. This, combined with talk radio, Fox, and the ineptitude and laziness of places like CNN, stirred up white anger and made Trump possible.
245
Comey will go down in history as Obama's blind spot.
1
Clearly, the alt-Right has the vaunted NY Times op-ed folks well back on their heels and on the defensive. I half expect Dowd and Bruni around 2019 to be describing David Duke in terms once reserved for RFK and HHH.
The idea that the DEMOCRATS were not the inclusive party because white people who have not voted in the majority for them in half a century stayed true to form shows just how hard the threat of the alt Right is to the MSM.
Think about it; These rural white folk are surviving today because of entitlement programs that are almost the exclusive domain of the Democrats for the past EIGHTY years, including this president's ACA.
It is the white rural conservative who refuses to accept inclusion, not to mention modernity, because the "others" don't look like him and in his mind, warped by 40 years of conservative identity politics, they are stealing what is his.
I had to laugh when I heard Michael Moore on TV yesterday say the Hillary lost Michigan partly because the president paid lip service to the people of Flint.
Maybe if the white people of Michigan did not elect a Republican governor, legislature and congressional delegation the president would not have to dig ditches and sweat pipe to get them to support his party.
There were NO Democrats in the primary, except for O'Malley, and he made Hillary seem like Lady GaGa by comparison.
They agreed across the political spectrum that Hillary was the most qualified candidate since HW Bush to run.
The idea that the DEMOCRATS were not the inclusive party because white people who have not voted in the majority for them in half a century stayed true to form shows just how hard the threat of the alt Right is to the MSM.
Think about it; These rural white folk are surviving today because of entitlement programs that are almost the exclusive domain of the Democrats for the past EIGHTY years, including this president's ACA.
It is the white rural conservative who refuses to accept inclusion, not to mention modernity, because the "others" don't look like him and in his mind, warped by 40 years of conservative identity politics, they are stealing what is his.
I had to laugh when I heard Michael Moore on TV yesterday say the Hillary lost Michigan partly because the president paid lip service to the people of Flint.
Maybe if the white people of Michigan did not elect a Republican governor, legislature and congressional delegation the president would not have to dig ditches and sweat pipe to get them to support his party.
There were NO Democrats in the primary, except for O'Malley, and he made Hillary seem like Lady GaGa by comparison.
They agreed across the political spectrum that Hillary was the most qualified candidate since HW Bush to run.
18
The problem with 'entitlement programs' is that people feel, well, entitled to them. So there's no gratitude or recognition, just the feeling of being owed something. Therefore the beneficiaries of such support programs cannot be considered as part of the constituency that supports the party that safeguards this governmental largess... It's a mistake that is very common in democracies to think that they are.
Obama grossly miscalculated when he allowed the DNC to anoint Clinton as his heir apparent. Upon his departure, Obama's legacy will melt like a salted snail.
Shakespeare said it best: "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings."
Shakespeare said it best: "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings."
19
"The rest is silence." Until the 2018 Midterms.
"...the plea of “a talented but aging politician who simply refused to accept the new Democratic map...
Isn't this whole piece - and whole front-story for the next two months - about...
"...the plea of “a talented but aging politician who simply refused to accept the new Electoral map...
And - for those who want to upend the Electoral College...
Remember that it's a hybrid of population-based and state-based representation...
If you want to abolish it - I presume you also want to abolish the Senate...
Also remember that - without the US Senate - Bernie would be a retired small-city mayor, at this point...
Isn't this whole piece - and whole front-story for the next two months - about...
"...the plea of “a talented but aging politician who simply refused to accept the new Electoral map...
And - for those who want to upend the Electoral College...
Remember that it's a hybrid of population-based and state-based representation...
If you want to abolish it - I presume you also want to abolish the Senate...
Also remember that - without the US Senate - Bernie would be a retired small-city mayor, at this point...
8
I live in Wisconsin, and I did get-out-the-vote phoning for Hillary last weekend. I was nervous about her lack of TV ads until the very end, and even more nervous about her failure to make a single campaign stop here after the convention. (After all, anybody who follows post-2010 Wisconsin politics knows how fast it's moving from blue to purple to red.) The message I got from the campaign was, "The Republicans have no ground game." Maybe not, but they had a message -- not unlike the message that won the 1992 election for Bill Clinton: "It's the economy, stupid."
24
"President Obama, trying to hoist Hillary over the finish line, offered a solipsistic message, saying it would be “a personal insult” if African-Americans did not vote for Hillary...."
Talk about "identity politics," of which the GOP is oft accused. Funny how the Dems miss the ultimate use of those politics by the President.
Now, if Trump had said the same thing......
Talk about "identity politics," of which the GOP is oft accused. Funny how the Dems miss the ultimate use of those politics by the President.
Now, if Trump had said the same thing......
16
Hillary's only conceivable winning message was, "I am the only thing standing between you and the apocalypse." That's all she could have done with a Republican congress, just veto legislation rolling back everything we have accomplished in the last 75 years. But I only heard her say it once. I guess she felt the need to come up with some wonky policy stuff instead. So maybe the deplorables can be excused for being too ignorant to figure it out for themselves. There is no way either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton could take the country forward. Trump can't bring those jobs back, and Republicans wouldn't have helped Hillary pass legislation making murder illegal. But Hillary could have kept us from slipping backwards. That's really what it was all about. Ironic, almost 50% of the country thought they were voting to go forward but actually voted to go backwards.
I agree with everything you say except for that remark tending to rehabilitate Bill Clinton's wisdom. That's going a bit far.
Incidentally, I have seen at least one "Chelsea for congress" remark in print. That means there is at least one person out there who doesn't understand what just happened. Scary. This family is like ants. It's going to require constant vigilance.
I agree with everything you say except for that remark tending to rehabilitate Bill Clinton's wisdom. That's going a bit far.
Incidentally, I have seen at least one "Chelsea for congress" remark in print. That means there is at least one person out there who doesn't understand what just happened. Scary. This family is like ants. It's going to require constant vigilance.
6
As a black American, Dowd's comments and Bruni's about president Obama show the depths of white racism extend far beyond trump.
35
Obama is always a gentleman. Trump is the wild card fox.
As Maureen writes, Obama lost touch with middle America. The conversation became theoretical. Theory falls apart when someone cannot feed their kids. Over and over again this election, we heard interviews from people of all colors asking for jobs which is a way of saying "we need to eat."
As Maureen writes, Obama lost touch with middle America. The conversation became theoretical. Theory falls apart when someone cannot feed their kids. Over and over again this election, we heard interviews from people of all colors asking for jobs which is a way of saying "we need to eat."
10
The election of this past week confirmed what I have been thinking for the past 5 years, President Obama's legacy will not survive precisely because the majority of American lives (mine included) are far worse than they were when he went into office 8 years. Case Closed. This is not about Race, Religion, the Republicans not playing nicely with him in the sandbox. Obama's biggest failure as a President was his ability to listen and mostly Hubris. It was clear when he gave his last State of the Union Address he was living in some altered state of the Universe that is not America. And the Electoral College proved that by a landslide Tuesday night. America has lost the plot- when you don't have enough money to pay your bills, you're still unemployed, Corporations are continuing to have more layoffs, there are riots in the streets, racial divides are the worst I've seen in my lifetime, drugs addiction is rampant, his HealthCare simply does not work and need I go on ? People have had it. What the public has failed to realize is when you're more concerned about how you're going to pay your mortage, how many more months do you have left until you completely move the balance sheet to $0.00 you quite honestly don't care what bathroom someone is going to use at Target. It's pretty simple, if Obama had created jobs, the economy was booming for everyone, his healthcare plan worked, we wouldn't be having this conversation. And this has Zero to do with the color of his skin.
18
Maureen, you may be right many of your remarks except one.
The following.
“We’re part of an interconnected global economy now, and there’s no going back from that.”
You the elder 20th century people really didn't get what is happening now!.
The future belongs to IBM Watson, not rust belt blue collars, nor millennial application innovators.
There is no going back.
In short once Great Arnold Schwarzenegger stated in T3 movie scene
" Judgment day is inevitable, you can merely postponed"
when 7 billion people wake up this dream what we are having now, Watson has already driving our trucks, cars, planes, ships, diagnosing our sickness etc.
We are hurtling through a world similar to movie "Elysium" we are already half way in it.
The following.
“We’re part of an interconnected global economy now, and there’s no going back from that.”
You the elder 20th century people really didn't get what is happening now!.
The future belongs to IBM Watson, not rust belt blue collars, nor millennial application innovators.
There is no going back.
In short once Great Arnold Schwarzenegger stated in T3 movie scene
" Judgment day is inevitable, you can merely postponed"
when 7 billion people wake up this dream what we are having now, Watson has already driving our trucks, cars, planes, ships, diagnosing our sickness etc.
We are hurtling through a world similar to movie "Elysium" we are already half way in it.
2
Maureen, you wear your typical blinders. Clinton lost PA, FL, MI, and NC as well as WI. Thank you James Comey, Trump's most effective campaigner. In case you were not noticing, Clinton was in PA, FL, MI, and NC during the last week of the campaign, to no avail. And you seem to forget that WI was never going to go for her, given that the state has three times chosen Scott Walker, and went for Ron Johnson overwhelmingly in the Senate.
But then again, nobody has ever accused you of logic.
But then again, nobody has ever accused you of logic.
32
This is journalism falling right back into the comfortable mode that many feel contributed to the election results - reporting on statements without pointing out lies or falsehoods. Yes, Mr. Trump told the WSJ that he wants to keep the "pre-existing conditions" and "parent's policies until 26" provisions of the ACA, and everyone says, "Look, he is willing to compromise." How about pointing out that keeping those provisions without the "hated" mandate to force healthy people into the pool will cause insurance rates to sky-rocket, no "ifs" or "buts." The ACA has often been described as a three-legged stool, and without all three features, the mandate, the pre-existing conditions clause, and the subsidies, it falls apart - you simply cannot pick and choose. Eliminate any one and you have to re-write the whole thing.
25
Mo, you keep plugging along and please ignore all the faux intellectuals who think they know better. I'm very surprised Hillary didn't pull out the "vast right wing conspiracy" card to explain her defeat. I don't think it was James Comey, but her own actions via the national secrets on her home server, her "pay-for-play" games and the most obvious greed and thirst for power as evidenced by the $100 million fortune she and Bill amassed working for the people. Hillary didn't forget the little people in the midwest, she simply thought they were deplorable if they supported someone else.
I received my email letter from the NYT and was insulted. The reporters threw away journalism and became shills for Hillary, intentionally ignoring Bernie Sanders. I've been a subscriber for over thirty five years and may have reached my limit for paying for pure partisan news. Mo, I'm with you.
