Lanny Davis: Lessons from a legend
OPINION l Mike McCurry, who served as press secretary to former President Clinton, was featured in a news profile over the weekend, about him becoming a teacher in religion and politics at Wesley...
View ArticleDavis: The presumption-of-guilt culture
The Washington Post’s five-column headline on Tuesday was: “Prosecutors: Vincent Gray Knew.”Note that the word “allege” is not in the headline. The top federal prosecutor, D.C. U.S. Attorney Ronald C....
View ArticleDavis: Smart power for the 21st century
By the turn of the 21st century, it was clear that a new approach to the use of American power to protect our national interests and values was necessary. At the risk of some over-simplification, by...
View ArticleLanny Davis: Dems must stand by O-Care
If I were a Democrat running for Congress in 2014 who supported the Affordable Care Act, known as “ObamaCare,” I would be running a campaign explaining why I am proud of my vote. And I would challenge...
View ArticleLanny Davis: Innuendo vs. facts on Benghazi
So now the House Republican leadership has announced still another investigation of the tragedy of Benghazi. My crisis management mantra about the truth is: “tell it early, tell it all, tell it...
View ArticleDavis: Jeb Bush a formidable candidate
OK, OK. To the Bush family, and particularly to former two-term Florida Gov. Jeb Bush: don’t worry. Let me start, upfront, by saying: I would never vote for Jeb Bush for president. He is way too...
View ArticleLanny Davis: It’s about education, stupid
If there is any issue that stumps liberals and conservatives alike, it is what to do about the crisis in public education in our high schools, especially in urban neighborhoods. If the now-famous...
View ArticleLanny Davis: Hillary Clinton’s ‘Hard Choices’ shows who she is
The reviews are in on Hard Choices, Hillary Clinton’s history of her four-year tenure as U.S. secretary of State. They are almost all positive. Her book sales are strong — No. 1 on The New York Times...
View ArticleDavis: Lessons from LeBron — How the GOP can use crisis management
LeBron James’s surprise announcement last Friday that he planned to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Miami Heat offers important lessons for effective crisis management. Indeed, the most...
View ArticleThe Hill's Lanny Davis: Journalists must report on Isreali self-restraint
I am writing this column on Monday night. I am sick to my stomach after seeing a network TV newscast of a young Palestinian girl lying paralyzed in a hospital in Gaza, the victim of Israeli bombs. I...
View ArticleLanny Davis: Americans want a dealmaker, not an ideologue
When it comes to judging someone’s political ideology, many people and pundits end up arguing about labels and characterizations rather than the facts and the objective record. For example, I recall...
View ArticleLanny Davis: War and peace at Camp Equinunk — Lessons for Congress?
As public approval of the U.S. Congress continues to dip to ever-lower levels, it is worth examining the cultural phenomenon of something called the Color War at traditional sleep-away summer camps,...
View ArticleLanny Davis: Thoughts on Ferguson: What I know and don’t know
The one thing I know is that I don’t know what it it’s like to be a young black man who is confronted by a white police officer pointing a gun.I don’t know the fear, the humiliation, the rage that a...
View ArticleLanny Davis: Is Obama too much of a hawk for Democrats?
The day before President Obama’s Sept. 10 speech on the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to American security — in my judgment, one of the best speeches of his two-term presidency —...
View ArticleLanny Davis: Holder one of history’s great Justice leaders
How to assess Eric Holder’s record and legacy as attorney general? Let’s start with what should be an obvious proposition: Holder’s policies and approach to the job were consistent with the person who...
View ArticleLanny Davis: To Republicans: Watch out for traps after midterms
Most pundits are predicting a Republican takeover of the U.S. Senate next Tuesday. I am ready to go on record against the conventional wisdom: I predict Democrats will surprise the pundits on election...
View ArticleLanny Davis: Lessons for Democrats: It’s time to remember who we are
We Democrats lost the U.S. Senate on Tuesday night for many reasons. But I believe the most important reason is that we ran away from who we are and what we stand for. Too many of our candidates and...
View ArticleLanny Davis: No Labels is exactly what America needs
An organization called No Labels, first established in 2010, has managed a political miracle: getting committed liberals and conservatives to come together to find common ground while maintaining their...
View ArticleLanny Davis: Poor communication in Ferguson only made things worse
No matter how effective the communications skills of the key players in the Michael Brown tragedy, bitterness and anger by the African-American community across the country (shared by many whites as...
View ArticleLanny Davis: Why I am ready for Hillary
Last week, on Dec. 4, I helped organize a Ready for Hillary fundraiser in Montgomery County, Md., in the immediate suburbs of Washington, D.C. The organization, an independent grassroots committee, has...
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