Barack Obama

Bookmark this page to stay up to date on ThePhoenix.com's latest coverage of Barack Obama. ThePhoenix.com endorsed Obama prior to the Massachusetts Democratic Primary. Columnist and political consultant Steven Stark has been covering the horse race in his Presidential Tote Board column since February of 2007, and also in an accompanying blog. In March of 2007, Stark was among the first to predict, while Hilary Clinton was still firmly ahead in the polls, that the odds favored an Obama nomination. In September 2007, in a widely-circulated essay, Al Giordano cursed Obama for making him (and other dyed-in-the-wool radicals) care about presidential politics again, while offering an eerily prescient examination of Obama's revolutionary fundraising techniques. More recently, Steven Stark examined the Obama camp's cautious approach to the DNC, and argued that the convention could actually hurt Obama's visibility. ThePhoenix.com's David S. Bernstein is in Denver covering the Democratic National Convention. You can follow his live updates, Talking Politics blog posts, and columns at our Election 2008 homepage.

Latest Articles

Strong-arming the First Amendment

Plus activist judges and fat versus gay
President Barack Obama is a bright guy. In fact, he's a former constitutional-law professor.
By EDITORIAL | December 15, 2010

Diverse-city
Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Kwanzaa, and Solstice Greetings! Hopefully I have acknowledged all the winter holidays in a respectful manner without leaving anyone out, but since there must be someone I've missed, I'll toss in "Happy Holidays!"
By SHAY STEWART-BOULEY | December 08, 2010

Wiki paradoxes

Plus, kudos to Council and DeLeo
Trust us: It is only a matter of time before Hollywood brings the saga of WikiLeaks impresario Julian Assange to the big screen.
By EDITORIAL | December 08, 2010

Let them eat cake

Obama caves, FIFA cashes in; Don checks out; Huzzah for Bill and Jaimy
Phillipe and Jorge will be keeping a close eye on the upcoming Senate vote on continuing the tax cuts for the filthy rich (the top two percent of Americans) who now appear to control America. And we trust Messrs. Reed and Whitehouse will do the right thing.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | December 08, 2010

Review: Bangor artist Kenny Cole lights the 'Hellfire' at SPACE Gallery

When there's smoke
"The Hellfire Story" is a tough pill to swallow.
By NICHOLAS SCHROEDER | November 24, 2010

Review: Gerrymandering

Political doc draws an odd line
Perhaps quoting Thomas Pynchon at the beginning of this political documentary wasn't such a hot idea.
By BRETT MICHEL | November 03, 2010

Democrats against Obama

Even before the rout at the polls, Democrats were nervous about their President. The left felt sold out, and moderates were frightened. Now it's payback time.
Now that the midterm wipeout has concluded, analysts are already sizing up the GOP challengers to a weakened Barack Obama. Not only that: some Democratic party elders are considering the once-unthinkable scenario of a debilitating challenge to Barack Obama from inside his party.
By STEVEN STARK | November 03, 2010

Why Lincoln Chafee deserves your vote

A man of expansive yet commonsensical vision, with a rare political courage
Many Rhode Islanders are still undecided about the governor's race. Until this week, the Phoenix , too, was torn.
By PROVIDENCE PHOENIX STAFF | October 27, 2010

Caprio's Clinton fixation

The gubernatorial hopeful is running an ‘It’s The Economy, Stupid’ campaign. But will the centrist approach work in a liberal-leaning state?
It was the highlight of Democrat Frank Caprio's bid for governor: an endorsement by Bill Clinton before an enormous American flag at the Rhode Island Convention Center.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 20, 2010

Three-Fall

President Obama, Majority Leader Reid, and Speaker Pelosi have accomplished much — and are running for their political lives
In a less politically charged world, the triumvirate of Democratic political leaders in Washington — President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid — might now be taking victory laps over one of the most productive two-year sessions in decades.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | October 20, 2010

Elephant in the Room?

Republicans are expected to take dozens of US House seats this year — some may even be in Massachusetts
The upcoming national midterm elections are shaping up as a big Republican wave.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | October 13, 2010

By | January 01, 0001

Transcript: The Phoenix interviews M.I.A.

