Roundup: Historians' Take

Juan Cole: Should Obama chase Osama?

In Sunday's interview with "60 Minutes," President-elect Barack Obama reaffirmed that "it is a top priority for us to stamp out al-Qaida once and for all," adding, "and I think capturing or killing bin Laden is a critical aspect of stamping out al-Qaida." Obama argued that the Saudi terrorist "is not just a symbol" but is rather "the operational leader" of the organization, which he said is still planning attacks against U.S. targets.

Juan Cole: Iraqis View Security Agreement as having a Flexible Timetable

Al-Zaman reports in Arabic that the Iraqi cabinet approved the security agreement between the Bush administration and the Iraqi government. It will now go to the Iraqi parliament, where it will be voted on on November 24. Out of 36 cabinet members, 28 were present for Sunday's vote (a lot of Iraqi politicians actually live in Amman or London because of the poor security situation). Of the 28, 27 voted in

Allan J. Lichtman: How Obama Can Be Another FDR (Follow 4 Simple Rules)

[Allan J. Lichtman is a professor of history at American University in Washington, D.C. His six books include Prejudice and the Old Politics: The Presidential Election of 1928 and The Keys to the White House.] In planning his transition to the presidency, Barack Obama could do no better than follow the precedents for governing set by

Julian Zelizer: Can McCain be Obama's friend in Congress?

[Julian E. Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School. He is the co-editor of "Rightward Bound: Making America Conservative in the 1970s" and is completing a book on the history of national-security politics since World War II, to be published by Basic Books.] ... With his reputation severely harmed as a result of the campaign -- some Republicans furious at [John McCain] for having lost the White House with a poor c

Luke A. Nichter: President Obama and Bretton Woods

[Dr. Luke A. Nichter is Assistant Professor of History, Tarleton State University-Central Texas.] On the occasion of this weekend's G-20 meeting in Washington, the global economic crisis seems more entrenched than ever. Calls for the return to a Bretton Woods-like system can be heard around the world. The Washington Post has said that a new Bretton Woods "could reform the IMF" (October 20). The Times of London has reported Prime Minister Brown's call for a new international f

Mark Naison: George Bush's Refusal to Rescue General Motors Cements His Legacy of Hardship and Pain

[Mark Naison is Professor of African American Studies and History, Fordham University.] The refusal to support an emergency loan to General Motors during the final days of his administration may go down in history as the most arrogant and ill informed decision George Bush has taken during his entire presidency- other than his decision to invade Iraq. The General Motors Corporation is the anchor of an entire region, with factories and parts plants employing lar

Allan Lichtman: The Keys to the White House ... Why McCain Lost

There is no end of after-the-fact explanations for John McCain’s defeat in this presidential election. As always, the Johnny-come-lately pundits can’t agree with one another. We’ve heard that McCain lost because he wasn’t conservative enough or because he was too conservative. We’ve heard that he lost because he picked the unqualified Sarah Palin as his running mate or because he didn’t let Palin be Palin in the campaign. We’ve heard that he lost because he futilely accused Barack Obama o

Norman Markowitz: Obama's Mandate for Change

[Norman Markowitz, Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1970. "My work is in twentieth century U.S. political history. I write and teach from a Marxist perspective." ] In the aftermath of a truly historic election, the right-wing and its long-time centrist political allies have been trying to regroup and get a handle on just exactly what happened. Right-wing radio talk show hosts, after calling Obama every conceivable name and claiming that his victory would mean an end to civil

Timothy Garton Ash: Obama must show the way to a goal set by Russell, Einstein - and Reagan

[Timothy Garton Ash is a historian, political writer and Guardian columnist.] As he embarks on the uphill struggle to translate dreams into realities, one strategic goal President-elect Barack Obama should embrace on his inauguration day is that of a world freed from the threat of nuclear weapons. In doing so, he can build on an impressive body of detailed, bipartisan, unofficial policy planning in the United States. He can expect an enthusiastic response from hundreds of millions o

Stanley Kutler: From LBJ to BHO

[Stanley Kutler is the author of “The Wars of Watergate” and other writings. ] Barack Obama’s victory on Nov. 4 may have rung down the curtain on the Civil War, a war that did not end at Appomattox as the history books have it, but instead has raged and festered within American political and cultural life ever since. Victory has many fathers and mothers. Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Fannie Lou Hamer, John Lewis, Viola Liuzzo, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman

Alonzo Hamby: Why liberals now call themselves progressives

The resurgence of "progressive" is an interesting semantic phenomenon. In the days of Robert La Follette, Sr., Theodore Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson, it meant a middle-class reformism that favored honest government, the employment of professionals and experts in administration and policy-making, and a more equitable society characterized by justice and opportunity for all classes and groups. In those days, more often than not, "liberal" still meant small govern

Victor Davis Hanson: Win One For the Messiah!

