Politics

When Havi Scheindlin signed on as the local Jewish community liaison for Michael Dukakis, she knew the hours would be long and the stress level high. But even Scheindlin, a Jewish activist and a veteran Democratic campaign coordinator, was not fully prepared for what followed. For the record: 12:00 a.m. Oct. 30, 1988 For the … Read more

Then-Vice President Joe Biden meets with China’s Xi Jinping in 2012. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press) President Biden spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday night for the first time since taking office, beginning the process of reshaping the United States’ approach in dealing with its most intense economic competitor and strategic rival on … Read more

A Senate Republican leadership aide in Washington and a conservative political group are circulating a harsh “open letter” that says Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis is not really a Christian, calling him an “apostate” and a “pagan” who uses his membership in the Greek Orthodox Church “as just a convenient (political) prop.” The letter, distributed … Read more

Jesse Jackson, perpetually late, is once again behind schedule. His black limousine has already pulled away from the curb outside Jim Hill High School here when a passenger points out the schoolgirl. She is inconsolable, sobbing loudly over her missed opportunity to meet the erstwhile Democratic presidential candidate. “Stop,” Jackson commands the driver. “Where is … Read more

With Karl Rove a no-show and one of his top foot soldiers refusing to answer questions, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee made little progress Thursday in their effort to learn more about the role of the White House in the firing of U.S. attorneys last year. Rove had sent advance word through the White … Read more

Supreme Court (Jon Elswick / AP) The Supreme Court said Monday it has turned down a property rights case from West Hollywood that challenged a California requirement that developers subsidize the creation of affordable housing. The justices said Monday they will not hear an appeal from the builders of an 11-unit condo who said the … Read more

The past president of Pepperdine University likes to take note of two campus landmarks: the place where U.S. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist played tennis and the evergreen planted by President Reagan. The first, he says, is known as the Supreme Court. The second is the Reagan Bush. Those designations are made in jest, but … Read more

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger left Sacramento last week to take his economic proposals directly to “the people,” he sought out the common man not in a church or a park, not in a stadium crowd, a union hall, or even a small town square. FDR had the fireside. Truman had the back of the train. … Read more

Bernard Shaw has a reputation for bluntness. He lived up to it last fall in the second presidential campaign debate when he popped “the Kitty question.” It was his opening question to Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis: Would the Massachusetts governor, who opposes the death penalty, change his mind if his wife, Kitty, had been raped … Read more

Before the tempest erupted over Ervin Lent and his two-decade-old family secret, elections were pretty staid affairs for voters in the eastern Sierra’s Inyo County. Political excitement? Sure, there was the incumbent sheriff who was upset by an underling a couple of years back. And a few League of Women Voters’ debates have gotten a … Read more