I received my email letter from the NYT and was insulted. The reporters threw away journalism and became shills for Hillary, intentionally ignoring Bernie Sanders. I've been a subscriber for over thirty five years and may have reached my limit for paying for pure partisan news. Mo, I'm with you.
11
You know, she did win the popular vote. Just like Al Gore. Just think what the world would be like right now if Gore had become president. Got it? Nice, huh?
Ok. Now, just think what the world will be like in four years after Trump. Want to crawl back under the covers? Yeah, me, too.
Hope your happy, Maureen. I'm sure you're sorry you won't have Hill and Bill to kick around anymore. But that's the way the world dies.
Ok. Now, just think what the world will be like in four years after Trump. Want to crawl back under the covers? Yeah, me, too.
Hope your happy, Maureen. I'm sure you're sorry you won't have Hill and Bill to kick around anymore. But that's the way the world dies.
49
The smart people are never as smart as we think they are or need them to be. And I suspect that something happens to the DNA of well-intentioned, mission-minded folk after their 5th night of federal political office. Perhaps a robot aide puts something in their warm evening milk and adds sweet honeyed phrases. There must be something that explains why they turn out to be corporatist clones.
Then there are the greedy, self-serving, & short-sighted folk. No one needs to put anything in their evening milk. They seem just smart enough to hide their corporatism in patriotic, chicken-in-every-pot, home-by-Christmas rhetoric to get the votes.
Both camps are scorpions, and we are the frogs. Scorpions will never change, so it's on us frogs to do something. My butt sure is sore from all the stings.
Black swan, anyone?
Then there are the greedy, self-serving, & short-sighted folk. No one needs to put anything in their evening milk. They seem just smart enough to hide their corporatism in patriotic, chicken-in-every-pot, home-by-Christmas rhetoric to get the votes.
Both camps are scorpions, and we are the frogs. Scorpions will never change, so it's on us frogs to do something. My butt sure is sore from all the stings.
Black swan, anyone?
3
In 2008 my son said that he wanted to participate in the political process, in part for some of classes. We ended up being caucus members supporting Hillary. When Obama won I thought that at least he would be able to improve conditions in lower income black communities around the country. Now, at the end of two terms racial strife is higher than it has been in decades, blacks are still the primary contributor to firearm homicides in the country, and many cities are as heavily segregated as they have ever been. To me this is one of the biggest disappointments of his administration, as he was better situated to have been able to have done more than most in a long time.
I agree that "He insisted that an incrementalist and fellow Ivy League East Coast cerebral elitist who hangs out with celebrities would be best to save his legacy."
I agree that "He insisted that an incrementalist and fellow Ivy League East Coast cerebral elitist who hangs out with celebrities would be best to save his legacy."
6
I never understood the strategy of HRC remaining so close to Obama during the campaign, other than the need to get out the black vote. We've seen how well that worked. I like the guy, I recognize he's smart and has good comic timing, but at the end of the day his greatest achievement may have been having Stevie Wonder play in DC so often, so we could watch white men in suits bop their heads in near unison.
At the outset, way too long and wasted billions of dollars ago, HRC was asked about her greatest achievements as Sec of State and she fumbled the answer (how could she not?). Obama's self-portrayal in his coming volumes should be just as troubling.
I'm not particularly religious, but in the past week, in my own way, I've been praying for America.
At the outset, way too long and wasted billions of dollars ago, HRC was asked about her greatest achievements as Sec of State and she fumbled the answer (how could she not?). Obama's self-portrayal in his coming volumes should be just as troubling.
I'm not particularly religious, but in the past week, in my own way, I've been praying for America.
7
If you really believe a Stevie Wonder concert is Obama's greatest achievement, you haven't been paying attention.
Good grief. What a downright childish thing to write.
Good grief. What a downright childish thing to write.
Hard to collect a vote in Wisconsin when you aren't selling racist bile. Angry white racism was on the menu this election cycle and Trump served it up plentifully." Stop normalizing what we have witnessed. We know how racist trump voters are by the racist lies they believe. It must be discredited. People are rightfully terrified right now as we are witnessing the rise of an aspiring autocrat in real time and instead of speaking out you are normalizing it. Just stop!
38
Hindsight is great, ain't it? Funny, I can't find the columns in which you interview workers in Wisconsin.
20
Spot on Nancy. Maureen analyzes all of this as if she was part of history. The only role she played this year was casting doubt over and over on Hillary. It came off as petty jealously. She handled Trump with kid gloves.
From my perspective, she's cut from the same cloth as Trump: narcissism.
From my perspective, she's cut from the same cloth as Trump: narcissism.
You make me so sick and sad MD.
I hope you are happy w/ all your endless piling on of HC's shortcomings.
There is no doubt HC had problems and issues, but a Trump presidency and Republican control of everything will hurt us like nothing we ever experienced in our lives before.
Why didn't you ever factor that danger into the mix before you buried HC w/ your contempt?
Your elitist recklessness and irresponsibility will harm us all, especially women for a lifetime.
I am so ashamed of you and so scared by what's to come.
I hope you are happy w/ all your endless piling on of HC's shortcomings.
There is no doubt HC had problems and issues, but a Trump presidency and Republican control of everything will hurt us like nothing we ever experienced in our lives before.
Why didn't you ever factor that danger into the mix before you buried HC w/ your contempt?
Your elitist recklessness and irresponsibility will harm us all, especially women for a lifetime.
I am so ashamed of you and so scared by what's to come.
68
When it comes to rehabbing the DNC, the first order of business is: toss out the system whereby a slick political operation can amass enough super-delegates to lock up the nomination a year before the campaigns begin. That's got to go.
The convention ought not to be the culmination of a foregone conclusion. It makes voters feel like chumps.
The convention ought not to be the culmination of a foregone conclusion. It makes voters feel like chumps.
12
Hillary won the majority of delegates apportioned in primaries. Had Sanders won the majority of delegates apportioned in primaries, the superdelegates would have quickly flipped to him. The superdelegates had nothing to do with the outcome.
1
Dowd should be commended on her virtuoso writing and astute summing up of the subject, the probable eradication of O's legacy by his successor.But isn't that always the case.?How many French men and women remember that De Gaulle saved his nation 6 times, that he extricated "la belle France"from the Algerian quagmire when there was no one else with the prestige to implement decolonization in the overseas provinces? Today's savior is tomorrow's relic. O will always be revered as our first African American c-in-c, but within a short period of time after retiring, he will also become "de trop," superfluous, yesterday's news.Ford held a press conference after his loss to Carter in 1976 and not one reporter showed up to cover it.Recall conversation with a French woman some year ago, and when I asked about Petain, the "hero of Verdun,"she asked me if Petain was the name of a rock group in France.Andre Seguin, head of "Front de l'Algerie francaise," instrumental in the Barricades Uprising before fleeing to the Metropole where he became a "conseiller municipal,"was always wont to say,"la vie va vite."Six months or so later he fell dead of an "arret du coeur"in his office in downtown Toulon."Sic transit gloria mundi:" All the time time is passing.
2
Dowd - - I blame you and your oh-aren't-I-so-utterly-clever snarky columns for some of this disaster. In the name of being unbiased and fair, you made Trump sound harmless and Hillary sound dreadful. How do you feel now? Your analysis might be ridiculous, I don't know. I feel as if I can't believe a word the NYT publishes. I do not believe polls any more. We have absolutely no idea what the madman will do once he gains office. All the parsing, interpretation, punditry, forecasting, and the babbling of bloviating political seers obviously means nothing. We didn't learn anything. We still won't. And here you are...being analytical?
49
Oh please don't pick on President Obama! We all feel bad enough as it is, without someone (you) "dumping" on a president who has tried and in many ways succeeded in living up to his "motto" of "yes, we can!
18
Obama deserves to be picked on. This is a guy who, as Maureen said, presented himself as a change agent & revolutionary and upon being elected almost immediately became detached and complacent. He accomplished nothing bold other than his ACA which was a flagrant giveaway to his insurance company donors, and which in the end was the failure everyone expected it to be. He took on no really courageous fights for the people for 8 years, instead capitulating to the corporatists and Military Industrial Complex on everything. He signed the NDAA act in a sneaky way on New Year's eve, he never got our troops out of Afghanistan or closed Guantanamo. He tuned out the middle class while spewing PC banalities and touting himself as the smartest one in the room... History will not be kind to Barack Obama and there's no reason for Maureen to put off holding him to account. There's a lot more to say.
The arrogance of the left has its epicenter in Obama. From occasional "jive" talk to the absolute condescending speeches he gave over the last 30 days. Who could forget the "it's about me" talk with his closest supporters.
The rest of us deplorables out here; the ones who get up every morning, put the 60 hrs in and then have the pleasure of supporting more than our share of takers, have had enough. We are tired of being called sexist because we disliked the whole Clinton legacy and corrupt facade. We are tired of being called racist because we understand that the word illegal before immigration means you have broken our laws at the very moment you arrive. And most of all, we tired of publications like the NYT and news outlets like CNN who called us intolerant because we thought the Caitlin Jenner story was and is not a moment to be celebrated.
I read Bruni's opinion today with great hope that there are a few at the NYT who realize just how much damage that you did to your brand over the last 2 years. Just like Clinton's loss was not about Comey, the long slide of the NYT away from journalistic integrity towards social activism was not just about Trump.
Obama's legacy is what it is. Everywhere he goes burns after him. From Chicago to now the big cities of our Nation. I hope he has a few moments of quiet and realizes that he needs to take a big giant step away from leading anything and keep that famously big mouth of his shut.
The rest of us deplorables out here; the ones who get up every morning, put the 60 hrs in and then have the pleasure of supporting more than our share of takers, have had enough. We are tired of being called sexist because we disliked the whole Clinton legacy and corrupt facade. We are tired of being called racist because we understand that the word illegal before immigration means you have broken our laws at the very moment you arrive. And most of all, we tired of publications like the NYT and news outlets like CNN who called us intolerant because we thought the Caitlin Jenner story was and is not a moment to be celebrated.
I read Bruni's opinion today with great hope that there are a few at the NYT who realize just how much damage that you did to your brand over the last 2 years. Just like Clinton's loss was not about Comey, the long slide of the NYT away from journalistic integrity towards social activism was not just about Trump.
Obama's legacy is what it is. Everywhere he goes burns after him. From Chicago to now the big cities of our Nation. I hope he has a few moments of quiet and realizes that he needs to take a big giant step away from leading anything and keep that famously big mouth of his shut.
10
Ms. Dowd: Breaking news! Secretary Clinton WON the popular vote by a greater margin than Mr. Gore, by a greater margin than Mr. Nixon, and by a greater margin than President Kennedy.
The fault is NOT with her. It is with the miserable, archaic Electoral College that now twice in my voting lifetime has given away the election to a candidate who did not win.
