"It was not a referendum on Barack Obama, who in every poll remains one of the most popular politicians in America. It was not a rejection of universal health care, which Massachusetts mandated (with Scott Brown’s State Senate vote) in 2006. It was not a harbinger of a resurgent G.O.P., whose numbers remain in the toilet."

-- Frank Rich, in Sunday's New York Times op-ed "After the Massachusetts Massacre" about what Tuesday's special election means for Obama and the Democrats moving forward. (more...)

Who: Stephen Sondheim interviewed by Frank Rich What: Writers on Writers series’ “Paris Review Interviews IV” Where: Barnes and Noble (Upper East Side) When: January 18, 2010 Thumbs: Up (more...)

"Both Steele and Palin claim to be devotees of the tea party movement. 'I’m a tea partier, I’m a town-haller, I’m a grass-roots-er' is how Steele put it in a recent radio interview, wet-kissing a market he hopes will buy his book. Palin has far more grandiose ambitions."

-- Frank Rich, in today's New York Times op-ed "The Great Tea Party Rip-Off," about how a grassroots movement is being exploited, not only by politicians seeking election, but by companies, marketers and lobbyists. (more...)

video Maybe Newsweek was onto something, after all. At the end of the first week of Sarah Palin's hugely successful book tour the question most pundits (and much of the G.O.P.) seem to be asking themselves is what do we do about the Palin problem. Answer: no one has a clue. (more...)

"Palin is far and away the most important brand in American politics after Barack Obama, and attention must be paid. Those who wishfully think her 15 minutes are up are deluding themselves."

— Frank Rich, op-ed columnist for the New York Times, in a Sunday column entitled "The Pitbull in the China Shop." (more...)

The NY-23 special election continues to get stranger and stranger. Now that Republican Dede Scozzafava has dropped out of the race and endorsed her Democratic opponent, Bill Owens, it's fair to say that it's one for the history books, regardless of whether Owens or Conservative challenger Doug Hoffman prevails. But what will they record? Pundits on both sides of the aisle are already writing the rough drafts. (more...)

Now that the the jig is up for Richard Heene and his puffed-up scheme to get famous with his balloon hoax, the Colorado man has been left looking rather desperate and crazy. For most, his stunt to gain attention (and possibly a TV contract), which put his entire family through a great deal of stress, was abominable and exploitative. (more...)

video "I think we have a problem," said Frank Rich to Rachel Maddow on her show Wednesday night. He was talking about people bringing guns to health care rallies. Yesterday's distraction about whether or not MSNBC deliberately edited footage of a black man with a gun so they could then talk all about dangerous white anger was just that: a distraction. A red herring, stirring up outrage over a questionable side issue when the main point is:  people are bringing guns to events where President Barack Obama is speaking. And man, is that scary. (more...)

I like Mad Men. A lot. So do many of my friends; so do many of the people that I work with. When Season One and Season Two came out on DVD, I rationed the episodes like candy, savoring every line and impeccable costume. When I discovered Dyna Moe's superb gallery of Mad Men pop art desktop wallpapers, I chuckled knowingly in my head at captions/in-jokes like "commemorating the scene and outfit that ended Paul's status as my favorite character" and "Allo! I am the Baron Snagglepuss Von Moustache. My cartoonish friends and I are all visiting for the weekend from a Blake Edwards movie. Care to join us for a drink or maybe a weekend of unsubtle metaphor and blunt symbolism?" In short, I am a Mad Men geek too, so I am cool and you should like me. I'm not alone: the media is obsessed with Mad Men. Vanity Fair just wrote a monster article on the show; the New York Times has been all over it; in a somewhat confusing headline, even USA Today said that "Distinctive 'Mad Men' reaches out to today's style, culture." Seeing jokes about Don Draper and photos of January Jones everywhere suits me just fine, but why do I suspect that to a big chunk of the population, the Mad Men hype feels shoved down their throats? (more...)

Yesterday I watched the season three premiere of Mad Men. At this point, it's hard to imagine anyone not being aware that the show will be debuting its third season tonight on AMC. In an advertising bonanza that would flatten anything Don Draper might have imagined, the show has managed to permeate the public consciousness (despite the fact -- based on ratings -- it seems very few people have actually watched it). Between Banana Republic, Sesame Street, Twitter, and Frank Rich the show has officially become a cultural phenomenon (something that often precedes a jump the shark moment, but let's hope that between Matthew Weiner's strong writing and the huge time lapses between seasons, that moment won't arrive for a while yet). (more...)