Political Reform Program: Latest Articles

It has been a tough year for California. The Golden State, known for decades as an innovator and agent of change, had to issue IOUs to pay its debts. Investment in the future, which used to be California's guiding vision, has taken a back seat to plugging the many holes in the leaky dike of our antiquated institutions.

Once upon a time, Hollywood cinematographers, disenchanted with black-and-white movies, embraced color film to more faithfully represent what they saw through the lenses of their cameras. Now Hollywood has taken an equally innovative step to represent the preferences of those who make the movies.

Much hope has been invested in Barack Obama's ability to strike a new course for the US following eight years of Bush administration unpopularity. Yet many in the US and abroad are impatient with the pace of progress under the Obama administration. The president made the rounds on five news talk shows on Sunday as he pressed his policies and vision, preparing for what is likely to be a difficult week.

Following President Barack Obama's speech on healthcare last week, several pundits said it was a performance worthy of Harry "Give 'em Hell" Truman. After his election, he was likened to Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt. But for the coming battle over healthcare reform, Mr Obama needs to step into the shoes of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Especially when it comes to lining up votes from recalcitrant members of his own party, LBJ's brawling, southern style of trench politics is… more

Europeans are shaking their heads over their American friends again. Whether talking to people in the street, in the cafés or to journalists or political leaders, everyone here asks me the same question: Has America lost its mind? Town halls filled with angry citizens, shouting at their elected leaders, some of them armed with guns and threatening signs? Besides the media spectacle of these neo-1776 revolutionaries, what is doubly perplexing to Europeans is the focus of the protests: healthcare.