My one hope is that the Electors will realize that many of them are not bound by constitutional or federal law and will vote as the majority of the people of this nation voted.
I would love to see an Electoral College upset that will return Secretary Clinton's votes rightfully to her. It has been an extremely weird election year. I hope this is the one bright weird thing we will see.
As for you, Ms. Dowd, now you can go right on ahead and praise the GOP president-elect -- you helped get the buffoon elected. I will always prefer intelligence -- even flawed intelligence -- over stupidity any day.
The fault is NOT with her. It is with the miserable, archaic Electoral College that now twice in my voting lifetime has given away the election to a candidate who did not win.
My one hope is that the Electors will realize that many of them are not bound by constitutional or federal law and will vote as the majority of the people of this nation voted.
I would love to see an Electoral College upset that will return Secretary Clinton's votes rightfully to her. It has been an extremely weird election year. I hope this is the one bright weird thing we will see.
As for you, Ms. Dowd, now you can go right on ahead and praise the GOP president-elect -- you helped get the buffoon elected. I will always prefer intelligence -- even flawed intelligence -- over stupidity any day.
482
Clinton won the popular vote by default - namely Trump did not campaign in California. If he had done so the gigantic margin of Clinton's victory in CA would have been smaller. Similarly the candidates did not campaign in NY or Texas. This is the absurdity of the system, and the truly appalling lack of democracy. Candidates can ignore the largest states along with some of the smallest. If this was not the system the candidates would have to campaign in CA, TX, and NY and the popular vote would have been significantly different. But to cite this as a factor in this election reflects ignorance of how the present American electoral system works. Change it yes; but don't moan about Clinton's popular vote. We should at the very least divide the electoral votes of each state based on the percentage of the vote received. But none of this will ever happen, and the anti-democratic elements built into our system will not change. One of the most anti-democratic of these elements is the Supreme Court, yet I hear few complaints above giving nine unelected men and women a lifetime appointment and the right to overturn the actions of the more popularly elected legislature. It is absurdly anti-democratic.
Our system of government is a representative democracy, not a direct democracy. We elect Congressmen and Congresswomen and they make laws; we do not vote on laws directly. We elect electors and they choose the President; we do not vote for President directly. This is the system we have. It is not a perfect system but it is the system we have. Candidates have to work within the system to win a majority of electoral votes in the election itself, not hope for electors to jump the wagon (which in many cases would violate both their oaths and state laws). Candidates who have not won a majority of electoral votes in the election itself have lost the election ... and deservedly so.
I voted for Hillary; I am sick at the outcome. But the fault IS with her ... and with Obama ... and with other Democratic leaders ... and especially with Democrats who stayed home and did not vote -- and who, by staying home and not voting, gave the election to Trump.
I voted for Hillary; I am sick at the outcome. But the fault IS with her ... and with Obama ... and with other Democratic leaders ... and especially with Democrats who stayed home and did not vote -- and who, by staying home and not voting, gave the election to Trump.
Maureen, once again you appear relish the opportunity to heap as much blame on the Democrats as possible -- President Obama in particular, for the umpteenth time -- in yet another context-free snark-o-gram. How well do you think things would have gone for him if President Obama had gone all out towards the left, as his deeper instincts might have impelled him, against (1) the feckless GOP obstructionists in the Congress and (2) the wider electorate still ambivalent about the first African-American in the Oval Office?
And I also believe that the President's ego-stroking of Trump was not an act of desperation, as you seem to disdainfully suggest, but rather a psychoanalytic master stroke that appears to have borne fruit immediately regarding preserving part of the ACA. There may be more of this to come if Trump makes good on his word to consult with the president "many, many" more times. I am a psychoanalyst and it is my wish that President Obama will become Trump "special counselor". Optimally, Trump will visit Obama at his new home in Washington not far from the White House 4-5 days per week, where he will lie down on the sofa and talk to Dr. Barack about his feelings. I suspect that President Obama is a natural analyst, and Trump's suddenly and rather stunningly going out of his way to call him a "a very good man," is what is known as an precipitous positive transference; this bodes well for the "treatment". We can only hope...
And I also believe that the President's ego-stroking of Trump was not an act of desperation, as you seem to disdainfully suggest, but rather a psychoanalytic master stroke that appears to have borne fruit immediately regarding preserving part of the ACA. There may be more of this to come if Trump makes good on his word to consult with the president "many, many" more times. I am a psychoanalyst and it is my wish that President Obama will become Trump "special counselor". Optimally, Trump will visit Obama at his new home in Washington not far from the White House 4-5 days per week, where he will lie down on the sofa and talk to Dr. Barack about his feelings. I suspect that President Obama is a natural analyst, and Trump's suddenly and rather stunningly going out of his way to call him a "a very good man," is what is known as an precipitous positive transference; this bodes well for the "treatment". We can only hope...
21
Your comment is perfect-I had the same feeling looking at the post-meeting photo-op.
The job of the President to make life better for all Americans, and Hillary seemed to believe that life was already great. She relied on some statistics to claim that. Well, she was wrong. Anyone (even here in Silicon Valley) reading truly informative newspapers and watching truly informative TV could have seen that and dug into it further.
Many parts of rural America are having issues that we usually associate with inner cities: opiate/meth addiction and teenage pregnancy. And then there is the utter corruption by both parties that rewards funders and lobbyists in decisions that end up hurting the voiceless and powerless.
Many parts of rural America are having issues that we usually associate with inner cities: opiate/meth addiction and teenage pregnancy. And then there is the utter corruption by both parties that rewards funders and lobbyists in decisions that end up hurting the voiceless and powerless.
13
The country was so obviously tired of Bush/Clinton and demonstrated it by turfing out Bush 3. They didn't want Clinton 2. This is not an aristocracy where the crown is bestowed on the next in line. Let's hope Trumpsters don't go for Trump 2 either, as I see there is one waiting in the wings. From the moment Obama son his second term, it was decided Hilary was next. Elizabeth Warren? Too soon, she'd have to wait her turn. I do think that nothing much will change with Trump, which will, eventually lead to the real revolution.
6
"I do think that nothing much will change with Trump, which will, eventually lead to the real revolution."
Yes, and this will make it a Democratic revolution against Trump, instead of a Republican revolution against Hillary. We are now set for a much better 2020.
Yes, and this will make it a Democratic revolution against Trump, instead of a Republican revolution against Hillary. We are now set for a much better 2020.
11
Maureen Dowd has always been a voice to which I have listened, but I think her "voice" needs a makeover from sarcasm to analysis. I think one reason President Obama and Secretary Clinton misjudged the mood of the country is because they probably got their "political news" from the New York Times. I am a life-long Democrat who canceled my subscription BEFORE election day because I could not believe the Times had become no different from Fox News in their reporting. If the publisher goes back and looks in detail at all the articles written about both candidates he will see that his managing editor and political editor do not know the meaning of "'fair and balanced" any more than Sean Hannity does. They should both be fired for incompetence. The New York Time has been irreparably harmed by their loss of journalistic integrity. I will be watching to see what changes they make, but it will be a long time before I consider again getting my "news" from the Times.
19
The Election of 2016 is very similar to the Election of 1968.
Democrats could not believe that Americans would vote for Nixon,
not after all the Democrats had done for the country.
But they failed to read the temper of the country.
Whatever drove Hillary to make her "Deplorables" remark ?!?
She could not have made a greater mistake.
Democrats could not believe that Americans would vote for Nixon,
not after all the Democrats had done for the country.
But they failed to read the temper of the country.
Whatever drove Hillary to make her "Deplorables" remark ?!?
She could not have made a greater mistake.
13
It is also similar to 1968 in that you had a much better candidate for the Democrats in the primaries, whose raw honesty and finger on the zeitgeist dramatically contrasted with the Establishment's ultimate choice, but who unfortunately got taken out before being allowed to make the case in the general election. Bernie Sanders fell to the machinations of the corrupt DNC and the corrupt media, including CNN feeding Hillary debate questions in advance; whereas Bobby Kennedy was of course tragically assassinated, preventing the voters from ultimately rendering a verdict. In both cases, Bobby Kennedy and Bernie Sanders held much more appeal for the white working class and arguably would have won the general election.
1
In any hospital or convalescent waiting room, FOX news is a ubiquitous presence. I'm sure that is the case in the Bible Belt.
After Obama, Clinton is arguably their most targeted politician.
For far longer.
As the NYT itself reports, people are living in their bubbles- half are getting their "news" from Facebook.
Trump had an array of politically disqualifying points that were open to question- Russian connections, treaty agreements, constitutional requirements, nuclear power assertions, peaceful transfer of power requirements, etc.
These were buried in the coverage of Hillary's emails. At an earlier point, they were even buried by his own more lurid (and therefore more palatable) sex scandals.
But none of these ever had the magic staying power of the emails.
And when they had finally lost their power to wound Clinton, FBI director Comey created a concise, two-act play that conveyed the message that something "big" was about to happen on them, as Rudy Giuliani had helpfully pointed out (somehow) two days earlier. Nothing "big" happened, but early voting had commenced.
We are told that it "may not have had an effect."
Hmm.
This is who you might start flogging, rather than Clinton- or even Trump.
Yourself.
And the rest of the media. Who kept up the fake equivalency "reporting" up to the end. The SNL sketch about Trump kissing Putin, a KKK member, and an FBI agent nailed this.
"Yes", says the reporter, "but let's get back to the emails."
After Obama, Clinton is arguably their most targeted politician.
For far longer.
As the NYT itself reports, people are living in their bubbles- half are getting their "news" from Facebook.
Trump had an array of politically disqualifying points that were open to question- Russian connections, treaty agreements, constitutional requirements, nuclear power assertions, peaceful transfer of power requirements, etc.
These were buried in the coverage of Hillary's emails. At an earlier point, they were even buried by his own more lurid (and therefore more palatable) sex scandals.
But none of these ever had the magic staying power of the emails.
And when they had finally lost their power to wound Clinton, FBI director Comey created a concise, two-act play that conveyed the message that something "big" was about to happen on them, as Rudy Giuliani had helpfully pointed out (somehow) two days earlier. Nothing "big" happened, but early voting had commenced.
We are told that it "may not have had an effect."
Hmm.
This is who you might start flogging, rather than Clinton- or even Trump.
Yourself.
And the rest of the media. Who kept up the fake equivalency "reporting" up to the end. The SNL sketch about Trump kissing Putin, a KKK member, and an FBI agent nailed this.
"Yes", says the reporter, "but let's get back to the emails."
21
So, here it is. President Obama did not need to have that dreaded lunch or golf game with an opponent across the aisle. He has something Mr. Trump needs, and a chance to redefine their relationship on his turf and his terms.
