US Opinion and Commentary

“VOA will present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively, and will also present responsible discussion and opinion on these policies.” — VOA Charter

Showing Archived Posts

Presidential Candidates Try to Prove How ‘New York’ They Are

Posted April 11th, 2016 at 8:27 am (UTC-4)
Comments are closed

It’s nice that New York has such a prominent place in the election, for once…. It would be nicer still if our people went out into the world and made us proud. Barring that, at least they’re entertaining.

To the Future President of the United States

Posted April 8th, 2016 at 4:24 pm (UTC-4)
Comments are closed

We understand that perspective is hard to come by at this stage of the race, and you are obsessively watching the polls and attempting to shape your image to a media ready to pounce on every slip. But the world is watching at a time of great uncertainty

New York, New York!

Posted April 8th, 2016 at 1:16 pm (UTC-4)
Comments are closed

After the Wisconsin primary upset of both Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, there is a feeling that real race has finally begun. And what better place to hold the next nominating contest than in New York, where the delegate count is high, the voters diverse and the political landscape notoriously tough? Trump, a New York native, and his Republican rival Texas Sen. Ted Cruz are vying for 95 delegates. 291 Democratic delegates are up for grabs for Brooklyn native Bernie Sanders and Clinton (who made the state her home and became its senator after serving two-terms as First Lady). For both parties, winning or losing the April 19 primary could make or break a candidacy, either mathematically or invincibility. And political experts agree: New York is not a slam-dunk for any of them.

Cruz Views as Bad as Trumps

Posted April 7th, 2016 at 9:27 am (UTC-4)
Comments are closed

Consider the prospect of a deeply religious Christian evangelical who believes in holy war and surrounds himself with like-minded advisers. That prospect is almost enough to make Trump sound like a reasonable man.

No, Donald Trump, NATO Is Not “Obsolete”

Posted April 5th, 2016 at 5:10 pm (UTC-4)
Comments are closed

By James Kirchick Listening to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump declare the North Atlantic Treaty Organization “obsolete” and that he would be indifferent to its dissolution, I am reminded of an exchange from director Whit Stillman’s classic 1994 film Barcelona. Set during “the last decade of the Cold War,” it follows the travails of Fred, […]

Trump Chalkings Cause Some Students to Lose Sight of Free Expression

Posted April 5th, 2016 at 1:54 pm (UTC-4)
Comments are closed

How, in America, can a simple message like “Trump 2016” chalked onto a sidewalk cause some of our supposedly best and brightest to demand limits to someone else’s free speech? This actually happened last month at Emory University in Atlanta.

Will Trump Stop Trump?

Posted April 5th, 2016 at 12:03 pm (UTC-4)
Comments are closed

Trump will under-perform in Wisconsin….Thus, the shake-up in Trump’s campaign on Wednesday is preordained, for several reasons. First, the Wisconsin defeat will provide the alibi, for something already in motion, not considered earlier by Trump, because disgruntled staff was reluctant to petition him.

The NATO Alliance Trump Doesn’t See

Posted April 4th, 2016 at 2:47 pm (UTC-4)
Comments are closed

Under the alliance’s tutelage, countries that might have lapsed into dictatorships or chaos instead became functioning democracies. To earn NATO security guarantees, or even a looser association as “partners for peace,” they granted rights to ethnic minorities, tolerated opposition media and cracked down on corruption.    

What Trump and Cruz’s Clueless Muslim Rhetoric Will Cost America

Posted April 4th, 2016 at 12:43 pm (UTC-4)
Comments are closed

By refusing to call them radical Islamic terrorists, (President Obama) is unwilling to make the distinction between the few Muslims who have wrapped their terror in the cloak of the second largest faith in the world from peaceful, law-abiding Muslims. And two men who hope to succeed him are incapable of making a similar distinction.

Donald Trump Takes Illogical Anti-abortion Rhetoric to Its Logical Conclusion

Posted April 1st, 2016 at 8:38 am (UTC-4)
Comments are closed

What Mr. Trump identified was the shocking intellectual dishonesty of the anti-abortion argument: If abortion represents murder (as opponents claim over and over again) and a fetus is equivalent to a baby lying in the crib, then how could they not punish the women who seek to “kill” that “unborn child?”

We’re Not a Poor Country, Mr. Trump

Posted March 28th, 2016 at 10:06 am (UTC-4)
Comments are closed

We are a very wealthy society, and we shouldn’t forget it. Donald Trump — along with many other people — apparently has….The larger point is that the United States is wealthy enough to pay for essential government, including a robust presence abroad. Contrary to Trump’s view, the United States doesn’t protect other countries merely out […]

Brussels: Our New Normal?

Posted March 23rd, 2016 at 3:15 pm (UTC-4)
Comments are closed

“We have been through this two times last year,” a diplomatic official told a VOA reporter. “We have to get used to this.” The heinous attacks on two soft targets in the heart of the European Union shattered any delusion that acts of terrorism are one-offs. Amid the horror, came a torrent of criticism, targeting the Belgian government, the effectiveness of EU security apparatus and the Obama administration’s ISIS strategy.Perhaps the most pressing question right now is what can be done to stop the massacre of innocent people? In Europe, the French prime minister urged the EU to “invest massively” in security systems. In the United States, Obama called for unity and resolve. Trump once again called for a crackdown on Muslims. And Clinton called for reinforcing America’s alliances and doing away with what she termed “bluster.”

Trump’s Volatile Crowds Are No Accident

Posted March 22nd, 2016 at 11:22 am (UTC-4)
Comments are closed

The evidence for this comes from an area of psychology known as “terror management theory,” which asserts that when we are made to feel aware of our mortality, we identify even more strongly with those who share our cultural worldview. This not only reduces anxiety but also makes us more hostile towards members of other groups.

What Mexico Thinks about Trump

Posted March 21st, 2016 at 12:51 pm (UTC-4)
Comments are closed

Mexican politicians and pundits are now debating how best to deal with Mr. Trump. For Mexico, it is not only about pride or political correctness. It is about maintaining a decent working relationship between two countries that share one of the world’s longest borders, highest amounts of trade and largest migration flows…

The End of GOP Optimism

Posted March 18th, 2016 at 1:31 pm (UTC-4)
Comments are closed

Trump’s iteration of the Republican party won’t have a bleeding heart; it will be out for blood. Far from eschewing negative campaigning, personal abuse will be its calling card. It will care less about policy than attitude and shibboleths. Electorally, it will repel minorities and hope to run up the score with whites.