NEW YORK — In an interview during the 2008 campaign, Barack Obama explained that Ronald Reagan had changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton did not. Clearly, Obama aspired to be a transformational president like Reagan. At this point, it’s fair to say that he has succeeded. Look […]
Fareed Zakaria
Posted inOp-Eds
Search for terrorists misdirected
NEW YORK — The attacks in Brussels, on the heels of those in Paris and San Bernardino, have stoked an already white-hot debate about Islamic terrorism in America. Many in the West, including the two Republican front-runners, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, urge a campaign that targets Muslim communities more directly, searching for those who […]
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Posted inOp-Eds
Republican opposition to Trump wilts
NEW YORK — The Republican surrender has begun. Having described Donald Trump as an unacceptable, unconservative, dangerous demagogue, the party establishment appears to be making its peace with the man who keeps winning primaries. The Wall Street Journal editorial page argued vociferously against Trump for months, pointing out that he is a huckster and a […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Years ago, GOP moderates failed to squelch hate speech
NEW YORK — A main cause of the rise of extremism in the world of Islam has been the cowardice of Muslim moderates, who for decades chose not to condemn bad ideas and ugly rhetoric. Fearing that they’d be seen simply as ideological weaklings, they’ve avoided confronting the cancer in plain sight. It is now […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Candidates spouting outright fantasy
NEW YORK — A key sign of the Republican Party’s dysfunction in recent years has been its unwillingness to produce serious policy proposals. Instead, its leading lights routinely present outlandish plans that they know well can never be enacted or in which the math simply doesn’t add up. What will Republicans do this year if […]
Posted inOp-Eds
America is being changed — but by whom is debatable
NEW YORK — It is the line that might have sunk a presidential campaign. “[Barack Obama] knows exactly what he’s doing,” Marco Rubio said at last Saturday’s debate (again and again and again). “[He] is undertaking a systematic effort to change this country, to make America more like the rest of the world.” Rubio’s sin […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Cheap oil makes for perilous politics
NEW YORK — One of Donald Trump’s stock campaign lines is that the Iran nuclear agreement was “terrible.” I’m beginning to wonder if that’s true, but in a sense opposite of what he means. Iran has ended up with a much worse deal than it expected. Remember, Tehran entered the negotiations in the heady days […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Conservatives’ double-barreled revolt
NEW YORK — To understand why the current conservative crackup so confounds and confuses the Republican establishment, you have to recognize that the party is facing two separate revolts taking place simultaneously: one led by Ted Cruz, the other by Donald Trump. The first is well described by E.J. Dionne in his important new book, […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Open governments will do better during times of crisis
DAVOS — Conversations here at the World Economic Forum might begin with the global economy, but sooner or later they turn to Donald Trump. The Republican primary contest has gotten everyone’s attention. Some remain entertained, but many of the people I’ve spoken with are worried. As one European CEO said to me, “We’re moving into […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Social media: Helpful and hurtful
NEW YORK — Thomas Jefferson often argued that an educated public was crucial for the survival of self-government. We now live in an age in which education takes place mostly through new platforms. Social networks — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. — are the main mechanisms by which people receive and share facts, ideas and opinions. […]