It's been said that President Obama's greatest flaw as President has been his inability to reach out, his over-thinking of his every move, but to the extent he has the knowledge and experience President-elect Trump sorely lacks, this transition of power is Mr. Obama's chance to define their cross-party relationship on his terms, and, to the extent possible, in the interests of the President's past and current base of public support, not to mention the tens of millions of voters who voted Democratic on Nov. 8th.
It's a high calling, and could have the biggest impact on Americans of any official relationship since he took office. Hillary's mistake played out like a Greek tragedy - she was sucked unwittingly into the former casino-owner's game, becoming an example of what happens when you get a tiger by the tail.
Thank goodness our President's as steadfast as his successor is unstable, and I'm equally grateful that he's skilled, if not too skilled, at keeping what in this case may prove a healthy reluctance to show his hand.
It's been said that President Obama's greatest flaw as President has been his inability to reach out, his over-thinking of his every move, but to the extent he has the knowledge and experience President-elect Trump sorely lacks, this transition of power is Mr. Obama's chance to define their cross-party relationship on his terms, and, to the extent possible, in the interests of the President's past and current base of public support, not to mention the tens of millions of voters who voted Democratic on Nov. 8th.
It's a high calling, and could have the biggest impact on Americans of any official relationship since he took office. Hillary's mistake played out like a Greek tragedy - she was sucked unwittingly into the former casino-owner's game, becoming an example of what happens when you get a tiger by the tail.
Thank goodness our President's as steadfast as his successor is unstable, and I'm equally grateful that he's skilled, if not too skilled, at keeping what in this case may prove a healthy reluctance to show his hand.
12
As much as I despise Dowd's decades long vendetta against Hillary Clinton, this time she definitely has a point. I just wish Dowd weren't so gleeful, since this may end up as a disaster for the American people.
5
Obama lost me early on when he accused the Cambridge police of being stupid without knowing ANY of the facts except that his friend was involved. Turned out that the officer involved was one of the most respected in the department and taught the diversity classes for new officers. Next was his apology tour to the Middle East and cuddling up to Huma's favorite group, the Muslim Brotherhood. Finally, not securing a Status of Forces agreement in Iraq led to the rise of Daesch. Imagine being the patent of a Marine lost in taking Fallujah. It's unfathomable.
7
This is too rich. Even though Bernie was dissed by Obama he continued to be successful. Obama had become the Establishment almost as soon as he entered office.
But it was the press and the NYTs who really silenced Bernie, and most importantly his MESSAGE. You, Krugman, Blow . . . Establishment one and all. And I haven't heard any reflections on YOUR roles in this tragedy in the Opinion pages. Bernie was a joke, his followers "bros", his hair too messy, too old, hunched over, those hands ( all the important stuff) . . . And now you're blaming Obama and Hillary?
I haven't forgotten what this newspaper is all about and I hope everyone interested in a new Democratic Party hasn't either.
But it was the press and the NYTs who really silenced Bernie, and most importantly his MESSAGE. You, Krugman, Blow . . . Establishment one and all. And I haven't heard any reflections on YOUR roles in this tragedy in the Opinion pages. Bernie was a joke, his followers "bros", his hair too messy, too old, hunched over, those hands ( all the important stuff) . . . And now you're blaming Obama and Hillary?
I haven't forgotten what this newspaper is all about and I hope everyone interested in a new Democratic Party hasn't either.
13
I hate to write this to you, as I agree with just about everything written here, but in your own cloudy thinking, when Donald J. Trump was just revving up, you succumbed, apparently, interviewed him, giving him some acceptance by your legendary pen. I wrote a note to the NYT about this, but it went unpublished, as this will, too. (You are the best, apart from this, Maureen!)
1
Hindsight is 20/20. All the pols and pundits, who got almost everything wrong about this election, are now trying to tell us why? The simple truth is there was no Kryptonite that could damage Donald Trump because of the unconditional support he got from a majority of whites of all stripes. And yet, Trump was not Superman; he was a tremendously flawed candidate, who did not deserve to win.
So “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves, that we are underlings” who picked this weak Caesar as our leader. There is nothing that Hillary Clinton could have done to win the Electoral College – her goose had already been cooked by FBI Director, Jim Comey’s unconscionable meddling in the race. Working class whites, who hadn’t made up their minds prior to the first Comey letter, were then convinced that Hillary’s email issue would never be satisfactorily resolved? But surprisingly, the number of mistakes they forgave Trump for boggles the mind, including on the critical character issue, which used to be a Republican imperative for the presidency in the post-Bill Clinton era.
However, we can take heart in Martin Luther King Jr.’s advice, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” Trump’s tax returns could reveal potential conflicts of interests that might adversely impact his presidency. There are also a number of lawsuits, including the Trump University case, which could affect his presidency. Karma awaits.
So “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves, that we are underlings” who picked this weak Caesar as our leader. There is nothing that Hillary Clinton could have done to win the Electoral College – her goose had already been cooked by FBI Director, Jim Comey’s unconscionable meddling in the race. Working class whites, who hadn’t made up their minds prior to the first Comey letter, were then convinced that Hillary’s email issue would never be satisfactorily resolved? But surprisingly, the number of mistakes they forgave Trump for boggles the mind, including on the critical character issue, which used to be a Republican imperative for the presidency in the post-Bill Clinton era.
However, we can take heart in Martin Luther King Jr.’s advice, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” Trump’s tax returns could reveal potential conflicts of interests that might adversely impact his presidency. There are also a number of lawsuits, including the Trump University case, which could affect his presidency. Karma awaits.
6
Is this your valedictory, Ms. Dowd?
For twenty years Hillary has been your muse - your inspiration nonpareil. You actually owe her not only your gratitude, but basic capitalist decency should warrant her a percentage of your NY Times salary, given how much she sustained you with subject matter at her expense.
Without "Hillary to kick around" (to paraphrase Nixon) what in the world are you going to write about now? You may think that you have vanquished Hillary, but did it occur to you that as Hillary fades into obscurity she is taking you with her?
For twenty years Hillary has been your muse - your inspiration nonpareil. You actually owe her not only your gratitude, but basic capitalist decency should warrant her a percentage of your NY Times salary, given how much she sustained you with subject matter at her expense.
Without "Hillary to kick around" (to paraphrase Nixon) what in the world are you going to write about now? You may think that you have vanquished Hillary, but did it occur to you that as Hillary fades into obscurity she is taking you with her?
15
Hear! Hear! Well said!
It never occurred to Hillary, even after Bernie raised millions in small amounts from people supporting him and came very close to defeating her, that people wanted someone divorced from big donors and their money! Blissfully ignorant, she raised close to a billion dollars from the rich in fund raisers, instead of listening to people hurt from modern economic trends. It is as if all that money would ensure her entry into the White House!
Tone deaf! How could she think that receiving 225,000 dollars from Goldman Sachs for an hour's speech was going to endear her to people in the rust belt? What was she thinking? She needs to look in the mirror to see the person responsible for her own defeat. She could have easily picked Sanders or Warren as the VP candidate, but her own hubris made her ignore them. After all, who would they end up supporting, other than her?
People vote their pocket book! The basic instinct of human beings is self preservation. In modern times, it is being able to feed their families, shelter them and educate their children. Both parties have been very good at entering into trade deals that have managed to ship entire factories overseas, depriving people here jobs needed to survive. Inequality has exploded. Yet she was the "Can't do" candidate, interested only in making history by becoming the first woman president. It was not about "you" but "her". No wonder she lost!
It never occurred to Hillary, even after Bernie raised millions in small amounts from people supporting him and came very close to defeating her, that people wanted someone divorced from big donors and their money! Blissfully ignorant, she raised close to a billion dollars from the rich in fund raisers, instead of listening to people hurt from modern economic trends. It is as if all that money would ensure her entry into the White House!
Tone deaf! How could she think that receiving 225,000 dollars from Goldman Sachs for an hour's speech was going to endear her to people in the rust belt? What was she thinking? She needs to look in the mirror to see the person responsible for her own defeat. She could have easily picked Sanders or Warren as the VP candidate, but her own hubris made her ignore them. After all, who would they end up supporting, other than her?
People vote their pocket book! The basic instinct of human beings is self preservation. In modern times, it is being able to feed their families, shelter them and educate their children. Both parties have been very good at entering into trade deals that have managed to ship entire factories overseas, depriving people here jobs needed to survive. Inequality has exploded. Yet she was the "Can't do" candidate, interested only in making history by becoming the first woman president. It was not about "you" but "her". No wonder she lost!
16
This is one of those columns by Maureen that is truly in touch with the times (and I don't mean the publication): she has the attention span of a flea, as many are getting to be like these days, jumping from one bullet point to another, changing the subject as fast as a failed synapse leap. You feel like she threw spaghetti at the wall, with no other objective than getting in another zinger. I can't really decide what she thinks, and am pretty sure there's a good reason for that. If she wants to be a pundit, it would serve her to work on more coherence and intellectual honesty.
That's what I came here to say. As for the people considered in this mess of a column, I weep for them, and have no other thoughts.
That's what I came here to say. As for the people considered in this mess of a column, I weep for them, and have no other thoughts.
4
It's so very typical and so very tiresome that of course Maureen lays blame for this heartbreaking and tragic election at the doorstep of Barack Obama's White House.
The president elect is not smart enough to shine our current president's shoes.
But then neither are you, Maureen.
The president elect is not smart enough to shine our current president's shoes.
But then neither are you, Maureen.
35
Maureen is a one trick pony.
The time has come for all of us to simply ignore Dowd and her Op-Ed columns.
She has nothing to say of any importance and her skewed and biased thinking has grown tiresome and a complete waste of time and column inches.
At this point in NYT time she has received 110 Comments. Let us begin to keep her number herein as low as possible.
Restraint on our part may put her into the oblivion she so richly deserves.
Listen up NYT Editorial Board.
There is a pasture for her somewhere and let her hop into that meadow as soon as possible.
The time has come for all of us to simply ignore Dowd and her Op-Ed columns.
She has nothing to say of any importance and her skewed and biased thinking has grown tiresome and a complete waste of time and column inches.
At this point in NYT time she has received 110 Comments. Let us begin to keep her number herein as low as possible.
Restraint on our part may put her into the oblivion she so richly deserves.
Listen up NYT Editorial Board.
There is a pasture for her somewhere and let her hop into that meadow as soon as possible.
Well said, but tell me something we didn't know about both of them from day one. When Barack sold us out with Tarp part two the game was over.
6
What a pitiful situation brought on by the DNC and its super delegates.
There is, also, a real story to write on the sad collaboration between the Clinton Campaign, the NYTimes & NPR (Brazile/CNN, too). Journalism hasn't been this bad since the Times of Judith Miller and Bill Keller. Your boss has a lot of splainin to do, Maureen;
and Barack deserved to get his fingers burned. Ugliest election of my lifetime.
