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Change We Really Believe In?
An essay by Paul Stekler, co-producer and co-writer of The Choice 2008.
John McCain
Below are some of the key stories about McCain and his political career. Read more from The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Arizona Republic, McCain's hometown paper.
Prisoner of Conscience
"John McCain has spent this whole day, this whole year, these whole last six years, trying to 'fix it,' trying to square the circle: that is, trying to make the maverick, freethinking impulses that first made him into a political star somehow compatible with the suck-it-up adherence to the orthodoxies required of a Republican presidential front-runner." (February 2007)
"John McCain has spent this whole day, this whole year, these whole last six years, trying to 'fix it,' trying to square the circle: that is, trying to make the maverick, freethinking impulses that first made him into a political star somehow compatible with the suck-it-up adherence to the orthodoxies required of a Republican presidential front-runner." (February 2007)
The Curious Mind of John McCain
According to The Washington Post, "Ambition and emotion color the complex intellect of the candidate." (Aug. 1, 2008)
According to The Washington Post, "Ambition and emotion color the complex intellect of the candidate." (Aug. 1, 2008)
John McCain, Prisoner of War: A First-Person Account
U.S. News and World Report first published this account by McCain of his POW experience. "I had a lot of time to think over there, and came to the conclusion that one of the most important things in life -- along with a man's family -- is to make some contribution to his country." (May 14, 1973)
U.S. News and World Report first published this account by McCain of his POW experience. "I had a lot of time to think over there, and came to the conclusion that one of the most important things in life -- along with a man's family -- is to make some contribution to his country." (May 14, 1973)
In Ordeal as Captive, Character Was Shaped
The Washington Post reviewed "tens of thousands of documents" and interviewed "several dozen Vietnamese and former POWs" for this report on John McCain's time in captivity and its effect on him. (Oct. 5, 2008)
The Washington Post reviewed "tens of thousands of documents" and interviewed "several dozen Vietnamese and former POWs" for this report on John McCain's time in captivity and its effect on him. (Oct. 5, 2008)
The Unmaking of a President
GQ correspondent Robert Draper offers an inside account of the McCain campaign's 2007 collapse. (December 2006)
GQ correspondent Robert Draper offers an inside account of the McCain campaign's 2007 collapse. (December 2006)
On the Bus
"There is the principled McCain, who, more than any other candidate running for president this year, has a record of sticking to a position even when it puts his political future at risk. ... But there is also the political McCain, who knows that a reputation for standing on principle is a valuable commodity, though only if it's well advertised." (The New Yorker, Feb. 25, 2008)
"There is the principled McCain, who, more than any other candidate running for president this year, has a record of sticking to a position even when it puts his political future at risk. ... But there is also the political McCain, who knows that a reputation for standing on principle is a valuable commodity, though only if it's well advertised." (The New Yorker, Feb. 25, 2008)
After 2000 Run, McCain Learned to Work Levers of Power
"Previously a marginal player better known for heckling the Senate than for influencing it, Mr. McCain returned from the 2000 campaign with a new national reputation and a new political sophistication." (July 21, 2008)
"Previously a marginal player better known for heckling the Senate than for influencing it, Mr. McCain returned from the 2000 campaign with a new national reputation and a new political sophistication." (July 21, 2008)
The Weasel, Twelve Monkeys and The Shrub
Rolling Stone sent the late novelist David Foster Wallace to profile Sen. McCain during the contentious 2000 South Carolina primary. The resulting piece dissects life on the campaign trail -- and the feud between McCain and Bush -- in meticulous detail. (April 13, 2000)
Rolling Stone sent the late novelist David Foster Wallace to profile Sen. McCain during the contentious 2000 South Carolina primary. The resulting piece dissects life on the campaign trail -- and the feud between McCain and Bush -- in meticulous detail. (April 13, 2000)
The Final Days
Peter Baker looks at the relationship between Bush and McCain as the former's time in the White House draws to an end. "Eight years after their epic Republican primary battle of 2000, the first-place finisher desperately needs the second-place finisher to win in order to validate his own legacy. And the runner-up now finds himself saddled with the baggage of a man he never much liked to begin with." (Aug. 29, 2008)
Peter Baker looks at the relationship between Bush and McCain as the former's time in the White House draws to an end. "Eight years after their epic Republican primary battle of 2000, the first-place finisher desperately needs the second-place finisher to win in order to validate his own legacy. And the runner-up now finds himself saddled with the baggage of a man he never much liked to begin with." (Aug. 29, 2008)
An Enduring Peace Built on Freedom
McCain outlines his views in Foreign Affairs. (November/December 2007)
McCain outlines his views in Foreign Affairs. (November/December 2007)
The McCain Doctrines
"One way or the other, Iraq will determine this last phase of McCain's political life, as surely as the war in Vietnam defined its beginning." (May 18, 2008)
"One way or the other, Iraq will determine this last phase of McCain's political life, as surely as the war in Vietnam defined its beginning." (May 18, 2008)
Mr. Conservative
"John McCain hasn't betrayed conservatism; his party has," argues The Atlantic's Jonathan Rauch. (May 2008)
"John McCain hasn't betrayed conservatism; his party has," argues The Atlantic's Jonathan Rauch. (May 2008)
The Wars of John McCain
The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg asks, "Is McCain's quest for victory [in Iraq] a reflection of an antiquated pre-Vietnam mind-set? Or of a commitment to principles we abandon at our peril? Is there any war McCain thinks can't be won?" (October 2008)
The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg asks, "Is McCain's quest for victory [in Iraq] a reflection of an antiquated pre-Vietnam mind-set? Or of a commitment to principles we abandon at our peril? Is there any war McCain thinks can't be won?" (October 2008)
Barack Obama
Below are some of the key stories about Obama and his political career. Read more from The New York Times, The Washington Post and the Chicago Tribune, Obama's hometown paper.
