Mississippi Is for . . . Education?
2 Dec 2008 9:23pm GMT Marc Ambinder reports that of the six people Obama's considering for secretary of education, two are from Mississippi--Ray Mabus and Ronnie Musgrove. Which made me wonder: Education? Mississippi? Really? Sure enough, this report card that was put together in 2007 by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Center for American Progress ranked Mississippi second-to-last, above only D.C., when it came to education. So what gives? Is there something positive going on in public education in...
Why Susan Rice Won't Be Calling John Bolton
2 Dec 2008 8:50pm GMT At the Chicago rollout yesterday of president-elect Barack Obama's national security team, between the surprising continuity of keeping Robert Gates as defense secretary and nominating Hillary Clinton to head the State department--not to mention the onstage repetition of bromides like "bipartisanship" and "pragmatism"--it was easy to forget what a seismic change Susan Rice will bring as ambassador to the United Nations. It's not just that, as Matt Yglesias points...
The Worst Cinematic Trend of the Year
2 Dec 2008 7:56pm GMT When Ed Harris decided that producing, directing, and starring in Appaloosa wasn't enough for him, and he needed to co-write and sing the movie's theme song ("You'll Never Leave My Heart") over the credits, it was a painful, but endurable, event. The song includes lyrics such as these (he's referring, rather ungallantly, to co-star Renee Zellweger's character)Being scared and lonely, acting so darn looseScrewin' who you want to and believing you're excused...
Bush's Brand of Introspection
2 Dec 2008 6:03pm GMT I must admit to feeling let down by Bush's admission that he was "unprepared for war" in the interview with Charlie Gibson that aired last night. When I first heard about the exchange, it sounded like an impressive moment of candor from a guy who once had trouble coming up with a single mistake he had made in office. I mean, most of America long ago recognized that Bush was not prepared to be a wartime commander-in-chief. It would be lovely to think that he had finally come to...
Can Auto Executives Drive?
2 Dec 2008 5:10pm GMT Via Eve, I see that Ford's CEO is planning to drive from Detroit to Washington, "a 10-hour trek." Ten hours? I've done that drive many times, and eight hours is usually enough. Can't these auto execs do anything right? --Jonathan Chait