Gosh, a debating Palin exceeded our low expectations

October 5, 2008

Ah, the gift of low expectations!

Recent columns

• Learning few things from the presidential debate

  September 28, 2008

  This will sound like faint praise.

• Fasten your seatbelt, Dow's wild ride not over yet

  September 21, 2008

  When the bell finally sounded, the Dow was down just 34 points for the week.

• Qualified is in the eye of the beholder

  September 14, 2008

  What does it mean to be qualified?

• Palin family saga all too familiar American narrative

  September 7, 2008

  You can't blame the parents for every reckless decision a 17-year-old might make.

• You're history! But we all are

  August 31, 2008

  Are you feeling historic yet?

• Putting Delaware on the map

  August 24, 2008

  Until yesterday, most Americans knew exactly two things about Delaware.

• Hillary needs to act the part

  August 17, 2008

  Friend or foe? Hillary Rodham Clinton keeps 'em guessing right to the convention floor.

• John Edwards is not alone in following his libido

  August 10, 2008

  From "The Scarlet Letter" to the women who risk stoning in Iran.

• Hillary had ambition, but no spot on Obama's ticket

  August 3, 2008

  On second thought, maybe a subtle campaign would have made more sense.

• A trip that's image of success

  July 27, 2008

  So here's the strange part.

• Andrew Giuliani files lawsuit against Duke

  July 24, 2008

  Andrew Giuliani has hit a rough patch in his drive to become a pro golfer - being tossed off the Duke University golf team, his lawyers say, over "unfounded accusations" and a coach's "bizarre Lord of the Flies scheme."

• Obama travels this weekend to show world he's ready

  July 20, 2008

  Travel, they say, is broadening, and Barack Obama is on an exciting trip.

• Obama and Jackson's generation gap transcends race

  July 13, 2008

  It was the whisper heard round the world. And even now, no one seems quite certain what that whisper means.

• "Ball Four" author Bouton saw steroid mess coming

  December 14, 2007

  There's a scene in "Ball Four," Jim Bouton's unvarnished diary of the 1969 baseball season.

• Preppy killer's girlfriend: 'He's the love of my life'

  November 20, 2007

  Shawn loves Robert. She loves the guy.

• Love thy neighbor's noise, too?

  June 24, 2007

  We had Mr. Reams, the meanest neighbor in the history of childhood. To this very day, I am still frightened of Mr. Reams.

• Gun woes call for more guns?

  April 18, 2007

  The debate was raging before the sun came up.

• Death feels hollow

  December 31, 2006

  They danced over the body.

• Win was just a bit too easy

  November 8, 2006

  Well, that part was easy.

• Hillary has eyes on White House

  November 7, 2006

  Well, that part was easy.

• THE SUNDAY COLUMN

  September 3, 2006

  Does the camera lie? Sure, sometimes the camera lies. But not nearly as often or as boldly as the computer does.

• Stripping away any sense of security

  August 11, 2006

  They threaten, we think. They threaten again, we think harder. Always, our thinking chases their threats, then must elbow ahead of them.

• Some telling facts but no real rationale

  May 31, 2006

  Tell me again why we're there.

• Listen up! Uncle Sam has your number

  May 12, 2006

  As usual, Earl Long got it right, a good 50 years ahead of his time.

• As players on both sides wait it out, Clinton is quiet about '08

  May 5, 2006

  Hillary is still being coy.

• Big men on campus, cut to size

  April 19, 2006

  Ah, college life!

• Their sacrifice to find the truth

  March 19, 2006

  Reporters got killed in World War II. Reporters were killed in Vietnam.

• A Big Easy family's comeback story

  March 15, 2006

  Mardi Gras must have made a difference. Or else people just got tired of replacing Sheetrock and scrubbing mold.

• He's not a guy to scoot easily to any prison

  October 30, 2005

  The new man on a cellblock should never have to introduce himself like this:

• Two thousand dead - and for what?

  October 26, 2005

  Two thousand is too many names already. Elaine Brower is certain about that.

• The Bloomberg factor

  September 14, 2005

  His name was nowhere on Tuesday's ballot. He isn't even officially a Democrat.

• Don't get too excited over Downing Street memos

  June 19, 2005

  Is the Downing Street memo an interesting historical document? You bet it is.

• Dance to freedom in fame's shoes

  June 14, 2005

  Alert to parents everywhere: Michael Jackson is free to baby-sit again.

• No more gentility at The Plaza

  April 6, 2005

  Yitzhak Tshuva isn't actually threatening to use a wrecking ball on one of the city's grandest landmarks. But he might as well be.

• A well-heeled icon of fashion

  September 10, 2004

  I was over at the Gap yesterday where, of course, I ran into Sarah Jessica Parker.

• From the middle, we can't see the right

  August 30, 2004

  It was a long city block and about a million miles from center stage at Madison Square Garden.

• Star power dim at the Garden

  August 29, 2004

  It's not the trade deficit that ought to be worrying Republicans.

• Sex Assault Case More than Hijinks

  September 14, 2003

  They are known as the Pirates, the high-spirited football players at Mepham High School on Long Island's South Shore.

• Simply Delaying the Inevitable

  January 12, 2003

  The U.S. is still likely to go to war against Iraq, although a little less likely than we were a week ago.

• Love Among The Ruins

  September 10, 2002

  “It’ll be an outdoor wedding,” Ellen Leichert said. “Upstate.”

• Transition Is Tough

  June 14, 2002

  His brother's wake was still two hours off.

• The Fragile State of Priesthood

  June 11, 2002

  When I got the call Monday about Jim McCarthy, I have to say my first reaction was relief.

• Prisoner of His Own Lie

  June 2, 2002

  It's easy to blame the hotel security guard.

• Still in Step With Holiday

  October 9, 2001

  Lockdown?

• Lost Jobs Are Echo of Tragedy

  October 5, 2001

  "You want to see my resume?" William Pierson was asking yesterday.

• Beauty Gives Way to the Beast

  September 30, 2001

  Like all great human struggles, this one pits good against bad. Only this time, good and bad both reside in a single man.

• Thoughts of Kin, Talk of War

  September 23, 2001

  The terrorists have struck. The president has spoken. America is rushing toward war. And all Kevin Farrell can think about is his brother and his son.

• 'I Don't Know the Man'

  September 20, 2001

  The evidence is said to be growing. The case seems to be tightening. Federal authorities have pretty much decided: Osama bin Laden's bloody fingerprints are all over last week's terror attacks.

• The Tragedy Is Hitting Us in Waves

  September 19, 2001

  We're coming back to life around here, or so we keep telling ourselves. That's what the mayor has been asking us to do, isn't it? And the governor. And just about everyone else straight up to the president. God knows the restaurants, the theaters and the airlines are desperately praying we come back to life and quick - before their businesses all go broke.

• One Miracle Short on Wall Street

  September 18, 2001

  It was going to be a "patriot's rally."

• The Little Things Count, Too

  September 17, 2001

  When the big guys on Wall Street decide to do something - well, they do have the wherewithal to bring a proper grandeur to the job.

• Gone Missing In America

  September 15, 2001

  "My little brother is Robert Chin," Suk Tan Chin was saying as she stood in the drizzle on East 26th Street, clutching a single, moist piece of paper. "We are desperately looking for him. He is missing."

• Showing Up Is the First Step

  September 14, 2001

  Now that's more like it.

• Our President Shows That He's No Giuliani

  September 13, 2001

  Where's Bush?

• Worst Brings Out NY's Best

  September 12, 2001

  "A man ran up to us," Stephen Craver said. "His whole face was peeling off. That's how badly burned he was."