Iraq Air Strikes, American Apathy
The U.S. public seems scarcely to have noticed our latest foreign policy emergency.
Echoes of Watergate Summer in America’s Current Discontent
A familiar bleakness has settled on Washington.
Yes, Kerry Can Help End the Gaza War
Netanyahu has fumbled the situation and needs the U.S. help to make a deal.
Could Hobby Lobby Reverse Progress on Gay Civil Rights?
The “religious freedom” argument of those who want to restrict access to contraception is a fig leaf.
Why Eric Cantor's Defeat Wasn't So Shocking
Of course he lost! It's not his party anymore.
Bowe Bergdahl and the Messy End of America's Longest War
A freed POW has become a pawn in the fallout over a failed military adventure.
The GOP–Tea Party Merger Is Complete
The Republican civil war is over. The tea partiers won.
Why the GOP Still Denies Climate Change
The exhaustive and ominous new White House report won't break the political gridlock.
How the New Gay-Marriage History Book Forgets the History of Gay Marriage
Jo Becker's chronicle of the marriage-equality movement overlooks many of its real giants.
Colbert Can Bring Life to Dying Late-Night
Big-time talent still matters, even as the the desk-and-guest show loses its cultural weight.
Obama Won the Obamacare War, But the GOP Won’t Concede
It's the only issue Republicans have in the midterms.
Putin Has Not Restarted the Cold War — Yet
A swaggering, nationalistic Russia is not the Soviet Union.
Why Democrats Face a Rout in November
It's a matter of voter demographics.
NBC Fiddles As Kiev Burns
There are some uncomfortable parallels between Sochi 2014 and Berlin 1936.
Boehner Surrenders, But the Party of No Will Rise Again
Yesterday's truce was a temporary victory for what remains of the Republican establishment—and that's about it.
What Philip Seymour Hoffman Left Behind
How can we make sense of his legacy and his death?
McDonnell and Christie Rise and Fall Together
The great Republican Establishment's hopes are dead on arrival.
Good Riddance to Liz Cheney, Our Tracy Flick
Her doomed Senate bid was on the wrong side of history—and the GOP.
Obamacare's Failures Are Obama's Fault
How could such an accomplished president screw up so badly?
CBS's Benghazi Report Was a Hoax, Not a Mistake
It's reminiscent of the faux "Hitler diaries."
Cuccinelli's Near-Win Says More Than Christie's Landslide
The New Jersey governor as president? Fuggedaboutit.
The Obamacare Debacle Could Kneecap Liberalism
Reaganism would make a comeback.
The Shutdown Won't Kill the Radical Right
This anti-government insurgency is 200 years old.
GOP Can't Impeach Obama, Closes Government Instead
The Obamacare fight isn't about reforming health care in the slightest.
America Is Soft on Domestic Terrorism
Mass shooters are the equivalent of homegrown suicide bombers.
Obama Strikes Out on Syria
The president couldn't rouse Congress after a massacre in Newtown, so how could he for one abroad?
Even Neocons Disagree on Mideast Intervention
The Iraq consensus of yore is long gone.
Bezos Didn't Buy the Post for Vanity
Hard to believe?
The Chilling Manning Trial
It's frightening that the government would charge a leaker with "aiding the enemy."
National Conversations Can't Fix What Killed Trayvon
Talk is cheap.
Obama Looks Lost in Egypt for a Reason
Iraq.
Gay Marriage Triumphs, Roberts Be Damned
The chief justice is no match for history.
Immigration Reform Enters Its Death Spiral
If Senate Republicans don't kill it, the crazies in the House will.
Edward Snowden Won’t Undo the Patriot Act
America yawns while he hides.
Why Obama Might Just End the ‘Perpetual War’
The country is not panicked about terrorism, and that gives the president an opportunity.
The IRS, Benghazi, and the Republicans Who Cried Wolf
The GOP finds a new Watergate.
Benghazi Isn't Watergate
It's Whitewater.
Obama Needs to Make Up for His Gitmo Failure
The president could do more despite Congress tying his hands.
The GOP Goes Benghazi on Boston
Politicizing tragedy before the manhunt was even over.
The GOP Gets Shamed Out of Its Guns Filibuster
Even if background checks pass, it will be a small step forward for gun control.
Mark Sanford Defeats the Bible Thumpers
Look who doesn't support traditional marriage.
How Iraq Wounded America
Cynicism, tax cuts, and economic collapse.
