Ari Melber

Historically, the most favorably viewed figure in any administration is the first lady, regardless of her husband's popularity. That is largely because first ladies avoid the political fray and are ritualistically presented as a warm, human presence in the White House. ”

Washington is deeply frustrating because so many of the positions that politicians hold are a product of ephemeral self-interest. They reverse themselves, for themselves, all the time. ”

Politics has certainly changed a lot in an era of micro-targeting, Super PACs, and Twitter. ”

Barack Obama was first elected after a period of profound failure by elite and government institutions, from finance to foreign policy to Hurricane Katrina, and his first term immediately and unapologetically enacted a flurry of government solutions. ”

When a government forcibly holds enough people indefinitely without trial, it evokes the kinds of raids, detention, and abuses of power associated with authoritarian states - or darker periods in American history. ”

Obstruction takes time. ”

Here is one iron law of the Internet: a social network's emphasis on monetizing its product is directly proportional to its users' loss of privacy. ”

Iowa is especially critical for underdog and cash-strapped campaigns, because the caucus system relies on grassroots organizing, enabling candidates with time for retail politicking to beat better-funded rivals. So underdogs usually seize on the state. ”

House of Cards' is full of hypocrites, some ashamed, many proud. There is no silver lining here, no appeal to a just system that is temporarily thwarted by corrupting forces. ”

Obama won the presidency by running the first integrated three-screen campaign - reaching people directly via Internet, cell phones, and TV - with an authentic, complex style that resonated for voters sick of dark, deceitful, and divisive politics. ”