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This week, John Peeler presents “Testaments,” a series of poems that take the form of valedictory statements by each of the postwar presidents, in the poetic manner of Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology. Bill Clinton They beat me once; I’d not be too liberal again. I learned to feel folk’s pain, raise cash like [...]
This week, John Peeler presents “Testaments,” a series of poems that take the form of valedictory statements by each of the postwar presidents, in the poetic manner of Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology. Ronald Reagan A lightweight actor was my role: I voiced what many felt, and with a smile. When Congress told me [...]
This week, John Peeler presents “Testaments,” a series of poems that take the form of valedictory statements by each of the postwar presidents, in the poetic manner of Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology. George H. W. Bush Called Reagan on his voodoo economics, didn’t matter; people wanted to believe. So swallowed it and served [...]
This week, John Peeler presents “Testaments,” a series of poems that take the form of valedictory statements by each of the postwar presidents, in the poetic manner of Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology. Jimmy Carter After Watergate, the people wanted moral strength. I was a Sunday School teacher, a governor, a brilliant smile. Morality [...]
This week, John Peeler will present “Testaments,” a series of poems that take the form of valedictory statements by each of the postwar presidents, in the poetic manner of Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology. Gerald Ford Spiro’s disgrace was my new place. I never dreamed that I would hold that chair made void by [...]
This week, John Peeler will present “Testaments,” a series of poems that take the form of valedictory statements by each of the postwar presidents, in the poetic manner of Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology. Richard M. Nixon My “secret plan” to end the war —and Gene McCarthy— got me the job. The war was [...]
This week, John Peeler presents “Testaments,” a series of poems that take the form of valedictory statements by each of the postwar presidents, in the poetic manner of Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology. Lyndon B. Johnson Sweet irony! Bobby and the liberal crowd? I strong-armed through the liberal laws they couldn’t pass. They hated [...]
This week, John Peeler will present “Testaments,” a series of poems that take the form of valedictory statements by each of the postwar presidents, in the poetic manner of Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology. John F. Kennedy Nixon was a fool to debate me. I was no fool to take Lyndon:Texas made me President. [...]
by John Peeler – This week, John Peeler presents “Testaments,” a series of poems that take the form of valedictory statements by each of the postwar presidents, in the poetic manner of Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology. Dwight D. Eisenhower I never seemed political, as Marshall was, for FDR and Truman. The Democrats wanted [...]
by John Peeler – “Testaments” is a series of poems that take the form of valedictory statements by each of the postwar presidents, in the poetic manner of Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology. Harry S Truman I was a loyal party man, a proud Vice President. When he was gone, I knew one thing: [...]
It is widely known that Barack Obama decided to forgo public financing for his general election campaign, while John McCain chose to accept it. This reflects Obama’s greater success in fund-raising, and it also represents an historic reversal of the traditional Republican dominance in campaign finance. Obama’s success was foreshadowed by that of Bill Clinton, [...]
With less than two weeks until polls open for the 2008 election, the consensus is that Barack Obama is headed for a decisive victory. In the Electoral College, he is likely to win about two votes for every vote won by John McCain, even while the popular vote margin could be quite close: perhaps five [...]
President Barack Obama will face a daunting international scene in January as a direct consequence of George Bush’s ill-conceived adventure in Iraq. Having argued forcefully that the war should never have been fought, and having committed himself to a “responsible” withdrawal, Obama will indeed inherit responsibility for Iraq.
Guantánamo Bay, September 11, 2026. Defeated Republican presidential candidate Bjorn Looser was sentenced to death today after a secret trial, on charges that were not specified. According to the current interpretation of a law passed 20 years ago, in 2006, the government did not have to specify charges, did not have to show evidence, and [...]
There is an “Alice-in-Wonderland” quality to the current debate on Iraq. As the war became increasingly unpopular after 2003, the Bush administration took to arguing that we couldn’t leave because it wasn’t going well. We had a duty to hang in there and give the Iraqis a chance to get on their feet. Those of [...]
The recent escalation of violence between Israel and its Palestinian and Lebanese enemies illustrates yet again a perennial feature of this excruciating conflict: on both sides, those who refuse to compromise hold the trump cards. Both Hamas in Gaza and Hizbollah in Lebanon have the ability to seize the initiative and derail efforts to forge [...]
Recently, a coalition of right-wing pastors decided to make a frontal assault on the long-standing policy that charitable institutions, including churches, are prohibited from endorsing candidates if they want to keep their tax-free status. These pastors defied that law by explicitly endorsing John McCain from the pulpit.
In “Green the Bailout,” (New York Times, September 28, 2008, WK 11) Thomas Friedman argues that, confronting the crisis on Wall Street, “we don’t just need a bailout. We need a buildup. We need to get back to making stuff, based on real engineering not just financial engineering.” Citing an Indian-American immigrant friend, he argues [...]
We have seen much hyperventilation of late about uncontrollable waves of less than fully white, non-English speaking immigrants inundating our southern borders, and hijacking not only our jobs, but our very culture. The Republican Party finds itself seriously split on the issue. The religious conservatives say that it’s just wrong to allow these illegal immigrants [...]
Because the treatment of detainees in the prison for “unlawful combatants” at the naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, was found by the Supreme Court to be contrary to both US law and international law, the facility has become an embarrassment that even the Bush administration wants to be closed, if they can find other [...]
by John Peeler – The recent crisis between Georgia and Russia, and the ineffectually truculent response of the Bush administration, illustrate the utter bankruptcy of the Bush foreign policy, and the need for a fundamental reexamination. At the same time, there is little in the campaign rhetoric of Barack Obama — and none whatever in [...]
