Bush Made Willie Horton an Issue in 1988, and the Racial Scars Are Still Fresh

The tributes to former President George Bush in recent days have focused on his essential decency and civility, and his embrace of others, including even his onetime opponents. But the “last gentleman,” as he has been called, was not always so gentle. Mr. Bush’s successful campaign for the presidency in […] Read more »

As Midterm Vote Nears, Trump Reprises a Favorite Message: Fear Immigrants

President Trump’s closing argument is now clear: Build tent cities for migrants. End birthright citizenship. Fear the caravan. Send active-duty troops to the border. Refuse asylum. Immigration has been the animating issue of the Trump presidency, and now — with the possibility that Republicans could face significant losses in the […] Read more »

The tables have turned on health care in 2018

No policy decision during former President Barack Obama’s first two years contributed more to the Democratic loss of the House of Representatives in 2010 than the party’s drive to pass the Affordable Care Act. Now, no policy decision in President Trump’s first two years is boosting Democratic hopes of recapturing […] Read more »

House Democrats’ hope for wave election diminishes as Republicans rebound

Democratic hopes for a wave election next month that would carry them to a significant House majority have been tempered in recent weeks amid a shifting political landscape and a torrent of hard-hitting attack ads from Republicans. … To galvanize their voters, Republicans are airing attack ads that argue Democrats […] Read more »

A Referendum on Trump or Pelosi?

At the beginning of this cycle, I had conversations with strategists on both sides about the challenges for each party going into 2018. Democrats were worried that Trump had his own ‘brand’ that would make it hard to try and link GOP candidates to the unorthodox and unconventional president. Trying […] Read more »