There is, also, a real story to write on the sad collaboration between the Clinton Campaign, the NYTimes & NPR (Brazile/CNN, too). Journalism hasn't been this bad since the Times of Judith Miller and Bill Keller. Your boss has a lot of splainin to do, Maureen;
and Barack deserved to get his fingers burned. Ugliest election of my lifetime.
14
You must be ecstatic, Maureen. Hillary lost! Now a true progressive will be our president...oh, wait.
13
Trump lost the election by over 2 million votes. He has no mandate despite what Republicans are claiming. I find it very suspicious that Trump has been declared the winner despite the popular vote and the fact that virtually all polls showed Hillary winning easily. In other countries elections are considered legitimate when the outcome coincides with the polls. Something is fishy here. And when you have government agencies like the FBI colluding with a campaign it is really hard to accept such an unlikely outcome.
Trump as president is going to change the course of this country for generations to come even if he's only a one termer. I no longer have hope for our country's future.
Trump as president is going to change the course of this country for generations to come even if he's only a one termer. I no longer have hope for our country's future.
10
Bravo Mary.
Note: "Something is fishy here."
It is statistically impossible for so many polls to be so very wrong. There is always a margin of error, but in this case those margins were always within reason.
The number of polls taken was very high. The polls were very consistent in their conclusions.
I maintain that ANYTHING can be hacked and I say this from a background in information technology.
This election was hacked and it is to be hoped that somewhere some capable group or organization will take up the task of proving this to be or not to be the case. Let chips fall ..... wherever.
The Freedom of Information Act should be applied to a study of the system analysis for the compilation of voting results and applied to the study and examination of the software developed for the implementation of the system itself.
Modifying numbers to meet predetermined outcomes is certainly possible.
In fact examination of just 4 or 5 important states could well suffice.
Another question: Where was the system and the software developed and what specific entities where involved in this effort.
Did it have trapdoors.
Trump decided to run for president - a great surprise to the world at large - and he did so because he knew that he would win.
His entire outrageous and offensive campaign, his demeaning attitude toward many groups of persons, and his blatant over-confidence and swagger was possible because he knew he would win.
Rigged? He knew it for sure.
Q.E.D. Anyone.
Note: "Something is fishy here."
It is statistically impossible for so many polls to be so very wrong. There is always a margin of error, but in this case those margins were always within reason.
The number of polls taken was very high. The polls were very consistent in their conclusions.
I maintain that ANYTHING can be hacked and I say this from a background in information technology.
This election was hacked and it is to be hoped that somewhere some capable group or organization will take up the task of proving this to be or not to be the case. Let chips fall ..... wherever.
The Freedom of Information Act should be applied to a study of the system analysis for the compilation of voting results and applied to the study and examination of the software developed for the implementation of the system itself.
Modifying numbers to meet predetermined outcomes is certainly possible.
In fact examination of just 4 or 5 important states could well suffice.
Another question: Where was the system and the software developed and what specific entities where involved in this effort.
Did it have trapdoors.
Trump decided to run for president - a great surprise to the world at large - and he did so because he knew that he would win.
His entire outrageous and offensive campaign, his demeaning attitude toward many groups of persons, and his blatant over-confidence and swagger was possible because he knew he would win.
Rigged? He knew it for sure.
Q.E.D. Anyone.
2
It is fitting that Pres. Obama's legacy is built out of sand. Too lazy and limp-wristed and vain and impatient to roll up his sleeves and start dealing with the Congress he was dealt, he chose to sit on the throne in the White House and govern by decree.
The catch is that those executive orders and decrees can be revoked virtually by the stroke of a pen. Obama's only legislative accomplishment is the jerry-built Affordable Care Act which has collapsed under its own weight just as his eight years draw to a close. So Obama had a lot riding on Clinton's re-election.
It is Obama's fecklessness in the foreign policy arena where his legacy will matter most. It is epitomized by his notorious admission that "we don't have a strategy for Syria yet" and by the contemptible spectacle of Sec. Kerry groveling before Vladimir Putin and pleading with him not to incinerate any more relief convoys. The lights are going out all over the world. Tyrants and bullies have never had it so good. If they are making nice now, it is because they don't yet know which way Trump will jump.
Not least, our first black President has left race relations in America at their ugliest, most envenomed and most hopeless that I can remember. As Dowd reminds us, as one of his last acts, he tried to help Clinton by playing both the race and gender cards.
Good riddance to the last eight years.
The catch is that those executive orders and decrees can be revoked virtually by the stroke of a pen. Obama's only legislative accomplishment is the jerry-built Affordable Care Act which has collapsed under its own weight just as his eight years draw to a close. So Obama had a lot riding on Clinton's re-election.
It is Obama's fecklessness in the foreign policy arena where his legacy will matter most. It is epitomized by his notorious admission that "we don't have a strategy for Syria yet" and by the contemptible spectacle of Sec. Kerry groveling before Vladimir Putin and pleading with him not to incinerate any more relief convoys. The lights are going out all over the world. Tyrants and bullies have never had it so good. If they are making nice now, it is because they don't yet know which way Trump will jump.
Not least, our first black President has left race relations in America at their ugliest, most envenomed and most hopeless that I can remember. As Dowd reminds us, as one of his last acts, he tried to help Clinton by playing both the race and gender cards.
Good riddance to the last eight years.
10
Clinton's ground game was excellent and I know as I was there. If anything is to blame for her loss, it is that the explanation of Trump's plan by the Democratic supporters and the media was not explained at a third grade level, so that so many of his "deplorable" voters would understand. The so called "elites" who voted for him did so for purely selfish reasons, reduced taxes and racist sentiments.
The result will be that so many have voted against their own self interest, and believe me we will all pay the price.
The result will be that so many have voted against their own self interest, and believe me we will all pay the price.
11
If Clinton's ground game was so excellent, why did she get 6 million fewer votes than Obama? Those stay-at-home Democrats are the reason she lost.
1
Hillary won her vote count majority over performing in traditional strongholds (San Francisco, NYC, Miami) but leaving the working class Upper Midwest to fend for itself. Bill Clinton and Ed Rendell could barely get their phone calls returned from Brooklyn HQ -- a location mistake -- saying that Hillary needed to be with those working Americans who felt hopeless and helpless.
Blaming James Comey for her loss, as she did Saturday, is even more tone deaf. Why was Director Comey even involved? Her poor judgement at the State Department.
I'm surprised that Hillary learned nothing in her 2008 defeat or her near calamity against Sen Sanders this year. Her life of bankers, acolytes, private jets and limousines have made her insensitive to the needs of "flyover country" who are straight, white church attendees who worry every paycheck that it may be their last (a sector President Obama twice did well with). The next Democrat candidate for President will do well to honor progressive thinking tempered with concrete plans for what is "doable". I don't presently see that Democrat, but he or she is thinking about these things this week.
Blaming James Comey for her loss, as she did Saturday, is even more tone deaf. Why was Director Comey even involved? Her poor judgement at the State Department.
I'm surprised that Hillary learned nothing in her 2008 defeat or her near calamity against Sen Sanders this year. Her life of bankers, acolytes, private jets and limousines have made her insensitive to the needs of "flyover country" who are straight, white church attendees who worry every paycheck that it may be their last (a sector President Obama twice did well with). The next Democrat candidate for President will do well to honor progressive thinking tempered with concrete plans for what is "doable". I don't presently see that Democrat, but he or she is thinking about these things this week.
13
I think this is probably Dowd's best column ever. I didn't think she was capable of this level of insight.
8
Snarky as ever, but I think you called it correctly on the remoteness of the now-passing (one would hope) Dem Party inner circles. Time to remake a responsive and attuned party.
3
This is exactly the anti-Hillary demonization that elected a bigoted pathological liar. Dowd family favorite Trump is filling the executive branch with Wall Street hacks and corporate lobbyists. But let's naval gaze about how Hillary "stumbled" by denouncing the hate fueling the Trump movement as deplorable.
Stumbled? Hillary spoke truth. It's just the media and the alt left will do what she wouldn't and betray minorities to chase white angst. Just like they used Putin's Wikileaks and a corrupt FBI to falsely portray Hillary's emails as a crisis and her primary win as illegitimate, Clinton haters will now insist that KKK stands for Keconomic Kanxiety Kult and that Bernie would have won, making Democrats McGovern themselves in 2020. Apparently, voters who just rejected single payer in Colorado, sent Berniebro Feingold to a bigger Wisconsin loss than Hillary, and who are now fueling a hate crime wave secretly love socialist Jews from Vermont and are just frustrated about climate change.
Hillary's historic popular vote win will end up the largest ever for a losing campaign. Why? Because despite the witch hunt, Americans appreciate her. She went South after law school and helped end school segregation, fought Reagan's attempts to cut legal aid to the poor, got 8 million poor kids healthcare with SCHIP, and made the rights of women and gays a diplomatic priority. What have her critics ever done but snipe from the sidelines?
And I love how *now* Dowd loves Bill Clinton. Lol.
Stumbled? Hillary spoke truth. It's just the media and the alt left will do what she wouldn't and betray minorities to chase white angst. Just like they used Putin's Wikileaks and a corrupt FBI to falsely portray Hillary's emails as a crisis and her primary win as illegitimate, Clinton haters will now insist that KKK stands for Keconomic Kanxiety Kult and that Bernie would have won, making Democrats McGovern themselves in 2020. Apparently, voters who just rejected single payer in Colorado, sent Berniebro Feingold to a bigger Wisconsin loss than Hillary, and who are now fueling a hate crime wave secretly love socialist Jews from Vermont and are just frustrated about climate change.
Hillary's historic popular vote win will end up the largest ever for a losing campaign. Why? Because despite the witch hunt, Americans appreciate her. She went South after law school and helped end school segregation, fought Reagan's attempts to cut legal aid to the poor, got 8 million poor kids healthcare with SCHIP, and made the rights of women and gays a diplomatic priority. What have her critics ever done but snipe from the sidelines?
And I love how *now* Dowd loves Bill Clinton. Lol.
18
You must really love this column. You nail BOTH Obama and Clinton. The Times is lucky to have a clear-eyed OP-ed writer such as you Mo. What will you write about when they are gone? Perhaps a few more of the puff pieces for the Donald you wrote earlier this year.
14
Now the recrimination begins with Ms. Dowd's oversimplifications of should of's and would of's. It was a binary choice and the rogue FBI, Vladimir Putin, and Julian Assange's Wikileaks tipped the scales through relentless attacks on Hillary Clinton's character. But another insidious group was also at work.
