Michael Gerson – News Stories About Michael Gerson - Page 1

OBITUARY

Nov 18, 2022 11:30 AM CST

Bush's 9/11 Condolences Came From Him

Presidential speechwriter, 'Washington Post' columnist Michael Gerson dies at 58

(Newser) - "This world He created is of moral design. Grief and tragedy and hatred are only for a time. Goodness, remembrance, and love have no end. And the Lord of life holds all who die and all who mourn." Those words spoken by then-President George W. Bush in the...

Merry Christmas:
Can We Cut the
Power Struggle
Already?

OPINION

Dec 24, 2013 12:52 PM CST

Merry Christmas: Can We Cut the Power Struggle Already?

Free-speech wars are about power and not very Christian: Michael Gerson

(Newser) - Christmas has become the most wonderful time of year ... for heated political debate, especially of the "War on Christmas" or First Amendment variety. It's "when all the ideologues get a little extra outrage or victimization in their stockings," writes Michael Gerson in the Washington Post . This...

Ailing GOP Needs a
Religious Reformer

OPINION

Jun 18, 2013 10:36 AM CDT

Ailing GOP Needs a Religious Reformer

Modernizing party can't forget its base: Michael Gerson

(Newser) - The Republican Party might win the odd national vote in the coming years, but it needs a long-term prescription: Eventually, "there won’t be enough white and gray voters to win national elections," writes Michael Gerson in the Washington Post . But as the party seeks to reform, it...

Is 'Lying' Romney Ad OK?

OPINION

Nov 29, 2011 12:59 PM CST

Is 'Lying' Romney Ad OK?

Arianna Huffington, Michael Gerson disagree

(Newser) - The media has largely ignored Mitt Romney’s first TV ad , and Arianna Huffington is outraged. The ad includes a wildly out-of-context 2008 clip of President Obama saying, “If we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.” It fails to mention that Obama was quoting...

Social Security Reform Could Save Obama's Presidency

michael gerson

Dec 28, 2010 12:34 PM CST

Social Security Reform Could Save Obama's Presidency

Liberals may not like it—but key independents will

(Newser) - If President Obama wants to get things done, he’ll have to keep cooperating with Republicans—and offer a “decisive” economic message. He can accomplish both of these goals, and push himself toward reelection, with Social Security reform, writes Michael Gerson in the Washington Post . Reform would a significant...

The Accidental Tourist Becomes President

opinion

Aug 4, 2010 1:41 PM CDT

The Accidental Tourist Becomes President

Obama's 'cool detachment' is wearing thin

(Newser) - Barack Obama is the Macon Leary of politics, writes Michael Gerson. Leary is the buttoned-up central character in Anne Tyler's Accidental Tourist who lives a life of "structure and rationality." Obama's much-ballyhooed "cool detachment" may have been refreshing for a time, but Gerson thinks it—and the...

Don't Close Gitmo
Just for Symbolism

MICHAEL GERSON

Feb 12, 2010 1:20 AM CST

Don't Close Gitmo Just for Symbolism

Detention center is ugly but necessary, writes Michael Gerson

(Newser) - Guantanamo Bay is an ugly place to Americans and the rest of the world but there's no point in closing it just for the sake of symbolism, writes Michael Gerson. George Bush decided against closing it because of the problem of what to do with the detainees. President Obama opted...

Dems Should Be Scared of This Man—and His Budget

opinion

Feb 10, 2010 8:05 AM CST

Dems Should Be Scared of This Man—and His Budget

Rep. Paul Ryan is offering a way to avoid deficit disaster

(Newser) - President Obama's outreach to the GOP is looking pretty hollow these days: Soon after Obama told Rep. Paul Ryan that there were some aspects of his budget blueprint he agreed with, Democratic lawmakers and progressive groups slammed the radical plan as a vicious, privatizing assault on Social Security and Medicare,...

Obama Can't Ignore
This Public Anger

OPINION

Jan 22, 2010 9:00 AM CST

Obama Can't Ignore This Public Anger

If he gets aggressive on health care reform, it's at his own peril

(Newser) - Post-Massachusetts, the Democrats should be more worried about "health-reform fundamentalists" than the GOP, writes Michael Gerson. The legislation has been gathering "criticism and opposition like dirty slush on a snowball" and any Democrat with a smidgen of political smarts should now be backing away from it instead of...

What Happened to
Obama the Orator?

OPINION

Jan 13, 2010 8:13 AM CST

What Happened to Obama the Orator?

Empathy is absent from Obama speeches, writes Michael Gerson

(Newser) - The golden age of presidential oration President Obama's more fervent supporters predicted has completely failed to materialize, writes former George W. Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson. Obama's speechmaking—once seen as his greatest strength—has been so uninspired and unmemorable that it now seems like a major weakness, Gerson writes in...

Brit Hume Attackers Are Ignorant and Intolerant

OPINION

Jan 8, 2010 6:44 AM CST

Brit Hume Attackers Are Ignorant and Intolerant

Religious advice to Tiger Woods should be protected, respected

(Newser) - Sneering attacks on Brit Hume for suggesting that Tiger Woods should embrace Christianity are off base, writes Michael Gerson, and show his critics to be as ignorant and sanctimonious as they accuse him of being. The Fox host—despite his denials—was definitely proselytizing, but religious liberty in America means...

Nebraska Senator
for Sale—Cheap!

OPINION

Dec 23, 2009 4:19 AM CST

Nebraska Senator for Sale—Cheap!

Ben Nelson was easily bribed, writes Michael Gerson

(Newser) - There's a fine line between bribery and political maneuvering and Harry Reid's brazen buyoff of Ben Nelson was nowhere near it, writes Michael Gerson. The Nebraska senator was granted an exemption on the state paying its share of Medicare expansion that will add up to $100 million over 10 years...

Sinking Health Bill
Packed With
Hidden Costs

ANALYSIS

Dec 16, 2009 1:43 AM CST

Sinking Health Bill Packed With Hidden Costs

Dems scramble to pass bill before true price emerges

(Newser) - The Democrats are in a race against time to get a health care bill passed before the public realizes the scale of the hidden burdens involved, writes Michael Gerson. The money to provide comprehensive coverage to everyone has to come from somewhere, and young people, seniors and union workers who...

Don't Bury Clemency with Clemmons

opinion

Dec 9, 2009 5:42 AM CST

Don't Bury Clemency with Clemmons

Mike Huckabee's decision was unfortunate, but just

(Newser) - Mike Huckabee's mercy in granting clemency to cop killer Maurice Clemmons was horribly betrayed, but that's no reason to reject the very notion of clemency, writes Michael Gerson. Strong arguments in favor of the role clemency plays in the justice system were made at the time of the Founding Fathers,...

Town Hall Nazi-Talk
Trivializes Holocaust

OPINION

Aug 14, 2009 7:50 AM CDT

Town Hall Nazi-Talk Trivializes Holocaust

(Newser) - Comparing your nemesis to a Nazi has been a "staple of American T-shirt and bumper-sticker political culture," writes Michael Gerson in the Washington Post, and such Nazi-talk has becoming a recurring element of the health care protests. "Anyone with a black felt pen and the ability to...

Bush Gang Will Reunite
to Reflect on Legacy

Apr 10, 2009 4:46 PM CDT

Bush Gang Will Reunite to Reflect on Legacy

(Newser) - The George W. Bush administration is planning a reunion in honor of the former president’s nascent policy institute, the New York Times reports. Condoleezza Rice, Karen Hughes, speechwriter Michael Gerson, and White House counsel Dan Bartlett will meet the former president next week in Dallas for dinner and a...