Cited by the Columbia Journalism Review as one of the nation's top political reporters, and lauded by the ABC News political website as "one of the finest political journalists of his generation," Dick Polman is a national political columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is on the full-time faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, as "writer in residence." Dick has been a frequent guest on C-Span, MSNBC, CNN, NPR and the BBC. He covered the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 presidential campaigns.
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All commentaries posted before April 18, 2008, can be accessed at www.dickpolman.blogspot.com.
- Chat with Dick Polman on 2012 campaign
Eight years is an aeon in politics. Witness the waning potency of the gay-marriage issue.
During the 2004 campaign, Republican strategists put gay marriage on referendum ballots in key swing states, as a "wedge" issue to unnerve Democrats and gin up the conservative base for President George W. Bush. The Massachusetts high court had just ruled for legalization, and hostility toward the concept was the centrist position in America.
- Chat with Dick Polman on 2012 campaign
PAC WAR
Pop quiz! Identify these political heavy hitters:
Edward Conrad, Robert Mercer, John Paulson, Bob Perry, Julian Robertson, Paul Singer, Sheldon Adelson.
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Leaders, not Colbert, made the mockery
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Dick Polman: It's our leaders, not the satirist, who made a joke of campaign law.
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Romney's political misfortune
- As the public increasingly focuses on the income gap, his message is out of tune for many.Dick Polman: Mitt Romney casually remarked, "I get speakers' fees from time to time, but not very much." Care to learn how Romney defines "not very much"?
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The American Debate:
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Dick Polman: GOP Bain-bashing. A3. Focus shifts to South Carolina. A8. At philly.com/politics, keep up with the latest campaign news.
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Romney rivals are aiding Obama
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The American Debate: Gingrich and Perry are painting the GOP frontrunner as a rich "vulture."
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In the long run, it's still Romney
- Santorum and Gingrich take aim, but Romney has money, electability mantle.Dick Polman: Santorum and Gingrich take aim, but Romney has money, electability mantle.
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Iowa caucuses could lose influence
- The Iowa caucuses could lose their influence with a move like this.Dick Polman: Every four years, Americans who don't live in Iowa ask, "Why on earth does the presidential primary calendar begin in Iowa?"
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A quiz on 2011's politics of the absurd
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Dick Polman: By their quotes shall you know them. A quick quiz on some of the year’s most interesting political statements.
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The American Debate: A case for TV in top court
- Public should see the powerful justices match wits with lawyers.After much digging, I have unearthed an issue that draws bipartisan support and landslide public approval. It even puts me on the same side as conservative legal eagle Kenneth Starr.
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We've heard these election tunes before
- A ticket shake-up? A third-party run? Brokered convention? No. No. And no.One pitfall of political writing is that you eventually feel a bit like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, waking over and over to the same morning and same old song.
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The American Debate: Even politics is not utterly thankless
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As we ingest and imbibe this Thanksgiving Day, let's remember all that we have to be thankful for. Even in the realm of politics:
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