At the Al Smith dinner Trump suggested before the Catholic enclave that Hillary had a hatred towards Catholics. "Thou shall not bear false witness" never stopped the Moral Majority's Jerry Falwell with accusing Bill Clinton of murder in the '90's and their pursuit of Hillary wouldn't be assuaged. Conservative Crusaders on the march.
At the Al Smith dinner Trump suggested before the Catholic enclave that Hillary had a hatred towards Catholics. "Thou shall not bear false witness" never stopped the Moral Majority's Jerry Falwell with accusing Bill Clinton of murder in the '90's and their pursuit of Hillary wouldn't be assuaged. Conservative Crusaders on the march.
15
Clinton had every single advantage in the playbook. She had the backing of all Democrats, the media who endorsed her, and even towards the bitter end she had Republicans on her side. Even the electoral college would have benefited her...IF she didn't lose the states she thought she had in the bag.
You can't tell me that one letter from the FBI about her emails AGAIN tipped the scale in this election to award Trump the presidency. This was truly anyone's game to win, and Clinton lost. This lost is an accumulation of Clinton herself as a candidate and what she represented, the corruption within their party, and frankly how out of touch they are with America.
Now if I really had to choose a moment that may have cost her the...lets say...Michigan, it must have been when a mother of a child in Flint, Michigan had the honor of Clinton a question during a debate. Clinton answered beautifully. Unfortunately, we later found out that she was given these debate questions beforehand by a DNC staffer who worked with CNN. I died a little for the City of Flint. To have your government and a Republican governor poison your city, and then the Democratic nominee to lie and answer to your heartache in a disingenuous way...is it any wonder that voters voted for Trump or just stayed home?
I am not defending Trump or his racism/sexism, and I will not defend Clinton either. We cannot be made at our truth tellers (i.e. Julian Assange) when we have so few in our country.
You can't tell me that one letter from the FBI about her emails AGAIN tipped the scale in this election to award Trump the presidency. This was truly anyone's game to win, and Clinton lost. This lost is an accumulation of Clinton herself as a candidate and what she represented, the corruption within their party, and frankly how out of touch they are with America.
Now if I really had to choose a moment that may have cost her the...lets say...Michigan, it must have been when a mother of a child in Flint, Michigan had the honor of Clinton a question during a debate. Clinton answered beautifully. Unfortunately, we later found out that she was given these debate questions beforehand by a DNC staffer who worked with CNN. I died a little for the City of Flint. To have your government and a Republican governor poison your city, and then the Democratic nominee to lie and answer to your heartache in a disingenuous way...is it any wonder that voters voted for Trump or just stayed home?
I am not defending Trump or his racism/sexism, and I will not defend Clinton either. We cannot be made at our truth tellers (i.e. Julian Assange) when we have so few in our country.
"But Obama lost touch with his revolutionary side and ... lectured Congress and scorned the art of political persuasion."
Perhaps you didn't know that one of the first things that Mitch McConnell said after Obama's election was that the GOP should focus on making Obama a one-term president.
Perhaps you didn't realize that the same McConnell and his colleagues refused to consider giving Mr. Garland, President Obama's Supreme Court Nominee for the Supreme Court, even a hearing for the last eight months.
Perhaps you were unaware that one of the main purposes of GOP-led House hearings on Benghazi was to bring down Hillary Clinton's poll numbers.
Perhaps you didn't hear that GOP Senators, John McCain among them, were planning to block any nominee of Mrs. Clinton, were she to become president. http://to.pbs.org/2espFBG
How, for heaven's sake, was anyone going to persuade the obstructionist GOP bunch to do anything that is not in their party's interest?
Perhaps you didn't know that one of the first things that Mitch McConnell said after Obama's election was that the GOP should focus on making Obama a one-term president.
Perhaps you didn't realize that the same McConnell and his colleagues refused to consider giving Mr. Garland, President Obama's Supreme Court Nominee for the Supreme Court, even a hearing for the last eight months.
Perhaps you were unaware that one of the main purposes of GOP-led House hearings on Benghazi was to bring down Hillary Clinton's poll numbers.
Perhaps you didn't hear that GOP Senators, John McCain among them, were planning to block any nominee of Mrs. Clinton, were she to become president. http://to.pbs.org/2espFBG
How, for heaven's sake, was anyone going to persuade the obstructionist GOP bunch to do anything that is not in their party's interest?
37
Another excellent analysis. I'm sure it will leave Democrats apoplectic, but it's accurate. Thank you.
6
Obama still on a very high popularity was trying to maintain his civility when He met the newly elected President Donald Trump who never even acknowledged President`s birthright.
This is a Country of immigrants and Donald Trump`s father was an immigrant as well.
Time to end this blame game and we are going to regroup to make sure Trump`s Presidency will end after the first term.
There will be another Woman out there to crack that bulletproof glass ceiling.
This is a Country of immigrants and Donald Trump`s father was an immigrant as well.
Time to end this blame game and we are going to regroup to make sure Trump`s Presidency will end after the first term.
There will be another Woman out there to crack that bulletproof glass ceiling.
10
Already have written Elizabeth Warren to take on Don the Con in 2020!
1
Absolutely on target! Bullseye. Hillary's contempt for the voters who in the end elected Trump was palpable. Did I just read that she never bothered to visit Wisconsin? Of course she didn't hear their voices! She didn't bother to listen.
We thought we were rid of HillBill in 2008. Can we rest assured in 2016 while we wrest the Democrats back to their working class roots? Let's hope for the best. Meanwhile, who is that senator with the rusty belt? Sherrod Brown?
We thought we were rid of HillBill in 2008. Can we rest assured in 2016 while we wrest the Democrats back to their working class roots? Let's hope for the best. Meanwhile, who is that senator with the rusty belt? Sherrod Brown?
8
He deserves everything he is about to get. He has been arrogant and has tried time and time again to supersede our form of republican government.
Thank god his failed legacy is getting thrown in the dustbin where it belongs.
Thank god his failed legacy is getting thrown in the dustbin where it belongs.
1
His legacy is far from being thrown to the dustbin, since it is impossible to undo the ACA while keeping the two most expensive parts "existing conditions" and keeping the children on one's policy till the age of 24. Watch Lawrence O'Donnel for an explanation.
Nor is O's gigantic step toward controlling climate change. likely to be undone because it too is very complex and linked to other policies.
As for his being arrogant and contemptuous of republican governance; read one of the above comments detailing the unprecedented obstructionism that this president encountered till the very bitter end. History will not look kindly at the party of NO nor at the easily bamboozled American electorate which rewarded the party of NO and the tea party with reelections, forgetting very quickly who had brought about the Great Recession in the first place.
Nor is O's gigantic step toward controlling climate change. likely to be undone because it too is very complex and linked to other policies.
As for his being arrogant and contemptuous of republican governance; read one of the above comments detailing the unprecedented obstructionism that this president encountered till the very bitter end. History will not look kindly at the party of NO nor at the easily bamboozled American electorate which rewarded the party of NO and the tea party with reelections, forgetting very quickly who had brought about the Great Recession in the first place.
It's LOL that Dowd, spoiled smug-brat par excellence, w/the freedom to act unilaterally, presumes Obama has the freedom to do whatever he wants. Obama learned lessons and made decisions that didn't necessarily coincide w/those she wanted, but he came to them w/thought, practicality, and possibility, rather than by selling-out, as she implies. It is her right to be disappointed by Obama. I cannot understand her accusations since there isn't justification to assail his integrity. In eight years, he or his administration hasn't had one scandal. He has navigated the system but not succumbed out of belief, only necessity.
19
The overwhelming outcome of this 2016 Election is the Resounding Voice of the American People. Trump, by himself, never offered any alternative Policies, or even Plans. The American People plainly spoke out - Trump at his worst was still a better choice than the Democratic Party. Sure, Secretary Clinton would have won if FBI Director Comey had not sparked chaos in the Campaigns with his Partisan Incendiary letter. The States of Florida, North Carolina & Pennsylvania were surely lost to Secretary Clinton because of the Fresh Bout of Misplaced Mistrust - & with them the Presidency. But a Secretary Clinton Victory would only have Concealed the underlying Vast Gulf between the Democratic Party's Positions on Key National Subjects & Major Sections of the American People. The Democratic Party must now find common ground with this Huge Swathe of American people in almost 40 States & build a New Consensus Platform going forward. Liberalism in the Democratic Party has only Ignited its alienation from the Conservative beliefs of large sections of American people. The Democratic Party must shed its Exclusive Focus on Donald Trump & even its under-siege like Focus on the Republican Party &, instead, Seek an Inclusive Broadbased Trust of conservative Americans in addition to its present Base.
2
Let me start by saying I held my nose and voted for HRC because the alternative was too unpalatable being the father of young girls.
I must say that Ms Dowd is spot on here. Obama was complicit in this mess by force feeding us this Frankenstein of a candidate.
Her unwillingness to discuss her Wall Street speeches was telling early. Suggesting she didnt understand the word "wipe" as it related to her hard drive was offensive. Worse still she has been on both sides of every issue over the years depending on the audience and the masses could smell it from miles away. By the end of the campaign she came off as a caricature of a progressive politician and that is hard to do given the nature of politics in the first place.
Clinton never gave people a simple message to hold onto about her candidacy because one never really existed other than the fact she believed she belonged on Air Force one again. The point of her running seemed to be to restart the manufacturing plant of "Clinton Inc" as Ms Dowd so aptly named it here.
The fact that a great, noble and experienced man such as Obama suppressed what I would hope were significant misgivings about HRC just bums me out beyond belief. He went to Washington to change it and guess who ended up changed?
If even he turned out myopic what chance do we have?
I must say that Ms Dowd is spot on here. Obama was complicit in this mess by force feeding us this Frankenstein of a candidate.
Her unwillingness to discuss her Wall Street speeches was telling early. Suggesting she didnt understand the word "wipe" as it related to her hard drive was offensive. Worse still she has been on both sides of every issue over the years depending on the audience and the masses could smell it from miles away. By the end of the campaign she came off as a caricature of a progressive politician and that is hard to do given the nature of politics in the first place.
Clinton never gave people a simple message to hold onto about her candidacy because one never really existed other than the fact she believed she belonged on Air Force one again. The point of her running seemed to be to restart the manufacturing plant of "Clinton Inc" as Ms Dowd so aptly named it here.
The fact that a great, noble and experienced man such as Obama suppressed what I would hope were significant misgivings about HRC just bums me out beyond belief. He went to Washington to change it and guess who ended up changed?
If even he turned out myopic what chance do we have?
