The Bernard L. Schwartz Fellows Program: Latest Publications

Engaging Cuba on Human Rights

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:19:00 -0500

Normalization of U.S. relations with Cuba was widely seen as exactly the kind of high-value, low-hanging fruit that would be ideal for a president elected under the banner of "change." But a scathing new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, "New Castro, Same Cuba," will make lifting sanctions against the Castro regime -- on travel, remittances, trade -- more difficult for President Obama.

The Right Role For Sarah Palin

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:33:00 -0500

When Sarah Palin resigned on July 4th weekend, it certainly looked as though she had decided to abandon politics, or at the very least given up on running for president in 2012. And despite the saturation coverage of Palin's Going Rogue book tour, it's not obvious that she hasn't. As Republican political strategist Patrick Ruffini has observed, a Palin presidential run would have profited from releasing the book a year from now, maximizing media exposure in the crucial year before Iowa. Granted, John McCain also capitalized on his political

Colleges Need a Lemon Law

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:24:00 -0500

The College Board reports tuition is up 9 percent this year in inflation-adjusted terms, despite declining prices throughout the economy and stagnant median family income. Parents want to know why the rise and why college costs so much in the first place.

The answer, in a word, is demand. Until we channel the demand for higher education in a more rational direction, tuition will continue to outpace inflation, grant aid, and family income.

Where Stupak Leads

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:24:00 -0500

Last week, the debate over the Democratic health reform effort took a brief and unexpected philosophical turn. Bart Stupak, a pro-labor Catholic Democrat representing Michigan's 1st congressional district, managed to pass the Stupak amendment as part of the House health bill. Sensing that an insurrection among anti-abortion Democrats threatened to derail the legislation, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who ardently opposes restrictions on abortion, allowed Stupak to offer the amendment, and it passed by a wide margin thanks to Republican votes.

China's Upper Hand

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:48:00 -0500

To hear the Obama administration tell it, the problem with American foreign policy towards China is that we haven't been paying enough attention. In the weeks and months leading up to the President's arrival in Beijing, a bevy of administration officials implied that the Bush administration had become so preoccupied with the Middle East that it gave China free reign to expand its influence in Asia. Now, by sending Obama to the continent in his first year -- after sending Hillary Clinton there on her first foreign trip-Team Obama is trying to signal