WASHINGTON -- A midterm campaign that has turned heavily on the issue of the mounting federal debt is likely to yield a government even more split over what to do about it, people in both parties say, with diminished Democrats and reinforced Republicans confronting internal divisions even as they dig in against the other side.

It is difficult to know what to make of this; the Times recently noted that the public doesn't spend much time thinking about the deficit. ("The deficit barely registers as a topic of concern when survey respondents were asked to volunteer their worries," was how the paper put it.)  It's hard to figure how a non-issue could be so important to the campaigns--other than as a useful talking point for some Republican politicians. [...] Read more»

It's not totally clear what he means by that, but Williams does a pretty good job as a Fox News Liberal-- i.e., someone willing to attack left-liberal groups and leaders while doing very little to promote an actual left-leaning perspective. This point was echoed in a column penned by Newsmax's Ronald Kessler (10/25/10), who wrote that he's known Williams since the 1970s and "the fact is, Williams is no liberal." He adds:

If you doubt that, read his book Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America--and What We Can Do About It. The book attacks Democrats and black leaders like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton for promoting a "culture of failure" among blacks. [...] Read more»

When it editorialized yesterday (10/25/10) on the need for the United States to adopt austerity measures similar to those of France and Britain, however, only one view was allowed: "The French are addressing their problems. So are the British. American leaders are not."

It's not that other credible views aren't out there--see Mark Weisbrot (Huffington Post, 10/21/10) questioning the need for France's retirement rollbacks, and Dean Baker (Guardian, 10/25/10) and Paul Krugman (New York Times, 10/22/10) on the economic foolishness of the British cutbacks. If an opposing voice had been allowed in, they might have pointed out the twisted reasoning behind USA Today's call for Social Security benefit cuts: [...] Read more»