Commentary by Susan Estrich

June 4, 2010

The Business of Politics By Susan Estrich

Even prominent Republicans, such as former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, agree that you don't need a special prosecutor to investigate whether former President Bill Clinton can have a conversation with Congressman Joe Sestak about job possibilities other than running for Senate, or whether White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's deputy can call former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff to find out whether he's interested in jobs other than challenging the state's incumbent Democratic senator.

June 2, 2010

Before You Beat Up on Israel By Susan Estrich

Since Hamas took over in Gaza in 2007, Israel has attempted to enforce a blockade. No one doubts that hardships have resulted -- but not enough hardships for Hamas to renounce its commitment to terror or to the destruction of the state of Israel.

May 26, 2010

Kath By Susan Estrich

What do you say when your best friend lies dying?

May 21, 2010

Primary Politics By Susan Estrich

The first rule of primary elections is that they are completely different from general elections. What it takes to win a primary is often exactly the opposite of what it takes to win a general, which is why potentially strong general election candidates are often especially weak primary candidates, and vice versa.

May 14, 2010

The Silly Season By Susan Estrich

I'd like to believe it's the arrival of spring or maybe just the general decline in civility and common sense that seems to always be in the air in Washington. But it's hard to avoid the conclusion that the reaction to the nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court has been a study in the sex discrimination that she has spent her career beating back.

May 12, 2010

A Supreme Choice By Susan Estrich

Elena Kagan is not a surprising choice for the United States Supreme Court, but she is a very smart and deserving one. She is smart and honorable, a woman of character and integrity. And perhaps most important of all, in these times, she will be very hard to oppose.

May 5, 2010

Smaller Government, Anyone? By Susan Estrich

Maybe not this week.

April 28, 2010

Playing with Fire By Susan Estrich

Republican senators are playing with fire. And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is perfectly content to pile on the logs.

April 23, 2010

The First Amendment and Animals By Susan Estrich

Let me be clear at the outset: I love dogs. Not like them, love them. Of course, I love mine the best: Judy J. Estrich, Molly Emily Estrich and Irving A. Estrich. Judy is named after one of my dearest friends, Judy Jarvis, who died of cancer 10 years ago. Molly is named after her dog, who took care of her when she was sick and taught me not to be afraid of big dogs.

April 21, 2010

What's Wrong With Arizona? By Susan Estrich

Over the weekend, Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony joined in on the attack against the new law passed by the Arizona legislature to expand police powers to arrest and deport illegal immigrants. The law basically makes it a crime to be an undocumented alien. If that doesn't sound like an inherently controversial proposition, believe me, it will by the time it gets to court.

April 16, 2010

A Quarterback's Bad Calls By Susan Estrich

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is a bad guy. He may not be a rapist, in the sense that it can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he had nonconsensual sex, but not being guilty of a crime doesn't mean you're innocent. In my book, this guy should pay.

April 14, 2010

The Kindness of a Stranger By Susan Estrich

I was power walking up Broadway in New York City last Tuesday, when something went terribly wrong. The world started spinning. I literally couldn't see straight.

April 7, 2010

The Woman with the Right Stuff By Susan Estrich

The Rev. Al Sharpton says she must have "mystical powers" -- or the best luck anyone has ever seen. But if you ask me, there's nothing mystical about it. As for luck, if Kirsten Gillibrand has proved one thing during her brief tenure in the United States Senate, it is that you make your luck.

March 31, 2010

Rejection Season By Susan Estrich

Yesterday, Stanford University announced it had accepted a mere 7.2 percent of the tens of thousands of high school seniors across the country who applied for admission to the class of 2014. Other highly selective schools will be making similar announcements in the days ahead.

March 26, 2010

What Really Matters By Susan Estrich

Something very scary is happening out there.

March 24, 2010

Guts and Glory By Susan Estrich

No Republicans supported Medicare in the House of Representatives until it reached the floor. It came out of the House Ways and Means and Rules committees on strict party-line votes. On the procedural vote that brought Medicare to a vote, exactly 10 Republicans voted for the bill. Only when it was clear that Democrats had the votes did it become a "bipartisan" bill, passing with the support of 70 Republicans and 237 Democrats.

March 19, 2010

Catholic Wars By Susan Estrich

The nuns are right. The bishops are wrong.

March 17, 2010

The Last Lap By Susan Estrich

It was 30 years ago that we first put national health insurance in the Democratic Party platform. I was working for Ted Kennedy then. We had lost the nomination to Jimmy Carter, but both sides were still fighting. Whatever we were for, President Carter and his team were against. And we were very much for health care.

March 12, 2010

Real Genius By Susan Estrich

A year ago, David Axelrod, the president's senior adviser, was a genius. A year ago, Rahm Emanuel, the president's chief of staff, was a wizard.

March 10, 2010

And the Winner Is... By Susan Estrich

Like most Americans, I haven't seen "The Hurt Locker," but I was still rooting for Kathryn Bigelow to claim the Best Director statue. This is, after all, 2010 -- a little late in the day for "first women," particularly in an industry that depends on women as much as men to buy tickets. If you believe the media accounts, another glass ceiling has now been broken. Were it only so simple.

If it's in the News, it's in our Polls. Public opinion polling since 2003.

Most Recent Releases