Is Newt inoculated against past deeds and late breaking flip flop?
Not that I had time for it today, but I couldn’t resist answering this one. What’s your take? Why isn’t Newt getting the criticism he deserves for his past deeds? Will they eventually come back to haunt him? Or will he on his own make so many missteps that he destroys his own candidacy?
Arena Asks: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is threatening to discuss what she learned about Newt Gingrich from a 1990s ethics investigation. Pelosi, like Gingrich a former House speaker, hinted that she would one day discuss the “thousand pages of his stuff” that she rifled through in the late 1990s while serving on a panel that was investigating him for tax and ethics violations.
But would that really hurt presidential candidate Gingrich, considering the information has largely been aired publicly before? Is Gingrich politically inoculated on these and other old controversies, including the circumstances of his first divorce?
My Answer: Newt may be on the road to discrediting himself without needing Pelosi’s help…
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Sex Scandals Sink Cain: Is That Just?
Shoot, I lost my bet. I thought Herman Cain would stay in the race no matter what came down. But there could be no noble outcome in this story, whichever way it went. Anybody want to bet on when the divorce papers are served?
Arena Asks: Herman Cain will suspend his presidential campaign, the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO announced Saturday.
Does Cain’ characterization of himself as a victim of unfair media coverage ring true? Will he be influential as the Republican presidential races unfolds?
My Answer: There isn’t much justice here.
Cain had no business running for president in the first place. The level of attention and support he received was never justified by his qualifications for the role…
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They're Doing It: Jaclyn Friedman Knows What You Really Really Want (Jenn Pozner Interview and Excerpts)
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I am thrilled to share with 9 Ways readers this post generously contributed by Jenn Pozner and posted originally on her WIMN Blog. In it, she interviews Jaclyn Friedman, author of an important new book, What You Really Really Want: The Smart Girl’s Shame-Free Guide to Sex and Safety. The title gives you a great intro, so I won’t embellish except to say that Jenn did a great interview, embellished with her own media critique expertise, and you should read her book Reality Bites Back too!
What power tool is being used here? Oh so many–Define your own terms (about sex) for one and Create a Movement (these two are a powerhouse media justice movement), for sure. See what you think–and read all the way to the latter half of the post for an excerpt from Jaclyn’s book that will make you want to buy it right away.
Is It Fair That Cain’s Campaign Is Sinking While Newt’s Is Rising?
Will new allegations that Herman Cain had a 13-year affair be the end of his campaign? Should this come up as an issue at all? Why is no one talking about Newt’s affairs any more?
Arena Asks: An Atlanta businesswoman says she had a 13-year extramarital affair with Herman Cain, prompting a preemptive denial from the Republican presidential candidate. Asked earlier in November about sexual harassment allegations if he would leave the race, Cain responded, “Ain’t gonna happen.” Can Cain stick to that now, and still win the GOP nomination?
My Answer: Exhaustion from these continuing allegations of Cain’s sexual misconduct has overtaken what was left of his flash-in-the-pan campaign…
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What Leadership Lesson Are You Most Thankful For?
This is an advice column where I’m supposed to answer your questions. But this Thanksgiving, I’m shaking things up in my life, so I turned the tables and asked some fabulous women leaders this question:
What leadership lesson are you most thankful for?
The outpouring of responses made me exceedingly grateful. Not a turkey among them.
Here with a Thanksgiving feast of delicious wisdom you can savor calorie-free—and use all year.
Saying grace (and listening to it)
Anita Sands last year at age 34 became COO of UBS Wealth Management Americas, and is one of the smartest and best grounded leaders I know. She credits her father with her most important leadership lesson: “common sense is not the common.” Not surprisingly, she then resonated with this advice:
My first boss when I was a young academic really trained me in how to “think”. The first thing he told me was that people who can find the answers are a dime a dozen but people who know what are the right questions to ask are really valuable. So I’ve always tried to employ that skill as a leader – am I asking the right questions, what question is not being asked in the room.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=372kTyy3ELs&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Read MoreThanksgiving Shake Up?
For the first year in over a decade, my husband Alex and I won’t be with our large blended and extended family in Arizona. We’ll miss them, sure. And we’ll miss family traditions, like debating whether Alex’s white bread stuffing or my cornbread dressing is better. Then there’s my daughter’s insistence that we serve the green jello mold my mother used to make, the one that packs more calories and cholesterol into anything else you’ve ever called “salad.”
This just seemed like a good year to shake things up. Perhaps it’s the influence of unpredicted social changes like Tahrir Square and Occupy Wall Street that are shaking up the political world. (Read my recent post on what OWS has accomplished.) Or maybe it’s simply that we felt we were getting into a rut…
Read MoreWhy did the supercommittee fail? (Duh!)
Silly question today but I decided to answer it anyway. More to the point, what in your opinion should be the next steps? Who should take leadership?
Arena Asks: Congress is bracing today for the failure of the supercommittee, which will most likely fail to submit paperwork to the Congressional Budget Office by its Monday deadline.
Is this a big hit for Congress, which had a nine percent approval rating in a recent poll? And why was the supercommittee unable to make ends meet?
My Answer: The supercommittee was doomed from the start because the Republicans have less to lose politically by being intractable on revenue. The supercommittee process played right into their hands and the Democrats took the bait…
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What Has Occupy Wall Street Accomplished? What Now?
You know how first they laugh at you, then they try to kill you, then you win? Occupy Wall Street has moved past getting laughed at and is now under attack. Today’s Politico Arena question asked whether OWS has accomplished anything, taking off from a slam by Rep. Peter King (R of course-NY) who charged the movement is “disorganized.” Below is my response to Arena. Enjoy it while playing this video performance art, and do let me know your thoughts:
Read MoreARENA ASKS: In a recent interview with Bloomberg Television, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King (R-N.Y.) had tough criticism for the Occupy Wall Street movement. “I mean, what is their position?” King asked. “They’re mad that other people are making money?
Friday Round Up: On 40th Anniversary of Women’s Rights Decision, Reed v Reed, Justice Ginsburg Defines Her Legacy
Forty years ago, for the first time in the Fourteenth Amendment’s 103-year history, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that its Equal Protection Clause protected women’s rights in the case of Reed v. Reed.
In honor of this anniversary and to assess where constitutional protections for women stand today, the National Women’s Law Center co-hosted a panel, entitled “Reed v. Reed at 40: Equal Protection and Women’s Rights.”
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was the principal author of the brief (while working for the ACLU) on behalf of the plaintiff in Reed v. Reed led off, followed by this panel moderated by NPR’s legal affairs correspondent, Nina Totenberg…
Read MoreShe’s Doing It: Ellen Snortland – Renaissance Woman Writes, Performs, Bakes, Growls
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxaLyMV8Vko[/youtube]
At eight years old, Ellen Snortland heard her father describe Winston Churchill as a “Renaissance man” and decided then and there that she would become a “Renaissance woman.”
Ellen more than fulfilled her vision for herself- she’s an author, journalist, women’s safety and human rights activist, actor, producer, and writing/media coach, and (full disclosure) an all round generous and wonderful friend. Oh, and she’s also an accomplished Norwegian Kransekake baker !
Ellen personifies many of the No Excuses Power Tools, but her voluminous talents all seem to emanate from her extraordinary ability to use Power Tool #9: Tell Your story. And telling the world her story has been a focus for Ellen in recent years…
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