Lyndon Johnson

Latest Articles

Does Obama have the cojones to win?

This WTF moment
To make sense of this bizarre and dispiriting moment in American politics, here are the things one needs to appreciate.
By EDITORIAL | July 27, 2011

Democrats against Obama

Even before the rout at the polls, Democrats were nervous about their President. The left felt sold out, and moderates were frightened. Now it's payback time.
Now that the midterm wipeout has concluded, analysts are already sizing up the GOP challengers to a weakened Barack Obama. Not only that: some Democratic party elders are considering the once-unthinkable scenario of a debilitating challenge to Barack Obama from inside his party.
By STEVEN STARK | November 03, 2010

Why did the liberals help construct our concentration camps for the poor?

Prison complex
Why did middle-class liberals, historically the leaders of compassionate social reform, allow, with nary a peep, the construction of our colossal Prison Complex? Two books, one new and one a few years old, explain why liberals not only went along with this right-wing, racist project — they encouraged it.
By LANCE TAPLEY | September 08, 2010

Is genius immortal?

Tech god Ray Kurzweil is a modern-day Edison. Now he's battling to stay alive — forever
No disrespect to the man who let there be electric light, but Ray Kurzweil is Thomas Alva Edison on steroids.
By CHRIS FARAONE | May 03, 2010

Hallelujah!

Health-care reform is a new high-water mark
The Democrats won and the Republicans lost. That, in a nutshell, is the bottom line.
By EDITORIAL | March 24, 2010

Keep streets safe and children in school

Letters to the Boston editor, February 19, 2010
Thank you for your very insightful "War Over Peace" article.
By BOSTON PHOENIX LETTERS | February 17, 2010

Afghanistan: Just say no!

Plus, Obama and the Nobel
The idea that the war in Afghanistan has reached a critical junction, a “now-or-never” moment that requires an additional 40,000 troops to win, is rubbish.
By EDITORIAL | October 14, 2009

Tormenting Teddy

Republicans threaten Kennedy reign
After 32 years in the US Senate, Ted Kennedy remains a force to be reckoned with, both for his legendary family history and his considerable accomplishments.
By BOSTON PHOENIX STAFF | August 26, 2009

Going Mobil

Kennedy hires an idea-marketing man
Washington – If ideology wasn't already dead in presidential politics, the plug was pulled on its support system last Monday, when the Kennedy campaign announced that its advertising and polling would be organized by Mobil Oil's vice-president of public affair, Herbert Schmertz.
By MARCO TRBOVICH | August 26, 2009

Robert McNamara, RIP

Memories of Vietnam should speed Obama's exit plans for Iraq and Afghanistan
As secretary of defense under President Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert McNamara prosecuted the Vietnam War on a day-to-day basis, just as Donald Rumsfeld orchestrated the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq for George W. Bush.
By EDITORIAL | July 08, 2009

Carter vs. the Clamshell: round one is a standoff

Inside, an impeccable incumbent fields the easy questions
The presidential party arrives in a rush through the side door near the stage, and those in the audience at Portsmouth High School stand to applaud. Many are on their toes and crane their necks to catch a glimpse of Jimmy Carter in the confusion down front.
By DIANNE DUMANOSKI | May 07, 2009

Sunshine on the ACLU: a mea culpa

Freedom Watch
"Standing up to your political enemies is easy, fun, and often profitable," writes Barney Frank, on the lead jacket blurb for Worst Instincts: Cowardice, Conformity, and the ACLU.
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | May 06, 2009

Spare Change?

At the 100-day mark, Barack Obama still doesn't have a clear mandate for sweeping reforms
A tension lies at the heart of the Obama presidency. After 100 days in office, the public still seems uncertain how to interpret the historic nature of the election last November.
By STEVEN STARK | April 28, 2009

Review: Virtual JFK: Vietnam If Kennedy Had Lived

What would JFK do?
There's not much "virtual" in Kosi Masutani's thoughtful if artless documentary about the JFK administration — which is to its credit.
By PETER KEOUGH | April 08, 2009

The center of the universe

Renaissance man Richard Goodwin explores the roots of religious wars by channeling anti-hero Galileo in the play Two Men of Florence .
Real-life quantum leaper Richard Goodwin was sort of a 1960s political Zelig — everywhere you looked, there he was.
By SARA FAITH ALTERMAN | March 10, 2009

Revenge of the nerds

For the first time since JFK, 'the best and the brightest' are back in the White House. Will Ivy-League intellect be enough to set the country straight?
Barack Obama's new administration has been characterized many ways — as a return to liberalism, a Chicago Mafia, and the harbinger of a new age.
By STEVEN STARK | January 21, 2009

Down and out at Thanksgiving

Social needs are rising across Rhode Island, and things will get worse before they get better
In a time of widespread layoffs, decimated retirement accounts, and uncertainty about the fallout of the ongoing fiscal crisis, downsized requests for help are a sign of the times.
By IAN DONNIS | November 24, 2008

Hope restored

Barack Obama's election has sparked international wonder. His task, however, is great.
Barack Obama's election has sparked international wonder. His task, however, is great.
By EDITORIAL | November 06, 2008

Interview: Dick Smothers

Mom always liked him best
The Smothers Brothers have spent 50 years in funny business.
By TED DROZDOWSKI | September 17, 2008

Easy to love

According to Tip debuts at New Rep; the ART sings Cole Porter
Given the water wings of a viable performance, one-person shows about historical figures tend to sink or swim on the raconteurship of their subjects.
By CAROLYN CLAY | July 01, 2008

Sputnik Mania

A brisk, informative documentary
The film underlines the political consequences of the space race.
By BETSY SHERMAN | June 11, 2008

Campaign spying is an old, old game

Ward 8
This article originally appeared in the May 22, 1973 issue of the Boston Phoenix.
By MARTIN LOMANSEY JR. | May 22, 2008

Issues, shmissues

Never mind the complaints about how the media are not focusing on the issues. Historically, they never have.
During the past few weeks, we’ve heard yet more media laments from our self-appointed guardians of political civility, warning us that this campaign is about to go over a cliff.
By STEVEN STARK | May 21, 2008

Clinton fatigue

What is driving the widespread movement pressuring Hillary to drop out, even though she is very much still in the race?
This past week, Vermont senator Patrick Leahy urged Hillary Clinton to quit the Democratic race in the interests of party unity.
By STEVEN STARK | April 02, 2008

Iraq: Five years later and time to go

Plus, updates on the Cowans case, performance artist Milan Kohout, and the BPL
March 19 will mark the fifth anniversary of America’s war in Iraq.
By EDITORIAL | March 12, 2008

Know your superdelegates

Democratic insiders in Maine and throughout the country will decide the party's nominee
If they choose wisely, they’ll follow the will of the people all the way into the Oval Office.
By BRIDGET HUBER | March 12, 2008

One for the books

Can tales of the Democratic party’s glory days help Obama and Clinton?
It’s hard to believe that we just had a week without a primary.
By STEVEN STARK | February 27, 2008

Slime time

We already know about politicians’ capacity for coarse behavior. But how low can the press go?
Nasty presidential races are nothing new.
By ADAM REILLY | February 20, 2008

Obama needs to get back to ‘change’ and other basics

Presidency 2008
First, and most importantly, Obama’s campaign needs to reignite the change vs. experience debate.
By MATT JERZYK | January 16, 2008

The Granite State’s last hurrah

This could be the last election in which the New Hampshire primary, and its quaintly irrelevant retail politics, really matters
In a few days, New Hampshire voters will take their quadrennial place at the center of American politics, and this time, the stakes will be even higher than usual.
By ADAM REILLY | January 02, 2008