Ross Douthat

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'TACO' Isn't a Slam: It's Key to Trump's Success

Russ Douthat says what critics see as 'chickening out' explains the president's resiliency

(Newser) - President Trump bristled last week when asked about the nickname of TACO—standing for "Trump Always Chickens Out" in regard to tariffs and the like. He might have instead taken it as a compliment, suggests conservative columnist Russ Douthat in the New York Times .
  • "The willingness to swerve
...

The Left's 'Cultural Dominance' Is 'Suffocating'

And it would end if not for Trump: Ross Douthat

(Newser) - Liberals may have been peeved at Jimmy Fallon for his softball interview with Donald Trump, but that's nothing to how conservatives should feel about Samantha Bee, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, and many other late-night "propagandists," writes Ross Douthat. The conservative columnist's take at the New York ...

How Politico Destroyed the Post
 How Politico 
 Destroyed 
 the Post 
OPINION
Aug 11, 2013 3:24 PM CDT

How Politico Destroyed the Post

Ross Douthat: For the WaPo to thrive again, Jeff Bezos must defeat Politico

(Newser) - The Washington Post coulda been a contender. Though the Internet has killed off and worn down many legacy media mastheads, it has allowed others to position themselves as new brands for specific national audiences, writes Ross Douthat in the New York Times : "The Wall Street Journal has a clear...

The Age of Reagan Is Over

 The Age of Reagan Is Over 
Ross Douthat
Nov 7, 2012 12:45 PM CST

The Age of Reagan Is Over

Barack Obama's coalition is real, Ross Douthat admits

(Newser) - Conservatives wanted to believe that Barack Obama's 2008 victory was a one-time affair, a unique confluence of events. Now they know better. It's a genuine realignment, writes Ross Douthat in the New York Times . Obama won with the same coalition he marshaled in 2008. "It was the...

The Changing Face of Fear
 The Changing 
 Face of Fear 
OPINION
Jul 22, 2012 9:13 AM CDT

The Changing Face of Fear

Today's evil doesn't kill for a cause, but for destruction itself

(Newser) - America's great enemies of the past—Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, or Mao's China—were evil, but at least they were evil with a point (however twisted). But these days, evil has changed, and from Timothy McVeigh to 9/11, the anthrax killer, and now James Holmes, the "world-burners,...

Romney Needs to Dump the Trump
 Romney Needs to 
 Dump the Trump 
OPINION
May 30, 2012 12:27 PM CDT

Romney Needs to Dump the Trump

Trump has fans, not constituents: Ross Douthat

(Newser) - Sure, Mitt Romney is politically calculating, but his calculations are all wrong when it comes to Donald Trump. The guy is doing Romney no favors—and a stand against him could actually be a boon for Mitt, writes Ross Douthat in the New York Times . Candidates seeking Trump's support...

Heretic Nation: At Last Our Candidates Fit
 Heretic Nation: 
 At Last Our Candidates Fit 
Ross Douthat
Apr 8, 2012 2:01 PM CDT

Heretic Nation: At Last Our Candidates Fit

Ross Douthat: But is religious diversity a good thing?

(Newser) - In the 20th century, most US presidents and presidential candidates were Baptists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians—in other words, Protestants. But in the 2012 presidential race? With a Mormon, a traditionalist Catholic, and a nondenominational Christian with ties to liberation theology, "we finally have a presidential field whose diversity mirrors the...

Arrogant Meritocrats Are Ruining America: Ross Douthat
 Smart People 
 Are Ruining 
 America 
OPINION
Nov 6, 2011 3:11 PM CST

Smart People Are Ruining America

Arrogance at root of economic mess: Ross Douthat

(Newser) - In this country, we applaud those who have the brains to build themselves up from nothing—but it’s those very brains that got us into the current economic mess. Over the past decade, America’s elite has driven us “off a cliff—mostly by being too smart for...

Taxing Rich Won't Help Middle Class: Ross Douthat
 Taxing Rich Won't 
 Help Middle Class 
OPINION
Oct 30, 2011 3:16 PM CDT

Taxing Rich Won't Help Middle Class

Government has hurt Americans, not the rich, says Ross Douthat

(Newser) - You can raise taxes on the rich to fight inequality, but that will only "trim the tallest poppies" and won't do anything to help the middle class, says Ross Douthat in the New York Times . "True social mobility and broadly shared prosperity are not so easily achieved,...

Hey, Media: Tone Down the 'Theocracy' Fears

Journos' 'language of conspiracy' stems from lack of understanding: Ross Douthat

(Newser) - Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry’s time in the spotlight has brought back a “fear of theocracy” not seen since the days of George W. Bush. Liberals are concerned that “Christian extremism is again on the march,” writes Ross Douthat in the New York Times . And while...