12
Right, race can have played no role in this outcome because Trump is one of Mo's set and it doesn't matter what is said, she sees the innocence of his soul. Of course there is no sexism involved, boys will be boys even when they are 70. Of course Comey had no effect because well if she just had different style then accusations made by the FBI would never stick....like they never did with ML King? Well never mind that one. And we see what a horrible candidate Hilary is because she only won the popular vote by 570 thousand votes. So now we are finally are free of all those politicians who are guilty of the worst sin, not being as perfect in every way as Maureen. Heres hoping that Giuliani pushes 8 years of hearings for e-mail crime so that Maureen will be able to give us another decade of her brilliant columns.
16
What about blame for the media? Throughout the election, the media including Maureen Dowd peddled false equivalence. Trump is a racist, but Hillary has email problems. Trump evaded taxe, but Hillary had email problems. This false equivalence caused a lot of damage.
There is not much she could have done. Comey finally sunk her.
There is not much she could have done. Comey finally sunk her.
17
Good grief Maureen--you were the one who couldn't stop swooning over Barack Obama way back in 2008 because you were desperately seeking an alternative to a possible Hillary Clinton presidency. Dowd and the rest of the elitist media convinced this great, God-fearing nation that Obama was "The One" who would ride into Washington like a knight on a horse and - poof-- all of our troubles would be solved. It's a shame that Maureen Dowd who hoisted Barack Obama on to this lofty pedestal is forced to realize that maybe, just maybe her rosy platitudes did more harm than good. The Obama that became president was a far cry from the fiery candidate who sold America on that Hope and Change bill of goods. President Obama really thought he was above the usual "politics as usual" nonsense and felt he didn't have to bother with the Republicans opposition who were just annoying, unenlightened idiots who refused to share his vision. However it's nice to know with Obama getting ready to exit the building that Maureen Dowd is now being forced to eat a generous serving of humble pie. Maureen Dowd allowed her hatred of Hillary Clinton to completely cloud her judgment. The result was she persuaded America to trust an unknown junior Senator from Illinois with the most important job in the world.
However I am reasonably sure that Maureen Dowd will find a new quarry with incoming First Lady Melania Trump now that Hillary Clinton has left the building.
However I am reasonably sure that Maureen Dowd will find a new quarry with incoming First Lady Melania Trump now that Hillary Clinton has left the building.
2
>
Obama was never really good nor liked politics which cost him and the rest of us in the end. Yes, he won two elections. He had better crews than HRC. Rumor has it that Bill C. begged Robby Mook to get out in the sticks and garner some Lumpenproletariat votes, but Brooklyn refused
On Tuesday, the Dems immolated themselves and quite possibly all of humanity depending on future events with their identity politics concept that Billy-Bob doesn't matter. So they went with a version of Colonel Kilgore's motto "Charlie don't surf "
The poor Dems are so upset about Trump but have yet to fathom the real psychos in this "hall of doom", the GOP rabble in House and Senate. The Dems have no idea of what is coming at them in the near future. The Congress that couldn't pass any bill is now the Congress that will pass any bill.
The next biggest losers of Tuesday, are the white hillbilly and redneck GOP marks that Trump's flimflam rhetoric mustered off their out of date couches and sent to the polls. Trump is already flip-flopping on his ACA repeal, locking up HRC, tariffs more to come as to flip-flops.
Word is out that all his new infrastructure is going to seek private investment, which means lots of tolls. Look for the "Blind Trust" kids to invest here. Can't wait to hear Lumpenproletariat Jim-Bob howl when he has to pay a toll every other 2 miles both ways to his miserable job. It's sure to be one big privatize the profits and socialize the risks scam.
Obama was never really good nor liked politics which cost him and the rest of us in the end. Yes, he won two elections. He had better crews than HRC. Rumor has it that Bill C. begged Robby Mook to get out in the sticks and garner some Lumpenproletariat votes, but Brooklyn refused
On Tuesday, the Dems immolated themselves and quite possibly all of humanity depending on future events with their identity politics concept that Billy-Bob doesn't matter. So they went with a version of Colonel Kilgore's motto "Charlie don't surf "
The poor Dems are so upset about Trump but have yet to fathom the real psychos in this "hall of doom", the GOP rabble in House and Senate. The Dems have no idea of what is coming at them in the near future. The Congress that couldn't pass any bill is now the Congress that will pass any bill.
The next biggest losers of Tuesday, are the white hillbilly and redneck GOP marks that Trump's flimflam rhetoric mustered off their out of date couches and sent to the polls. Trump is already flip-flopping on his ACA repeal, locking up HRC, tariffs more to come as to flip-flops.
Word is out that all his new infrastructure is going to seek private investment, which means lots of tolls. Look for the "Blind Trust" kids to invest here. Can't wait to hear Lumpenproletariat Jim-Bob howl when he has to pay a toll every other 2 miles both ways to his miserable job. It's sure to be one big privatize the profits and socialize the risks scam.
8
Just stop all the recriminations. We just had a RW Coup d' Etat of which the Director of the FBI was the executioner. MSM was an active participant and nothing else matters or should be even talked about. We are now a Banana Republic. How does it feel Maureen?
22
Maureen says 'Hillary’s campaign message boiled down to “It’s my turn, dammit.”
What a twisted, unfair conclusion to draw about a woman who has spent her entire adult life dedicated to serving the public good. This is escalating anti-Clinton bias to a hysterical extreme.
What a twisted, unfair conclusion to draw about a woman who has spent her entire adult life dedicated to serving the public good. This is escalating anti-Clinton bias to a hysterical extreme.
28
@Lady
A better Hillary slogan would have been: "Do I really need to be here?"
A better Hillary slogan would have been: "Do I really need to be here?"
Lady Cobra, you always got it, and you are still the only pundit for this page who played it correctly in the election. Please stay in touch with President Trump and keep us posted. I hope you are the only one left writing here in four years!
3
Maureen must be thrilled with a Trump presidency and glad Obama is leaving.
6
You could have had Bernie - He would have one. You could have had Elizabeth Warren - She would have won! Even Joe Biden would have won! But the DNC and this newspaper chose Hillary and LOST Big League! Smug arrogant insiders, discussing boutique social issues at $300,000 dinners with George Clooney! Look what that bought you!
11
Smart smug and stupid all at once. That's our Maureen. That's smart by her own smug view of things. In fact, stupid. This analysis makes sense only if you hate Hillary a priori, which Dowd obviously does. Maureen, retire for God 's sake. You did the deed. Or if you must continue working, go into movie criticism and try channeling your inner Pauline Kael.
20
Hillary should have spent less time collecting money on Wall Street and more time collecting votes in Wisconsin?
Can't scorn a woman for forward thinking.
Hillary was building a war chest for her 2020 reelection campaign, confident of victory in 2016.
Can't scorn a woman for forward thinking.
Hillary was building a war chest for her 2020 reelection campaign, confident of victory in 2016.
2
Comey’s historic intervention into this Presidential election, apparently initiated because Comey feared for his relationship with the Republican led Congress, has savaged this great nation’s reputation. Hillary today confirmed that Comey's disastrous intervention did, indeed, cost her the Presidency.
Instead of a superbly experienced woman, who served as Secretary of State to President Obama, we have a woman-groping narcissist and ruthless liar and distorter of truth as President poised to quench his lust for power.
May God forgive Comey, because I cannot.
Instead of a superbly experienced woman, who served as Secretary of State to President Obama, we have a woman-groping narcissist and ruthless liar and distorter of truth as President poised to quench his lust for power.
May God forgive Comey, because I cannot.
30
Reading Maureen's smug, snarky columns is always painful even when I agree with her. Most of the time I can hardly get past the lead paragraph. She is smart, knowledgeable, and experienced, so why does she always write as if she feels she has all the answers and is personally insulted by just about everyone and everything? Her unwelcome and unnecessary serpent's tooth continually undermines what she is trying to say.
13
I love her serpent's tooth.
1
Ms. Dowd is well past her sell-by (read-by) date. It's painful to watch the aging Dowd (turns 65 in January), with nary a white hair in her head--how come is that?--flailing away, losing her balance, drooling venom all over herself. It's embarrassing; you want to avert your eyes. (Agism on my part? At 82 I think I can say she ought to retire; retirement's restful.)
1
Oh, no, Maureen! Where will you direct your all consuming hate for the Clintons or Obama when they are gone from the Washington scene? Once again you are denigrating Obama when the rest of the world has their eyes focused on the clear and present danger facing us as a result of this flawed election. You are keeping your fires of animosity stoked by rehashing your same old column. You need to find a new song to sing. I, for one, am sick of this haggard song.
17
I think it's good to look back and see where we went wrong. Like they say, if you don't know your past, you don't know your future. The more post-election analyses, the better.
Good analysis.
President Obama is a failed President who leaves in his wake a broken, bitterly divided, and unstable country.
And he knows it.
It all landed on him, out of the blue, like a ton of bricks on Wednesday morning. And now his anguish is palpable, and his spirit broken.
It's tragic, because he could have been such a transformative President. Another Lincoln, perhaps.
We wanted him to be. We desperately needed him to be, so he could conquer the enormous challenges he inherited from his reckless predecessor.
And then he failed us; he failed us miserably.
It's extremely painful to watch such a fine man, and such a good and patriotic American with a deep love for this country, come to terms with the fact that in 2009 he squandered a historic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to set this nation on a new course for the 21st century.
And then, most recently, he made the series of disastrous decisions noted here that have shredded his legacy completely. Dissuading Biden from running. His treatment of Bernie. And then, perhaps because he simply refused to accept that the country wanted the kind of change that represented a repudiation of everything he stood for, there was the catastrophic decision to anoint Hillary as his successor.
And with his failures, he set this country on a path to revolution.
Truly, a Shakespearean tragedy.
President Obama is a failed President who leaves in his wake a broken, bitterly divided, and unstable country.
And he knows it.
It all landed on him, out of the blue, like a ton of bricks on Wednesday morning. And now his anguish is palpable, and his spirit broken.
It's tragic, because he could have been such a transformative President. Another Lincoln, perhaps.
We wanted him to be. We desperately needed him to be, so he could conquer the enormous challenges he inherited from his reckless predecessor.
And then he failed us; he failed us miserably.
It's extremely painful to watch such a fine man, and such a good and patriotic American with a deep love for this country, come to terms with the fact that in 2009 he squandered a historic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to set this nation on a new course for the 21st century.
And then, most recently, he made the series of disastrous decisions noted here that have shredded his legacy completely. Dissuading Biden from running. His treatment of Bernie. And then, perhaps because he simply refused to accept that the country wanted the kind of change that represented a repudiation of everything he stood for, there was the catastrophic decision to anoint Hillary as his successor.
And with his failures, he set this country on a path to revolution.
Truly, a Shakespearean tragedy.
10
The mindlessness of your comment beggars belief.
Mitch McConnell said on day one the Republicans were going to make Obama a one-term president, and they erected a Trump-wall of obstruction that even so didn't keep him from being reelected in 2012. Not to mentioned the horrible mess he inherited from the next-to-worst president in our history, George "What--me worry?--Bush.