Surprise! 47 Percent Mitt Is As Robotic As Thought
Note to GOP: Bartender photo-ops win elections.
Even Rand Paul Can Get It Right Once a Term
The senator's performance art was admirable.
Republicans Avoid Getting Flattened by History
Look who's getting behind gay marriage and Obamacare.
Rubio's Bad Infomercial Act Proves He’s No Savior
At least he wasn't the totally ignored Rand Paul.
America Yawns at Obama’s Assassination Policy
For most people, Zero Dark Thirty is just a movie.
Hagel Was Bad; His Inquisitors Were Worse
McCain has some chutzpah to criticize the nominee over Iraq.
Obama Elevates Stonewall, Boxes In Roberts
The chief justice doesn't want to be on the wrong side of history.
Gun Control Needs More Than Obama
This will take decades.
The Fiscal Cliff Was a Molehill
The standoff is over but the ideological war will get much bloodier.
America’s Other Original Sin
The struggle to make America safer will take decades. Is Newtown the start?
America's Real Fiscal Crisis
Who's really hurting workers? The Koch brothers, for starters.
The Fiscal Cliff Is the Y2K of 2012
Obama can wait out the GOP.
Lessons for Obama's New Cabinet
Treasury is a big concern.
Petraeus Affair Just Gets Stranger
Adultery isn't a crime.
Why Sandy Didn't Change the Race
Do you think Christie would've cozied up to Obama if Romney was already winning?
Romney Fails the Commander-in-Chief Test
The Beltway morning-after boilerplate on Mitt is wrong.
Obama the Alpha Dog
The president left the Ambien at home and kept going at Romney.
Obama's Ambien-esque Performance
How he can recover and what Romney should do to keep his momentum going.
Romney Neutralizes His Own Super-PACs
Maybe old, rich white men won't buy this election after all.
Romney's Bubble Bursts
Mitt reveals himself to be a callous man who doesn't know how Americans live.
Romney's Reckless Rebuke
Mitt gets ahead of the facts to attack Obama.
Michelle Obama Has Come a Long Way
Remember when she was considered a liability to Barack?
Chris Christie, New Jersey Sun King
Mitt is a passing fad for the governor.
Banishing Akin Won't Cure the Stag Party
After a short ceasefire, the Republican war on women starts again.
Ryan's Bungled Rollout
This guy is no game-changer.
Harry Reid Is No Joe McCarthy
Not paying taxes for ten years isn't quite the same as being a communist.
Mitt Can't Wait Out His Tax Storm
Even his own party wants to see what Romney made and paid.
Romney Has a Tax and Koch Problem
The truth about Mitt's wealth is finally trickling out.
Roberts Gives Obama a Second Chance
Robertscare?
The Un-Unvetting of Marco Rubio
Romney had to bend to conservative donors with a serious crush on Rubio.
Democrats' Premature Panic
Yes, Obama had a rough month, but his team hasn't even begun to attack brittle Romney yet.
Sugar Daddies Win Wisconsin
A big defeat for organized labor, a symbolic defeat for Democrats, and a victory for vulture capitalism.
Mitt’s Bleach-Bottle Bimbo
Donald Trump isn't a politician: He's a pure self-promotion machine that's sucked up Mitt Romney.
Booker, Bain, and Bipartisan Narcissism
I hope no one is nauseated if I suggest that this was idle self-promotion on Booker’s part.
Bully Romney and the Gay Vote
Mitt is the the Demon Barber of Wall Street.
He’s Evolved!
We have now seen an American president take a historic stand on gay civil rights.
A Noun, a Verb, and Osama bin Laden
Let’s talk about what is truly despicable here.
Why Ann Romney Beats George Clooney
Are conservatives rallying around Mitt?
Hookers, Guns, and Stay-at-Home Moms
The general election begins with one crazy week.
Romney Is the Only One Playing ‘Hide-and-Seek’
One-Mississippi, Two-Mississippi ...
Why the Supreme Court Can Only Help Obama
How the president can survive—and thrive—if health-care reform goes down.
Why Romney Is So Ripe for Parody
Will the real Mitt please stand up?
Overestimating Mitt
Pollsters keep giving Romney the edge — but voters keep giving Santorum the wins.
Romney Reclaims ‘Inevitable’ Mantle
Hatred of Obama may be the only thing Republicans can agree on.
The GOP's Season Finale Bombs
What was going on with that Ron Paul–Mitt Romney team-up against Santorum?
