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Wrong and wrong, maybe wrong again?

I can’t think of anyone who deserves this less. I could of course be wrong again. But that’s the gloomy picture I am seeing on the day after an election gone wrong. I was 100% wrong about the outcome of this election. I expected Harris to win the battleground states. She lost them. I expected her to win the popular vote by a wide margin. It’s not yet clear, but it appears she lost it. I should…

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The horse race Harris will win

Who would vote for more of this? Yesterday’s final Atlanta rally for Kamala Harris was as expected: enthusiastic, loud, and crowded. We couldn’t get to the section designated for voter protection workers. But we had a decent spot that we lost when Ms S fainted. If you are out in the sun for a couple of hours, drink water! The impression she makes I don’t know who the celebrities were who…

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Mushroom clouds over the Middle East

Former IAEA inspector Pantelis Ikonomou writes: After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear deterrence became the strongest parameter in projecting geopolitical power.  Nuclear weapons could eventually be decisive in the Middle East. Israel and Iran are now in direct confrontation Safeguarding state security and regional dominance are the fundamental aims of the main protagonists, Israel and Iran.…

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Georgia in contrast: red and blue

I spent yesterday afternoon monitoring opening and scanning of paper absentee, overseas, and military ballots in Hall County, Georgia. Hall is just north of Fulton (Atlanta), where I spent the last two weeks as a roving (outside) poll watcher. Hall is a deep red county, whereas Fulton is deep blue. The process is good I did not get to talk with many voters in Hall. The process I observed there…

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What happens if Trump wins?

Maybe a President Trump can join the would-be autocrats club in January In many parts of the world, the answer is obvious. Trump has said he would strike a deal with Putin on Ukraine. That means surrender of at least Ukrainian territory Russia already controls. In the Middle East, Trump backs Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu 100%. That means Palestinians will be restricted to even smaller areas…

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Complaint department, North Macedonia

I received today this letter from Ali Ahmeti, the President of the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI). It is the leading Albanian opposition party in North Macedonia. The letter’s aim is to generate action by the US and EU: I am writing to you today with deep concern about recent political and constitutional developments in North Macedonia that threaten the historic achievements of the Ohrid…

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All good, until it's not, in Atlanta

I am now past my second week of outside poll watching in Atlanta (Fulton County). Minus three days off for a jaunt to Boston to give a talk at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. By my count, I’ve now spot-checked 21 of the 34 early voting centers in the county. I’ve been to a couple more than once. No wait no mess I’m delighted to report that I have continued to find nothing to complain…

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Four more bad reasons to vote Trump

I somehow managed yesterday in citing ten reasons to vote for Trump to skip an obvious one: immigration. It merited mention, not least because it a very bad reason to be voting for Trump. We need the labor The United States needs more immigrants, not fewer. The tight labor market is driving up wages and productivity. That is welcome after many years that they lagged the increase in returns to…

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Ten reasons to vote for Trump, nine refuted

Meidas+ has saved me the trouble. It lists 200 reasons not to vote for Donald Trump. I suppose it wouldn’t be all that hard to get to 300. It is hard for me to understand why any patriotic American–or even a non-patriotic one–would vote him. Ten reasons to vote for Trump So let’s consider the options: You are a diehard Republican who has never voted for a Democrat. Trump will be better for…

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Join us at Harvard online or in person!

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It will end when Israel wants it to

Israel continues to enjoy military successes in both Gaza and Lebanon, but its adversaries fight on. The death of Yahya Sinwar leaves Hamas without clear leadership. The death of Hassan Nasallah likewise left Hezbollah without clear leadership. But both Islamist movements continue to attack. Their cadres seek “martyrdom.” The options Americans, official and unofficial, are urging Israel to take…

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Calm in the eye of the storm

I’m in Atlanta, poll-watching for the Georgia Democratic Party. I’ve done it in Egypt, Libya, Albania, and elsewhere, but never before in the US. We own a house in Atlanta down the street from elder son Jared and his family. But no, we are not moving here. We are only trying to view the election from a more interesting angle than DC. There more than 90% of the population will vote…

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A true conservative would vote Harris

https://twitter.com/i/status/1845235044417208795 I don’t have a lot of Republican friends. That’s true. But for those Republicans I know identity is the reason for their attachment to that party. One was born into a family in Arizona in which no one had ever voted for a Democrat. Another, an otherwise first-rate political analyst, simply believes what Republicans say and doubts what Democrats…

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Israel is its own existential threat

Last October’s Hamas attack on Israel was horrendous. It frightened Israelis more than any other single incident for decades. The numbers of Israelis killed were greater than those killed in the five years of the second Intifada. Hamas and its partners took more than 250 hostages to Gaza, more than 70 of whom are now dead. Several thousand Hamas fighters entered Israel in a well-rehearsed attack…

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Public servants for now and the future

Here is an interview with Patricia Thomson, former Executive Vice President of the United States Institute of Peace. She has spent most of the last ten years devoted to the School of Public Service in Juba, South Sudan. You are the founder of the School of Public Service at the University of Juba in South Sudan. You called for its establishment more than ten years ago, and eight years ago you…

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It's time to wake up and smell the coffee

So many people issue have written so much in response to October 7 and its aftermath! It is difficult to imagine saying anything new or even interesting. But after much hesitation I will discuss one issue: the difficult choice Arab Americans face in voting this year. It had seemed to me that Arab American voters would come around to my perspective, so there was no need. But polling suggests that…

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No to boycott, yes to Tunisia

I’m late to publishing this appeal from the Tunisian opposition, as the election is tomorrow. But there is still time to go vote: After five years of President Kais Saied’s term, including three years of absolute and individual rule, and after an objective assessment of this period in which Tunisia has experienced its worst conditions since independence—marked by the sharp decline in citizens’…