You wouldn't recognize a tragedy if someone hit you over the head with a volume of Shakespeare's plays.
Mitch McConnell said on day one the Republicans were going to make Obama a one-term president, and they erected a Trump-wall of obstruction that even so didn't keep him from being reelected in 2012. Not to mentioned the horrible mess he inherited from the next-to-worst president in our history, George "What--me worry?--Bush.
You wouldn't recognize a tragedy if someone hit you over the head with a volume of Shakespeare's plays.
1
He has a 54% approval rating, he was duly elected twice, experienced no scandals, and the Republicans vowed from Day One to block anything he tried to do. But I'm cerrtain they, their cultural dog whistles, and their Southern Strategy have had no effect on the nation's problems; we can't ruin your preferred, pro-Trump narrative, after all.
Here are more of his accomplishments:
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/01/obama-biggest-achievement...
Here are more of his accomplishments:
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/01/obama-biggest-achievement...
2
Yes. As much as I personally admire our first family, we have been looking for change and not received it since 2008. Now we have Trump, and as much as people are yammering that Trump is the Antichrist, I am much more worried about who appears down the road when he becomes just another self serving elite who, with the help of the establishment, really dismantles our safety systems. Then who will a desperate people vote for?
3
"Revolutionary" Obama? Who began his administration given a de facto pardon to Bush & Cheney, passing the Republican version of health care reform, giving retroactive immunity to the telecoms who had violated federal law, & appointing the people who had crashed the economy to fix it? He was the same man who, this week, told America that lies do no matter, racism does not matter, the constitution does no matter, for we must unite behind a man who won on lies & racism & trashing the constitution. And the Democrats wonder why they seem phony.
8
Thanks, Ms. Dowd. You've called this one as it is all along. Failed campaign analysts keep looking for scapegoats, for that one thing that caused this surprising outcome. I'll let you in on the secret...it's the candidate. It always is. This was a populist election, and HRC was not the populist candidate needed to win over voters this time. The support for Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump 15 months ago was evident. The DNC didn't believe it, or didn't care. Hillary gave lots of voters a symbolic middle finger at different points in her failed bid. The "basket of deplorables" comment was typical liberal condescension and elitism that turns off moderates and undecided voters. After trying to embrace Bernie-or-busters by stepping leftward, she immediately hired Debbie Wasserman-Shulz after her active working against the Sanders campaign became public and discredited her. Hillary should not have hired DWS under those circumstances. The campaign failed because the candidate was unelectable.
10
re As late as February, Hillary’s chief strategist, Joel Benenson, was fretting that the candidate had no vision or message compared to Sanders: “Do we have any sense from her what she believes or wants her core message to be?”:
Think about that for a minute. In her late 60s and at center stage nationally for a quarter-century, but still no core beliefs. As was shown in Inevitability 2008 and again in Inevitability 2016, "It's my turn, dammit" ultimately isn't a winning argument, at least in 30 of the 50 states.
But who can doubt that there will be an Inevitability 2020? Meanwhile, what's left of the soul of the Democratic Party continues to wither away.
Think about that for a minute. In her late 60s and at center stage nationally for a quarter-century, but still no core beliefs. As was shown in Inevitability 2008 and again in Inevitability 2016, "It's my turn, dammit" ultimately isn't a winning argument, at least in 30 of the 50 states.
But who can doubt that there will be an Inevitability 2020? Meanwhile, what's left of the soul of the Democratic Party continues to wither away.
7
Everyone realizes that Hillary was a tired political hack who settled into the routine of campaigning without the foresight to realize that times had changed since she began her political career with Bill so many years ago.
Readers also realize that Dowd is a tired journalist hack who could use a few new ideas of her own.
Instead of finding endless fault with the fumbling do-good pols who look so Polly Ann-ish to her, perhaps she could turn her satirical wit to the noteworthy putrid retreads Trump is bringing out of the crypt.
(sarcasm alert) Certainly don't turn the spotlight on the lackluster, lazy coverage of Obama's policies and personality.
Sure, the Clintons swanned around NY City, Dowd's territory, preening like they owned the roost. No one likes to see crowing especially when they are on the outside.
But the real world is a humbling experience and to expect that our leaders are always going to be singing from the pulpit like Trump, who never said it like it is but like what some voters wanted to hear, is to lead us to believe in demagogues and con-artists.
I'd be great if Obama after 8 years hadn't learned the lesson of pragmatism but rather the power of the people. Well, he didn't and some of the responsibility for the unmovable wall of opposition that Obama met in Washington and the well honed fear the Clinton's have of the Republican hate machine has to be laid at the feet of bored, shortcutting hacks that call what we have seen for 30 years news.
Readers also realize that Dowd is a tired journalist hack who could use a few new ideas of her own.
Instead of finding endless fault with the fumbling do-good pols who look so Polly Ann-ish to her, perhaps she could turn her satirical wit to the noteworthy putrid retreads Trump is bringing out of the crypt.
(sarcasm alert) Certainly don't turn the spotlight on the lackluster, lazy coverage of Obama's policies and personality.
Sure, the Clintons swanned around NY City, Dowd's territory, preening like they owned the roost. No one likes to see crowing especially when they are on the outside.
But the real world is a humbling experience and to expect that our leaders are always going to be singing from the pulpit like Trump, who never said it like it is but like what some voters wanted to hear, is to lead us to believe in demagogues and con-artists.
I'd be great if Obama after 8 years hadn't learned the lesson of pragmatism but rather the power of the people. Well, he didn't and some of the responsibility for the unmovable wall of opposition that Obama met in Washington and the well honed fear the Clinton's have of the Republican hate machine has to be laid at the feet of bored, shortcutting hacks that call what we have seen for 30 years news.
1
Mrs. Clinton tried to reach out to male white working class voters, and also to voters of all racial, ethnic, and sexual orientations. Her vision was one for the multicultural country that we are. Mr. Trump, on the other hand, targeted this white male demographic, and also picked up enough "Anyone But Clinton" voters to secure his electoral victory. One can only hope that you, Ms. Dowd, use as much fervor during the next four years holding Donald Trump's feet to the fire as you have spent the last twenty-five years criticizing Hillary Clinton.
28
"But Obama lost touch with his revolutionary side and settled comfortably into being an Ivy League East Coast cerebral elitist who hung out with celebrities, lectured Congress and scorned the art of political persuasion."
Wrong, Maureen. President Obama was met with the stark reality that Congressional Republicans would rather sit on their laurels than collaborate for the nation's good. President Obama did call out the do-nothing Congress for being exactly that, but he did not settle comfortably into anything while he busied himself saving our auto industry and our entire economy from the worst recession in decades, thanks to an inheritance from his predecessor. President Obama is more than cerebral enough to understand that no one can persuade a political opposition that can't be reached with reason.
Wrong, Maureen. President Obama was met with the stark reality that Congressional Republicans would rather sit on their laurels than collaborate for the nation's good. President Obama did call out the do-nothing Congress for being exactly that, but he did not settle comfortably into anything while he busied himself saving our auto industry and our entire economy from the worst recession in decades, thanks to an inheritance from his predecessor. President Obama is more than cerebral enough to understand that no one can persuade a political opposition that can't be reached with reason.
15
It's an admirable trait of Obama that he tries to persuade. Didn't work too well with the Republicans en masse, but I wouldn't underestimate the value of a little "I-Thou" between him and Trump.
4
I fervently hope this is the last column in which Dowd mentions Hillary Clinton. Now that she doesn't have Clinton to kick around anymore. she will, hopefully, limit her tiresome snark to Trump Inc., which is much more deserving of it (that, of course, assumes that she's truly gotten over her crush on the Donald).
24
@GAdair, Please, dear Lord, let this be the last "Barry/Clinton" column Dowd ever writes. Let Dowd turn her sharp and relentless wit to Trump, dear Lord.
2
Why she felt she could collect 250k an hour for speaking at Goldman Sachs and at the same time convince people she was a devoted servant of children and families is beyond me.
How much money did they really need?
How much money did they really need?
14
An absurdly superficial evaluation of a profoundly important election. Dowd still thinks she can explain everything by telling us endlessly that it's all about the Clintons. She is a nun in her own cloister of self-abnegation all in the cause of Hillary-hate. It was never about Hillary and all about Trump and Dowd never saw him. He was a cloud to her, just a cloud. Hillary was the storm.
19
Obama meeting Trump. Two big egos in one room. Trump had the last laugh. It's anyone's guess who had the last word.
Methinks this is a very unfair column. To blame President Obama for Hillary's faults and mistakes is not correct.
In the Democratic primary, I voted for Hillary over Bernie. Not that I liked Hillary more. I did not. But seeing the difficulty Obama had passing the ACA in 2008 with a Democratic majority in both houses, I thought that Bernie had absolutely no chance in getting free college tuition or even single payer. I thought that Bernie, good man, was tilting at windmills.
And apart from these two issues, Hillary was more competent and experienced on other matters such as foreign policy. In fact during the Democratic debates Bernie displayed a woeful lack of knowledge on foreign policy. His strident views on Isarel would have made his candidacy a non-starter.
Now Joe Biden would have been a different story. But he vacillated too long. I would have supported Joe Biden any day over Hillary, but not Bernie Sanders.
In the Democratic primary, I voted for Hillary over Bernie. Not that I liked Hillary more. I did not. But seeing the difficulty Obama had passing the ACA in 2008 with a Democratic majority in both houses, I thought that Bernie had absolutely no chance in getting free college tuition or even single payer. I thought that Bernie, good man, was tilting at windmills.
And apart from these two issues, Hillary was more competent and experienced on other matters such as foreign policy. In fact during the Democratic debates Bernie displayed a woeful lack of knowledge on foreign policy. His strident views on Isarel would have made his candidacy a non-starter.
Now Joe Biden would have been a different story. But he vacillated too long. I would have supported Joe Biden any day over Hillary, but not Bernie Sanders.
5
I voted for Obama in 2008, but not for a moment did I buy his hope-and-change message. I voted for Obama in 2008 only because I had no alternative. It's been like that my entire voting life, when the choice has been between the lesser of two evils.
When are we going to learn that Harvard and Yale law schools do not produce change agents? You don't get to the top of those pyramids in our so-called meritocracy by having new and fresh ideas. Have we forgotten that we used to call that demographic the Establishment? Neither Obama nor Clinton changed the Establishment; the Establishment changed them in order to perpetuate itself.
Hope and Change and Stronger Together are not a plan and never were. They were just persuasive constructs intended to fool the voters into thinking they could make a difference. In this sense, Trump was absolutely correct when he said the system was rigged.
I don't hold any hope that the majority of the American electorate who voted for Hillary will ever truly come together.