Why Santorum Is Stronger Against Obama Than Romney
Why the races in Colorado, Missouri, and Minnesota were so devastating for Romney.
Mr. 'Inevitable' Pummeled Again
The election will be decided in blue-collar swing states after all.
Was Everyone Quite So Nuts? Discussing 1963 vs. 2011
“There was a functioning Washington then; we have a non-functioning Washington now. It's hard to imagine such a ‘supercommittee’ even existing in those days.”
Sustainable Rage? How Occupy Wall Street Will End
“What we do know is that, for the foreseeable future, class anger is not going away on the left or right.”
Discussing the Short, Hot Political Career of Sarah Palin
“A hundred years from now, is anybody going to be teaching Sarah Palin in high school?”
The Chris Christie X Factor: Our Game-Show Electoral Process
“A Christie-Cain ticket would be endlessly entertaining and just possibly the biggest boon to pizza since the founding of the republic.”
Obama's Economic Quagmire: What's Really in Ron Suskind’s New Book About the White House
“Bankers win, America loses. Did I get that right?”
Line in the Sand: Obama's Feisty Rhetoric
“I have no expectation that anything like this bill will get through this Congress, let alone in a timely fashion.”
Empire Falls: Riots in London, Meryl Streep’s Iron Lady, and the Downfall of Andrew Lloyd Webber
“The riots raised questions about everything from immigration, race, and class to the state of the criminal justice system, education, and cultural values. ”
Campaign Drama: The Kickoff of the GOP Soap Opera
“The Perry-Bachmann battle will be a blast, so let's hope it doesn't end too soon. I really think almost anything can happen in the GOP race and in the election. ”
Wall Street Crashes, London Burns: Discussing Downgrades, Riots, and the Portents of McQueen
“Everyone knows that S&P; has gotten everything wrong in the recent past, but the kindling for panic was there, waiting for just the right spark to ignite it.”
The Doomsday Clock: Reliving the Debt-Ceiling Countdown
“I woke up Saturday morning with two thoughts — that McConnell is now the most important man in Washington, and that the next U.S. president will be someone who was not in Washington while this nightmare unfolded. ”
Company Town: A Native and a Frequent Visitor on Dysfunctional D.C.
“Until Washington gets full congressional representation, this unreconstructed plantation-era injustice will blight D.C.'s status as a city, and no White House occupant can dispel it, Obama included.”
Where’s the Alpha? Frank Rich and Adam Moss Discuss a GOP Field Full of Beta Candidates
“I’d still give the odds to Romney for the nomination (though Perry, too, has great hair), but the fact remains that many Republicans across the party’s ideological spectrum really do not like him and/or trust him (not without reason!)”
Blood in the Water: Just What Is Rupert Murdoch Guilty Of?
“Murdoch has always seemed to me more like a James Bond villain — with their placid exteriors and raging interiors — than any other corporate executive I know. He revels in it.”
Frank Rich and Adam Moss Talk About Obama, Wall Street, and Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s Reversal of Fortune
“When this administration’s pragmatism risks losing the election anyway, some real course correction would seem essential.”
Marriage, New York Style: Frank Rich and Adam Moss Talk About Andrew Cuomo, Larry Kramer ... and Alice Playten
A civil rights landmark, plus the latest production of 'The Normal Heart' and a tribute to the actress Alice Playten.
Iraq Everlasting
We are still stuck in 2003, and it isn’t (only) George W. Bush’s fault.
Can Conservatives Be Funny?
As the late-night comedy landscape reshuffles, are right-wing comics being unfairly ignored? An investigation.
Scandal Loves a Clinton
Again? But the harder their enemies hit, the stronger the couple becomes.
The Greatest Showbiz Book Ever Written
Act One is an infectious evocation of a vibrant world written, it turns out, by a chronic depressive who also found the business “pure hell.”.
Stop Beating a Dead Fox
The conservative news channel’s only real power is in riling up liberals, who by this point should know better.
The Sondheim Puzzle
A lifetime making sense of the extraordinary songwriter—as young fan; critic and “enemy”; and, by now, old friend.
Liberal Echo Chamber
If only 12 Years a Slave (or Roots, or any other wrenching American slave narrative) could move audiences beyond those already eager for a dose of feel-good shame.
The Furies Never End
The shutdown crisis is nothing we haven’t seen before.A good portion of America has been trying to sabotage the government for almost our entire history.
