The press has already started inaugurating President Obama, but there are still quite a few hurdles left for the Democrat — including John McCain
In the wake of Barack Obama’s triumphant European tour, the political press continues, by and large, to declare the election all but over.
By STEVEN STARK | July 30, 2008

A sobering question

Can Obama make Democrats face up to economic reality?
With every passing week the nation’s already-screwed-up economy becomes even more distressed.
By EDITORIAL | July 30, 2008

A sobering question

Can Obama make Democrats face up to economic reality?
With every passing week the nation’s already-screwed-up economy becomes even more distressed.
By EDITORIAL | July 30, 2008

Eyes on the (yawn) prize

The biggest story coming from the campaign trail lately seems to be: Which candidate is more lackluster?
A remarkable thing has happened: neither John McCain nor Barack Obama has done virtually anything to bolster his candidacy.
By STEVEN STARK | July 23, 2008

Where has all the Gonzo gone?

In the first presidential election since the death of Hunter S. Thompson, we finally realize what we've lost
On top of everything else they’ve blighted over their awful eight-year reign, the Bushies did this: they killed Hunter S. Thompson.
By MIKE MILIARD | July 28, 2008

Vote the rock

Prince bows to King Dylan
The Republican and Democratic conventions are still more than a month away, but that doesn’t mean the summer has been an electoral wasteland.
By LANCE GOULD | July 16, 2008

The ultimate balancing act

An extraordinary documentary opens the 2008 Maine International Film Festival
About 100 films deep, MIFF ’08 has intriguing offerings for cineastes of all stripes. Here’s a slice of what to look out for.
By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | July 09, 2008

Is this thing on?

Rather than get a bounce from his convention, Obama might actually be hurt by the Democratic nominating event
In the modern age, America’s major-party conventions are love fests, feting their preselected nominees. But that may not be the case this year for Barack Obama.
By STEVEN STARK | July 09, 2008

Radical tweak

Conservatives are missing the mark on Obama’s vulnerability
Every candidate has vulnerable blind spots, especially one new to the national scene, so there are ways to run against Obama. But the current approach has a particularly fatal flaw: it’s untrue.
By STEVEN STARK | July 02, 2008

Going Dutch

If Obama is to win the general election, he’ll have to crib from the playbook of . . . Ronald Reagan
One odd thing is already clear about the fall campaign: in it, one of the two major candidates, John McCain, is going to play only a minor role.
By STEVEN STARK | June 11, 2008

Samuel Adams American Homebrew Contest winners

Cheered beers
Ever since Jimmy Carter legalized homebrewing in 1978, Americans have been sterilizing bottles, boiling barley malt, and trying their hands at a galaxy of adventuresome beer styles.
By MIKE MILIARD | April 23, 2008

Beijing bounce

No matter how well American athletes do in the Olympics, John M c Cain should get a lift from the Games
All three candidates declared that if the Chinese don’t change their attitudes about Tibet in a hurry, President George W. Bush should boycott the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing.
By STEVEN STARK | April 16, 2008

Clinton fatigue

What is driving the widespread movement pressuring Hillary to drop out, even though she is very much still in the race?
This past week, Vermont senator Patrick Leahy urged Hillary Clinton to quit the Democratic race in the interests of party unity.
By STEVEN STARK | April 02, 2008

Precedent-breaking president

An Obama win in November would be historic for reasons beyond race
With the news that Florida and Michigan are unlikely to redo their primaries, it’s become even more probable that Barack Obama will be the Democratic presidential nominee.
By STEVEN STARK | March 26, 2008

Know your superdelegates

Democratic insiders in Maine and throughout the country will decide the party's nominee
If they choose wisely, they’ll follow the will of the people all the way into the Oval Office.
By BRIDGET HUBER | March 12, 2008

Big important nothing

Politics and other mistakes
“You owe everybody in Maine an apology,” said a political activist, a person who’d be fired from his or her job in about 10 seconds if her or his boss found out he or she was talking to me.
By AL DIAMON | February 20, 2008

The long view

Bob Blumenthal’s history of jazz
Bob Blumenthal’s first book is out, and the wonder is that we didn’t get it sooner.
By JON GARELICK | January 29, 2008

The Granite State’s last hurrah

This could be the last election in which the New Hampshire primary, and its quaintly irrelevant retail politics, really matters
In a few days, New Hampshire voters will take their quadrennial place at the center of American politics, and this time, the stakes will be even higher than usual.
By ADAM REILLY | January 02, 2008

McCain still able

If the Arizona Senator can rally to win the GOP nomination, he’ll likely be our next president
Until the past week or so, the press had pretty much written off John McCain’s chances of gaining the GOP nomination.
By STEVEN STARK | December 26, 2007

Country cousins

Mike Huckabee and GOP b ête noir Jimmy Carter share few political views, but Huckabee’s rise mirrors that of Carter’s 1976 campaign
The Republicans may want to keep their opinions of Carter to themselves.
By STEVEN STARK | December 12, 2007

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