Just one punch of the ballot is all it took. Now suddenly almost every one, here and abroad, is supposed to appreciate the newfound morality of the American people, change their own prior wicked ways, and do what they must for newly elected Barack Obama. Some columnists are now putting Europe, Russia, China — and the whole world — on moral notice: we Americans did the right thing in electing the first African-American president and a charismatic, hip, commander-in-chief. They must n

Daniel Pipes: Obama Wins, Muslims Divided

[Mr. Pipes is the director of the Middle East Forum. His website address is http://www.danielpipes.org. Click here for his blog.] Ali ibn Abi-Talib, the seventh-century figure central to Shiite Islam, is said to have predicted when the world will end, columnist Amir Taheri points out. A"tall black man

Andrew Bacevich: On Killing the Right People

[Andrew J. Bacevich is professor of history and international relations at Boston University. He is the author of The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism.] Reports in The New York Times have revealed the existence of a hitherto secret counterterrorism campaign conducted by U. S. troops in Pakistan, Syria, and other countries. The campaign reputedly dates from 2004 and has included nearly a dozen raids conducted by special operations forces that swoop into a target ar

Niall Ferguson: 'A World War without War' (Spiegel interview)

[Niall Ferguson is Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University.] SPIEGEL: Mr. Ferguson, were you moved when you saw the future president, Barack Obama, in Chicago? Ferguson: Yes, it was a very moving moment. It was similar to the release of Nelson Mandela. When Obama was born, in 1961, mixed marriages between blacks and whites were still illegal in one-third of the American states. SPIEGEL: Historically speaking, that was yesterday,

Julian Zelizer: The Press Pack Turns on Obama

[Julian E. Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School. He is the co-editor of "Rightward Bound: Making America Conservative in the 1970s" and is completing a book on the history of national-security politics since World War II, to be published by Basic Books.] The presidential honeymoon is like the Tooth Fairy—it doesn’t exist, even though some people insist on clinging to the concept. There is no chance that Presid

David Beito: Paul Krugman's Prescription for Disaster (Response by Alonzo Hamby)

[HNN Editor: At the bottom of David Beito's post is a response by Alonzo Hamby.] Paul Krugman calls for Obama and his advisors to push an expanded version of the New Deal (see the link below by Mark R. Hatlie). According to Krugman, they should boldly throw caution to the winds and “figure out how muc

Abigail Thernstrom & Stephan Thernstrom: Racial Gerrymandering Is Unnecessary

[Ms. Thernstrom is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Mr. Thernstrom is professor of history at Harvard University. They are the co-authors of "America in Black and White: One Nation Indivisible" (Simon & Schuster, 1997).] The conventional wisdom among voting-rights advocates and political scientists has been that whites will not vote for black candidates in significant numbers. Hence the need for federal protection in the form of race-based districts that cre

Daniel Pipes: Foreword to Hamas vs. Fatah ... The Struggle for Palestine

Divisions among Palestinians generally do not receive their due attention, Jonathan Schanzer correctly points out, in the immense academic and journalistic coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Instead, an official, propagandistic, and inaccurate party line holds sway. To quote Rashid Khalidi, a former Palestine Liberation Organization employee now teaching at Columbia University,[i] a"uniform Palestinian identity" exists. The Palestinians are

Martin Gilbert: What might have happened if Haig had his way?

[Sir Martin Gilbert’s books include The Atlas of the First World War.] Imagine: in October 1918, Lloyd George’s Cabinet is planning for a prolonged struggle in 1919. Haig’s solution promises to avoid a confrontation even bloodier than the Somme or Passchendaele. The Government agrees. Germany’s main condition is to keep the vast swath of Russia that her troops have occupied since the Bolshevik revolution and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March. With peace made with Ge