Karzai's Last Chance
Elise Jordan served as a director for communications in the National Security Council from 2008-2009. A former speechwriter for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, she lived and worked in Kabul, Afghanistan for most of the last year.
As he was sworn in for a second term as president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai's inaugural address sought to appease the critics-and keep nationalism alive.
Obama's Dangerous Obsession
Lee Siegel has written about culture and politics and is the author of three books: Falling Upwards: Essays in Defense of the Imagination; Not Remotely Controlled: Notes on Television; and, most recently, Against the Machine: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob. In 2002, he received a National Magazine Award for reviews and criticism.
In his speech at Fort Hood, the president invoked Abraham Lincoln with a mention of the afterlife. Lee Siegel says Obama's worship and rhetoric could escalate a perilous war.
The Generals Aren't Necessarily Right
Thomas E. Ricks, the author of Fiasco and The Gamble, is a fellow at the Center for a New American Security and author of Foreign Policy magazine’s Best Defense blog. He was a reporter at the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post for a total of 26 years.
As Obama postpones a decision on Afghanistan, he should remember FDR's lessons: bring the country along. Rushing has downsides. And dithering costs troops more than you know.
Look Who's Related!
The Daily Beast is dedicated to news and commentary, culture, and entertainment. We carefully curate the web’s most essential stories and bring you original must-reads from our talented contributors.
Turns out Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are distant cousins. VIEW OUR GALLERY of other unlikely relatives, including Barack Obama and Robert E. Lee, and Hillary Clinton and Angelina Jolie.
Perhaps the most shocking of the president's many distant relatives is...Dick Cheney. Lynne Cheney made the announcement in 2007 that she discovere...
It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's Moses!
Bruce Feiler is the author of Walking the Bible and Abraham and the host of Walking the Bible on PBS. His new book, America’s Prophet: Moses and the American Story, is published Oct. 6.
Superman was based on him, Charlton Heston played him, and politicians quote him-Moses is as American as apple pie, Bruce Feiler writes in his new book, America's Prophet.
Do You Know Your Presidential Snacks
The Daily Beast is dedicated to news and commentary, culture, and entertainment. We carefully curate the web’s most essential stories and bring you original must-reads from our talented contributors.
The Obama-branded peanut M&Ms have landed on Air Force One, but can you recall what other presidents reached for when they had the munchies? Take our quiz on the state of the noshin'.
Divider in Chief
Lee Siegel has written about culture and politics and is the author of three books: Falling Upwards: Essays in Defense of the Imagination; Not Remotely Controlled: Notes on Television; and, most recently, Against the Machine: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob. In 2002, he received a National Magazine Award for reviews and criticism.
After getting elected on the promise of uniting red and blue America, Barack Obama has polarized the country faster than the last guys-but that's not his fault, says Lee Siegel.
Nearly 58% of the GOP doubts Obama was born in the U.S., but how does that compare to FEMA concentration camps and national bans on eating meat? The Daily Beast presents the kookiest claims in politics.
In sharing a beer with Skip Gates and James Crowley, Obama is joining a long tradition of presidents who indulged in the occasional drink. From FDR mixing martinis with Stalin to Nixon hitting the bottle during a nuclear alert, we offer you the greatest moments in presidential mixology.
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
Martin Jacques is the cofounder of the UK think tank Demos, writes a regular column for The Guardian, and is a visiting research fellow at the London School of Economics Asia Research Centre. His new book, When China Rules the World, is available now.
Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary.
The Daily Beast is dedicated to news and commentary, culture, and entertainment. We carefully curate the web’s most essential stories and bring you original must-reads from our talented contributors.
Peter Beinart, senior political writer for The Daily Beast, is a professor of journalism and political science at City University of New York and a senior fellow at the New America Foundation.
Jeffrey Koterba is an acclaimed syndicated political cartoonist. Since joining the Omaha World-Herald in 1989, he has been a finalist for Editorial Cartoonist of the Year from the National Cartoonists Society and has placed second in the National Headliner Awards. His work is distributed through King Features Syndicate to 400 newspapers nationwide, and has appeared in such publications as the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, and the Washington Post, among others.
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