Thomas Friedman
Tom Friedman elected co-chair of Pulitzer Prize Board
The New York Times columnisthas been elected co-chair, along with Denver Post editor Gregory Moore. More
(1)Thomas Friedman still has this idea about a Bloomberg gesture in 2012
Times columnist Thomas Friedman wants New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg to run for president, if for no other reason than "to participate in the presidential debates and give our two-party system the shock it needs." More
(1)Iowa weeds out Bachmann and maybe Gingrich, after 16 televised debates couldn't
In the New York Post, John Podhoretz makes the case that the results from Iowa last night validate good old-fashioned campaigning, but also point up the uselessness of having so many presidential debates, which exposed the weakness of Rick Perry but also gave undue attention to Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich.
Thomas Friedman of the Times makes a similar argument about the debates, although not from the perspective of their partisan value or of what they ultimately showed about the primacy of organization. More
The way of all third ways: Baker on Friedman the grand mentioner, Obama the centrist, Bloomberg the liberal
“For a movement to be successful, or even partially successful, you need to have a compelling figure identifying with it, whether Ross Perot or Sarah Palin or William Jennings Bryan, you need someone who can galvanize it.”
“I think certainly he’s got the financial juice to do it—who knows,” Baker said. “Here’s the interesting thing. Let’s suppose that the individual that they choose to front, the person who’s going to be the visible sign of this institution, is someone like Bloomberg. He’s a mayor of New York, a big supporter of same sex marriage, he’s leading a campaign against guns, and now a campaign against coal. More
Dreck ceiling: Bloomberg's centrist shtick is getting old, and dangerous
It's not clear whether the remarks that Michael Bloomberg delivered Monday night about the debt-ceiling showdown were dishonest or merely ignorant. Either way, they were definitely not helpful.
With a potentially catastrophic default now less than a week away, the mayor decided to play his favorite role: Third Way scold, alarmed by the shocking—shocking!—unwillingness of both national parties to put aside their differences and forge a compromise. More
(3)Why No Labelism in America is a fail
Even before Michael Bloomberg let the air out of the launch event for the "No Labels" campaign by dismissing the idea of running for president, the movement seemed set up for failure. The group, headed by Republican strategist Mark McKinnon and Democratic fund-raiser Nancy Jacobson, hopes to bring civility and moderation to a political atmosphere that it regards as disfigured by "hyper-partisanship." Its founders insist that it will not support candidates for national office. But exactly what it will do is far from clear. More
