SPOTLIGHT: U.S. Politics

Reuters/Darren Whiteside - A man walks past a display of televisions at a home electronics shop.
Darrell M. West, July 02, 2008
Few aspects of campaigns attract as much discussion as television advertisements. Yet many observers are not happy with the quality of information presented in ads or the tone of political discourse. In looking at campaign ads in this year’s presidential nominating election, Darrell West finds that ads were more negative than in previous races.
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U.S. Politics, Campaign Finance, Media & Journalism, Elections, Political Campaigns

Reuters/Jonathan Ernst - Tourists stand in the rain outside the Supreme Court in Washington
Benjamin Wittes, Stuart Taylor, Jr., Miguel A. Estrada and Randolph D. Moss, June 27, 2008
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the District of Columbia’s 32-year-old ban on handguns; ruled that it is unconstitutional to execute someone who rapes a child; and backed Guantánamo detainees' habeas corpus rights. At a Judicial Issues Forum briefing on these rulings and other developments of the 2007-08 term, Benjamin Wittes and Stuart Taylor, Jr. were among the analysts who discussed the ramifications of these landmark decisions. Miguel Estrada of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP; and Randolph Moss of WilmerHale also participated.
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Courts, Judges, Justice and Law, U.S. Judiciary

Justice Stephen Breyer delivers a keynote address at an event inaugurating the Ezra K. Zilkha Chair in Govenance Studies
Strobe Talbott and Justice Stephen G. Breyer, June 24, 2008
Brookings Senior Fellow William Galston has been named the Ezra K. Zilkha Chair in Governance Studies. With the support of this Chair, Galston--its first holder--will tackle some of the hardest questions in the area of political and institutional reform. The Chair was announced at a Brookings event, with a keynote address on international governance and American law from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
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Global Governance, Courts, Justice and Law, Judges, U.S. Judiciary
SPOTLIGHT: U.S. Politics

Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi
Pietro S. Nivola, June 10, 2008
Pietro Nivola examines whether American politics are at a dawn of a “post-partisan” age. Many speculate that the divide between Democrats and Republicans is narrowing, and a new era of bipartisan comity is just around the corner. Nivola argues otherwise.
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U.S. Politics, Demographics, Elections, Political Campaigns, Politics
SPOTLIGHT: U.S. Politics

Reuters/Kevin Lamarque - Women U.S. Senators pose with ABC anchor Sawyer for a television special in the Capitol in Washington
Richard L. Fox and Jennifer L. Lawless, May 2008
Women in the United States remain severely under-represented in our political institutions. Jennifer Lawless and Richard Fox argue that this is because women do not run for office at the same rate men do. They offer guidance to organizations and individuals seeking to increase the number of women in elected positions.
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U.S. Politics, Demographics, Civil Service, Governance, Elections