In September 2004, Diplo still had to explain who M.I.A. was.
By DANIEL BROCKMAN | October 06, 2010

American jitters

Between paralysis and nervous breakdown
You would have to be delusional not to be anxious, perhaps even fearful.
By EDITORIAL | October 06, 2010

Society's demands

Esperanza Spalding | Sanders Theatre | October 2, 2010
Esperanza Spalding wants to prepare her listeners for something different with her new Chamber Music Society (Heads Up). She made that clear at Sanders Theatre Saturday night.
By JON GARELICK | October 06, 2010

Just a reprieve? Unless Republican leaders learn from the past, another Iraq is in our future

In terms of foreign policy, the Republican Party remains unapologetically committed to Bush/Cheneyism
In his address to the nation Tuesday evening, discussing the end of American combat operations in Iraq, Barack Obama took great pains to be apolitical, nonjudgmental, and even gracious toward his predecessor.
By EDITORIAL | September 01, 2010

Obama on the Vineyard

Follow the leader
The most powerful man in the world touched down last week on Martha's Vineyard's grass-stamped airport, and quietly set to work enjoying the pursuits late-summer vacations require.
By VANESSA CZARNECKI | September 01, 2010

GOP Know-Nothings: Hard-right Congressional candidates complicate Charlie Baker's run for governor

Plus, replacing John Tobin on the Boston City Council.
With a strong anti-incumbent mood at their backs, Massachusetts Republicans should be able to make significant gains this year, simply by keeping the focus on Beacon Hill Democrats.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | August 29, 2010

Federal trans-formation

Frustrating on high-profile LGBT issues, Barack Obama has moved quickly, with little fanfare, on gender-identity issues.
The LGBT community has had its complaints about Barack Obama and his administration, particularly concerning the pace of eliminating the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, and passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | August 15, 2010

BP gets a new CEO

Idiot Box
The sad thing is ...
By MATT BORS | August 04, 2010

Obama's Afghanistan promise

Idiot Box
This is a totally different war, guys.
By MATT BORS | July 29, 2010

Afghanistan: The war that's killing us

Interview: Former Army colonel and current Boston University professor Andrew Bacevich explains why staying is a big mistake
For several years now, I've been reading Andrew Bacevich's articles and books that argue for a reimagination of how American government conceives of and executes foreign policy.
By PETER KADZIS | August 02, 2010

The Democrats' ambitious new chairman

Party time
Last month, just a few weeks removed from his long-held post as chairman of the Rhode Island Democratic Party, Bill Lynch walked into the party’s convention as a Congressional candidate and didn’t come close to securing the endorsement.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | July 21, 2010

Rough Seas Ahead

Will the economy, the oil spill, and Afghanistan conspire to sink Obama's presidency?
Eighteen months after Barack Obama took office with the largest plateful of troubles of any president in recent memory, it would seem only fair for him to finally get a stretch of smooth sailing.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | July 14, 2010

Buzz off

By shouting down dissent, Washington is ignoring the sad truth in Afghanistan
Michael Steele, the imbecile chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), has gotten himself in trouble — again — with the party faithful.
By EDITORIAL | July 07, 2010

You call this winning?

Afghanistan complications multiply. Plus, Congress is heading for a weak wrap-up.
President Barack Obama scored.
By EDITORIAL | June 30, 2010

The 13th Annual Muzzle Awards

A look at the dishonorable enemies of free speech and personal liberty in New England
A year and a half into the Age of Obama, we are learning a lesson we should have figured out long ago — that repression, once in place, is rarely rolled back all the way, and that liberals no less than conservatives are reluctant to give up power.
By DAN KENNEDY | July 05, 2010

Theology class

Letters to the Phoenix editor, July 2, 2010
My religion teaches me that I have a responsibility to work to create a better world for humanity and for all living beings in the world that God created.
By PHOENIX LETTERS | June 29, 2010

Same Old Faces

It's an outsider's year for candidates, but the consultants are old Beacon Hill mainstays. Plus, who spent what at the conventions, and Baker goes on TV first.
If you're wondering who the geniuses are behind the political campaigns in Massachusetts this year — the strategists, media firms, ad teams, and fundraisers — well, it's a lot of the same folks who have been behind Massachusetts campaigns for a long time. Candidates may win or lose, but consultants are forever.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | June 24, 2010

Homophobe to headline Boston's GospelFest

Gay Old Time Dept.
Donnie McClurkin is one of gospel music's biggest stars. But McClurkin has also drawn fire for his homophobic sermons. Which makes him a curious choice to headline a City of Boston–produced event here later this summer, the annual GospelFest on City Hall Plaza.
By NOAH SCHAFFER | June 29, 2010

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