Ross Douthat on the Right to Die: Jack Kevorkian Was No Hero
 'Dr. Death' 
 Kevorkian 
 Was No Hero 
OPINION
Jun 6, 2011 1:44 PM CDT

'Dr. Death' Kevorkian Was No Hero

Do those not terminally ill have the right to die?

(Newser) - Many in America celebrate Jack Kevorkian as a humanitarian champion—but “the moral case for assisted suicide depends much more on our respect for people’s own desire to die than on our sympathy for their devastating medical conditions,” writes Ross Douthat in the New York Times . “...

Strauss-Kahn Saga Would Make Great Movie

Would tell the tale of 'crisis of European dream': Ross Douthat

(Newser) - Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s story might seem like Law & Order fodder, but it would actually make for a “sprawling, complex, kaleidoscope-of-globalization” movie—something along the lines of Traffic or Babel, writes Ross Douthat, who summarizes the plot as he sees it in the New York Times . It would tell...

What Osama bin Laden's Death Means
 What Osama's Death Means 
OPINION Roundup
May 2, 2011 1:30 AM CDT

What Osama's Death Means

He was a has-been terrorist, but a powerful symbol

(Newser) - Guess what everybody’s writing about today? Osama bin Laden’s death has rung out through the commentariat. Here’s what they’re saying:
  • The strike “is not quite the triumph it would have seemed a decade ago,” argues Ross Douthat, in a New York Times piece entitled
...

Palin, Media Need to Get a Divorce
Palin, Media Need
to Get a Divorce
OPINION
Jan 17, 2011 11:45 AM CST

Palin, Media Need to Get a Divorce

Their mutual infatuation has gone too far: Ross Douthat

(Newser) - It’s time for the media to end its Palin infatuation—and for Sarah Palin to end her media obsession. The need for a divorce was never more clear than last week, when controversy bubbled up over Palin’s "crosshairs" map and her subsequent "blood libel" speech, writes...

What the Left Gets Wrong About the Tea Partiers

They're a lot more reasonable than liberals think, writes Ross Douthat

(Newser) - The left likes to paint the Tea Partiers as wingnuts, so it’s time to dispel some misconceptions, writes Ross Douthat. One myth: the Tea Party will be disastrous for the GOP. In fact—Rich Iott, Christine O'Donnell, and Carl Paladino aside—it's backed some very electable candidates, like Pennsylvania's...

She Should Never Have Run for VP
 She Should 
 Never Have 
 Run for VP 
OPINION
Jul 6, 2009 7:11 AM CDT

She Should Never Have Run for VP

(Newser) - Sarah Palin might have had a shot at the presidency, writes Ross Douthat, but she blew it—10 months ago, when she accepted John McCain's offer to join the ticket. Instead of easing her way into the national spotlight, she was catapulted before she was ready, exposing her inexperience and...

It's Time for Some Order in This Court
 It's Time for Some 
 Order in This Court 
OPINION
Jun 2, 2009 9:21 AM CDT

It's Time for Some Order in This Court

(Newser) - There’s a lot at stake in the Sonia Sotomayor confirmation hearings, writes Ross Douthat in the New York Times, because the Supreme Court isn’t just a court. It’s “gradually become a kind of extra legislative body—a nine-person super-Senate graced with the power of the veto....

What the GOP Needs Is a Bill Clinton
 What the GOP Needs 
 Is a Bill Clinton 
OPINION
May 5, 2009 9:28 AM CDT

What the GOP Needs Is a Bill Clinton

Douthat: Way out of this mess is to find a new breed of moderate

(Newser) - Republican moderates like Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, and Arlen Specter are right that the GOP has a hole in the center, writes Ross Douthat in the New York Times. The problem is that they’re not the right kind of centrists to fill it. Yankee Republican moderates are either just...

Times Fills Kristol Slot: Ross Douthat of Atlantic

(Newser) - The New York Times has found its replacement for William Kristol’s column from the right—Ross Douthat of the Atlantic. Douthat, 29, will start mostly online next month but will eventually appear on Mondays opposite Paul Krugman, reports the Columbia Journalism Review, quoting a Times email. He’ll also...

Handicapping the Race for Kristol's Times Slot
Handicapping the Race for Kristol's Times Slot
ANALYSIS
Jan 27, 2009 11:53 AM CST

Handicapping the Race for Kristol's Times Slot

Ex-Bush speechwriter Frum heads pack that may include Noonan, Limbaugh

(Newser) - At the New York Times op-ed page, William Kristol is out; that leaves a spot open for another conservative to keep David Brooks company, writes Michael Calderone in Politico. Times editor Andy Rosenthal wouldn’t comment, but Calderone has guesses on a replacement:
  1. David Frum: The former Bush speechwriter and
...

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