Ronald Reagan

By Alan Fisher in Americas on December 29th, 2011

File 57156
Reuters photo

It is just six days to the Iowa caucus, the first real test of the seven Republicans hoping to win their party’s presidential nomination for the 2012 election.

Karl Rove, the man who masterminded George Bush’s election victories, has described the current battle for the heart of the Republican party as “the most unpredictable, rapidly shifting, and often downright inexplicable primary race I’ve ever witnessed”. 

By Teymoor Nabili in Business on August 3rd, 2010
Photo by AFP

Banks on the mend, stocks in London and New York bouncing... looks like the recovery is in full flow, right?

For David Stockman, a director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan, all this apparent recovery is a myth built on borrowed money, and he's having none of it:

The day of national reckoning has arrived.

By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on May 28th, 2010
AFP photo

As the Obama administration introduces its new foreign policy doctrine this week, it's worth reminding ourselves that the greater Middle East region is central to US strategy today just as it has been over the last half a century.

After a decade of US blunders in Iraq and Afghanistan under the guise of the "global war on terror", President Obama's overall commitment to "engagement" with other world emerging powers like China and India,  and support for multilateralism contrasts sharply with his predecessor's desire to "go it alone" when possible, along with others only if necessary.

Over the last year, the Obama administration has changed the bombastic language of the Bush administration.

By Cath Turner in Americas on February 5th, 2010
Tami and Robert Kilmarx, who say they quit Tea Party Nation in disgust

The Tea Party movement is driven by two powerful emotions: anger and fear.

The groups are angry about big government, big spending, big taxes and progressive policies under the Obama administration.  And they're fearful of losing their values, their freedom and their rights.

Dozens of Tea Party groups have popped up across the United States, and you can see their strength in numbers when they co-ordinate mass rallies and protests.  And now we're starting to see their power on the political scene.  Once they decide to throw their weight behind a candidate, the Tea Partiers have proven they're capable of influencing an election outcome.

Most Tea Partiers want to stay politically separate from both the Republicans and the Democrats but their values and beliefs naturally align them more to the Republicans.

By Rob Reynolds in Americas on November 10th, 2009
Photo by AFP

It’s worth paying attention to President Barack Obama’s remarks at the Fort Hood memorial service on Tuesday, because they may have significant political impact.

In the past, presidents have seized the opportunity of a shared moment of national shock or grief to strengthen their role as a leader and unifier.

RONALD REAGAN

President Ronald Reagan, who was a gifted orator and had great speechwriters, really rose to the occasion after the space shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986. Millions of Americans—including many school kids—had watched the tragedy unfold live on television, and there was a deep feeling of trauma in the country.