The White Elephant in the Room: By Susan Estrich
Would Barack Obama be where he is if he weren't black? Would Hillary Clinton be where she is if she weren't a woman? Would Geraldine Ferraro be where she is if her name had been Gerald?
Commentary by Susan Estrich
Most Recent Releases
March 14, 2008
March 12, 2008
Getting Stupid: by Susan Estrich
My old roommate used to call it "getting stupid." In the beginning of the story, the guy might be smart, thoughtful, good-looking and funny. But when it came to sex, she'd just shake her head. Lord, could guys get stupid or what?
March 7, 2008
What Next?: A Commentary by Susan Estrich
So now what? The Republicans have their nominee -- and the Democrats have a marathon that it's not clear can be won, at least not on conventional terms.
March 5, 2008
Blame the Supreme Court: A Commentary by Susan Estrich
Blame the Supremes. That's right. The nine of them are responsible for this mess.
February 29, 2008
Friendship in the Fourth Estate: A Commentary by Susan Estrich
A funny thing is about to happen to Barack Obama. No matter how much he thinks he's ready for it, he isn't. No matter how many people warn him, he'll be surprised. And hurt. And angry.
February 22, 2008
The G Word: A Commentary by Susan Estrich
It's easy to assume that the worst place to be in a campaign that's going through tough times is right in the middle of it. At least you're not Hillary, people say to me all the time. But in my experience, the hardest place to be in a hard campaign is not right in the middle. I've been there, and it can be eerie and strange, but you rarely get as depressed as you do when you're one step removed. Maybe that's a good thing.
February 20, 2008
What's in a Word?: A Commentary by Susan Estrich
Not much, in my experience, if you're a presidential candidate. The speechwriter gives the candidate the speech for the next stop on the flight. He marks it up, or not, and out come the words, like magic. Original means he's never said it before. Usually he has, albeit in a different way. Original doesn't mean he wrote it, but that he's the first one to say it.
February 15, 2008
The Heat in the Kitchen: A Commentary by Susan Estrich
My friends who are also Hillary's friends, many of them classmates and fellow Wellesley women, keep e-mailing me about their concerns, not so much with the campaign, but with the outright meanness and hostility the media seem to be heaping on our friend.
February 13, 2008
Beware What You Wish For: A Commentary by Susan Estrich
A century ago, actually about 26 years ago, the powers in the Democratic Party decided it was time to take back control of the nominating process from the often derided crazies who had been leading the Party straight down the tubes with their choices of McGovern and Carter. Of course, Carter did win, but that was in 1976.
February 8, 2008
Lucky Fella: A Commentary by Susan Estrich
John McCain is one lucky guy. A funny thing happened to him on the way to the Republican nomination. He was forced to run as himself. He had no choice but to try to win without the support of the hard-core conservatives he initially set out to court. He was pushed back onto the Straight Talk Express, onto the coach section of the plane, into the endless town halls, where he had no choice but to be himself, say what he thinks, run on his record and leave it at that.
February 7, 2008
Unconventional Thinking: A Commentary by Susan Estrich
A long time ago, which is to say at least a month or two ago, I consoled some friends who were despairing of the nastiness of the Democratic race by telling them that whoever won would be the better candidate for it, and that we might need a real race to produce a real winner.
February 2, 2008
What Happened to John Edwards?: A Commentary by Susan Estrich
He was back again on Wednesday, never so eloquent as in withdrawing from the Democratic race for the presidential nomination.
January 23, 2008
Where is Oprah?: A Commentary by Susan Estrich
Was it just last month that the Queen of Everything was everywhere, pulling tens of thousands of people into rallies in Iowa, stomping with Barack and Michelle Obama at just the point it seemed his campaign most needed a lift?
January 18, 2008
The TV Diet: A Commentary by Susan Estrich
It's been nearly three months since the writers went on strike. The TIVO broke a month into it, and no one in my house has bothered to fix it.
January 16, 2008
Race in the Race: A Commentary by Susan Estrich
It was probably inevitable. A woman running against a black: How could gender and race not be an issue? Even if she was running as the most experienced candidate and he was running a campaign to transcend race, dynamite ultimately explodes.
January 11, 2008
Looking at What's Not Working: A Commentary by Susan Estrich
The most interesting thing about the Republican race for president, at least so far, is not what's working, but what isn't.
January 10, 2008
And the Winner Is…:A Commentary by Susan Estrich
Hillary.Hillary? Hillary? The woman who was declared dead, the staff that was declared fired, the campaign that was pronounced over and done and broke.
January 4, 2008
Why Iowa?: A Commentary by Susan Estrich
Why so much attention to a small state that has such a modest record in picking nominees, an even more modest record in picking presidents, and that rarely plays the decisive role of Florida, Ohio or California in the general election?
December 28, 2007
Benazir Bhutto. May She Rest in Peace: A Commentary by Susan Estrich
I met her in a green room, which, like so many others, wasn't even green. The woman doing makeup had no idea who she was and neither did the camera man, but they knew I was going on first, to discuss some OJ-like topic of no real importance, so they asked her to get out of the makeup chair so I could be "done" first
