Editor, National Review Online
Editor of the National Review Online
PROFILE
Kathryn Jean Lopez
Guest
FROM Kathryn Jean Lopez
To the Point
The Biden-Palin Debate Last night's vice-presidential debate will be old news by Tuesday, when John McCain and Barack Obama face off again . In the meantime, both national campaigns are breathing sighs of relief after neither Sarah Palin nor Joe Biden made a major mistake. For both sides that's good news of a kind. We hear excerpts and compare performances with expectations.
To the Point
Palin Dazzles the Party with Her Speech, Values and Experience Last night's speeches by Mitt Romney , Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani were full of the kind of sarcasm Republicans are famous for. But it was the speech by vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin that had delegates on their feet again and again at the Xcel Energy Center. She described her family as typically American and boasted of challenging her own party, while delivering lines dripping of partisanship. Again and again she compared herself to John McCain as a maverick willing to challenge his own party and the ruling establishment in Washington. After a slow start, the convention is energized. But will Palin's message touch Independents and uncertain Democrats? How well did she set the stage for tonight's address by McCain?
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To the Point
California Gets Back into Presidential Politics In 1972, California clinched the presidential nomination for Democrat George McGovern. Since then, the biggest state has become an ATM for candidates of both parties. But starting in 2020 all eyes will be on California as it moves its primary up to a month after the Iowa caucuses.
To the Point
Remembering George H.W. Bush A balanced look at George H.W. Bush includes: the smear campaign that won him the White House, his successes in war and diplomacy, and his almost forgotten role as an environmental president. Also what lies ahead for the UK, if there’s no agreement on Brexit?
KCRW Features
One Year Later: Rebuilding from the Thomas Fire This week marks one year since the Thomas Fire descended on the city of Ventura. It burned more than 500 homes within city limits. Since then, roughly half of those properties have received the green-light to start construction, but only a handful have actually broken ground. We visit one neighborhood where some of the first homes are getting rebuilt.
The 805
A call to prepare for the next natural disaster A local environmentalist says we should spend more time and money preparing for natural disasters than responding to them. A Ventura resident who lost his home in the Thomas Fire says rebuilding is taking longer than he’d hoped. Local animal shelters are becoming critical evacuation centers. And California counties must now hold public meetings on their relationship with federal immigration agents.