A Series of Fortunate Events
"Barack Obama needed more than talent and ambition to rocket from obscure state senator to presidential contender in three years. He needed serious luck." (The Washington Post, Aug. 12, 2007)
"Barack Obama needed more than talent and ambition to rocket from obscure state senator to presidential contender in three years. He needed serious luck." (The Washington Post, Aug. 12, 2007)
The Conciliator
"Where is Barack Obama coming from?" (The New Yorker, May 7, 2007)
"Where is Barack Obama coming from?" (The New Yorker, May 7, 2007)
Though Obama Had to Leave to Find Himself, it is Hawaii That Made His Rise Possible
"Those who come from islands are inevitably shaped by the experience. For Obama, the experience was all contradiction and contrast." (The Washington Post, Aug. 22, 2008)
"Those who come from islands are inevitably shaped by the experience. For Obama, the experience was all contradiction and contrast." (The Washington Post, Aug. 22, 2008)
A Free-Spirited Wanderer Who Set Obama's Path
"Though it is impossible to pinpoint the imprint of a parent on the life of a grown child, people who knew Ms. Soetoro well say they see her influence unmistakably in Mr. Obama." (The New York Times, March 14, 2008)
"Though it is impossible to pinpoint the imprint of a parent on the life of a grown child, people who knew Ms. Soetoro well say they see her influence unmistakably in Mr. Obama." (The New York Times, March 14, 2008)
Making It
"His life in Chicago from 1991 until his victorious Senate campaign is a lacuna in his autobiography. It is also the period that formed him as a politician." (The New Yorker, July 21, 2008)
"His life in Chicago from 1991 until his victorious Senate campaign is a lacuna in his autobiography. It is also the period that formed him as a politician." (The New Yorker, July 21, 2008)
Obama in Senate: Star Power, Minor Role
"They were the two competing elements in Mr. Obama's time in the Senate: his megawatt celebrity and the realities of the job he was elected to do." (The New York Times, March 9, 2008)
"They were the two competing elements in Mr. Obama's time in the Senate: his megawatt celebrity and the realities of the job he was elected to do." (The New York Times, March 9, 2008)
In 2000, a Streetwise Veteran Schooled a Bold Young Obama
"The rise of Barack Obama includes one glaring episode of political miscalculation. Even friends told Mr. Obama it was a bad idea when he decided in 1999 to challenge an incumbent congressman and former Black Panther, Bobby L. Rush." (The New York Times, Sept. 9, 2007)
"The rise of Barack Obama includes one glaring episode of political miscalculation. Even friends told Mr. Obama it was a bad idea when he decided in 1999 to challenge an incumbent congressman and former Black Panther, Bobby L. Rush." (The New York Times, Sept. 9, 2007)
Pragmatic Politics, Forged on the South Side
"The secret of his transformation ... can be described as the politics of maximum unity." (The New York Times, May 11, 2008)
"The secret of his transformation ... can be described as the politics of maximum unity." (The New York Times, May 11, 2008)
Obama's Organizing Years, Guiding Others and Finding Himself
"Obama's three-year stretch as a grass-roots organizer has figured prominently, if not profoundly, in his own narrative of his life." (The New Yorker, July 7, 2008)
"Obama's three-year stretch as a grass-roots organizer has figured prominently, if not profoundly, in his own narrative of his life." (The New Yorker, July 7, 2008)
Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.
Bio and collected articles from The New York Times.
Bio and collected articles from The New York Times.
Obamanomics
"Obama does have an economic ideology. It's just not a completely familiar one. Depending on how you look at it, he is both more left-wing and more right-wing than many people realize." (The New York Times, Aug. 20, 2008)
"Obama does have an economic ideology. It's just not a completely familiar one. Depending on how you look at it, he is both more left-wing and more right-wing than many people realize." (The New York Times, Aug. 20, 2008)
Is (His) Biography (Our) Destiny?
"The deep sense of hopefulness that Obama inspires in his supporters has much to do with a life trajectory unique in the history of major presidential candidates." (The New York Times, Nov. 4, 2007)
"The deep sense of hopefulness that Obama inspires in his supporters has much to do with a life trajectory unique in the history of major presidential candidates." (The New York Times, Nov. 4, 2007)
Renewing American Destiny
Obama outlines his views in Foreign Affairs. (July/August 2007)
Obama outlines his views in Foreign Affairs. (July/August 2007)
Working for the Working-Class Vote
New York Times Magazine writer Matt Bai travels with Obama as he attempts to win over white working-class voters in Virginia. (Oct. 19, 2008)
New York Times Magazine writer Matt Bai travels with Obama as he attempts to win over white working-class voters in Virginia. (Oct. 19, 2008)
The Warning
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