It's Hard to Hate Rand Paul
The junior senator from Kentucky would be an appalling right-wing president, and yet he is a valuable politician: a man of conviction, and a visitation from a post-Obama political future.
The Stench of the Potomac
Washington may be a dysfunctional place to govern, but it’s working better than ever as a marketplace for cashing in. And that’s thanks, more than anything, to the Democratic Establishment.
When Privacy Jumped The Shark
Note to Edward Snowden and his worrywarts in the press: Spying is only spying when the subject doesn’t want to be watched.
Ancient Gay History
… is really just yesterday. My surrogate parent Clayton Coots was one of countless closeted men who didn’t live long enough to see this moment.
Whitewash
The party on the brink of destroying the Voting Rights Act reminds us that Republicans were really the great civil-rights leaders all along.
Inky Tears
Time is on the block. The New York Times is teetering. It can get an alumnus down, but the last thing the news business needs is a case of nostalgia.
Lipstick on an Elephant
Deep behind a tangle of denial and rebranding initiatives, a GOP resuscitation plan emerges.
Torture, Compromise, Revenge
Oscars for the Obama age: Me, I'd vote Django.
Suckers for Superheroes
We should have known all along that David Petraeus was cheesy. And Lance Armstrong mendacious. And Joe Paterno a coward. And yet.
Fantasyland
Denial has poisoned the GOP and threatens the rest of the country too.
The Tea Party Will Win in the End
This is a nation that loathes government and always has. Liberals should not be deluded: The Goldwater revolution will ultimately triumph, regardless of what happens in November.
My Embed in Red
A week steeped in right-wing media reveals a Republican Party far more despairing than the lamestream knows.
Nora's Secret
"Everything is copy," Nora Ephron learned from her mother. She kept one thing to herself, though—and left many of us wondering why.
Mayberry R.I.P.
Declinist panic. Hysterical nostalgia. America may not be over, but it is certainly in thrall to the idea.
Nuke 'Em
Why negative advertisements are powerful, essential, and sometimes (see "Daisy") even artistic.
Post-Racial Farce
Since America elected its first black president, the conversation on race has turned just as loopy as the hilarious and audacious Clybourne Park.
Sugar Daddies
The old, white, rich men who are buying this election.
Stag Party
The GOP's woman problem is that it has a serious problem with women.
Whitewashing Gay History
Liberals applaud themselves for championing gay marriage. But there are ghosts at the weddings.
Who in God’s Name Is Mitt Romney?
His greatest passion is something he’s determined to keep secret.
The Molotov Party
For the new GOP, conservative isn’t nearly radical enough.
What Killed JFK
The hate that ended his presidency is eerily familiar.
The Class War Has Begun
And the very classlessness of our society makes the conflict more volatile, not less.
In Praise of Extremism
What good did bipartisanship ever do anybody?
Day's End
The 9/11 decade is now over. The terrorists lost. But who won?
Murdoch Hacked Us Too
The News Corp. scandal already exposed just how thoroughly the company had corrupted Britain. Now it’s time to look on this side of the pond.
Obama's Original Sin
The President's failure to demand a reckoning from the moneyed interests who brought the economy down has cursed his first term, and could prevent a second.
Author's Bio
Frank Rich joined New York magazine in June 2011 as Writer-at-Large, writing monthly on politics and culture, and editing a special monthly section anchored by his essay. He is also a commentator on nymag.com, engaging in regular dialogues on the news of the week.
Rich joined the magazine following a distinguished career at the New York Times, where he had been an op-ed columnist since 1994. He was previously the paper's chief drama critic, from 1980 to 1993. His weekly 1,500-word essay helped inaugurate the expanded opinion pages that the Times introduced in the Sunday "Week in Review" section in 2005. From 2003 to 2005, Rich had been the front-page columnist for the Sunday "Arts & Leisure" section as part of that section's redesign and expansion. He also served as senior adviser to the Times' culture editor on the paper's overall cultural-news report. From 1999 to 2003, he was also senior writer for The New York Times Magazine. The dual title was a first for the Times.
He has written about culture and politics for many national publications. His books include Ghost Light: A Memoir and, most recently, The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth From 9/11 to Katrina. Rich is also a creative consultant to HBO, where he is an executive producer of two projects, Veep, a comedy series written and directed by Armando Iannucci and starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and a documentary on Stephen Sondheim.
A native of Washington, D.C., and graduate of Harvard, he lives in New York City with his wife, the novelist and journalist Alex Witchel.