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<title><![CDATA[Les Francis - Articles - RealClearPolitics]]></title><link>http://www.RealClearPolicy.com/authors/rss/archive/28805.xml</link><description><![CDATA[Les Francis]]></description><category domain="28805">Author</category><item>
							<title><![CDATA[Democrats: Let's Play Hardball!]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/12/16/democrats_lets_play_hardball_144855.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/12/16/democrats_lets_play_hardball_144855.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Wed, 16 Dec 2020 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
							<author>Les Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[As I sat down to write this, members of the Electoral College were meeting in the 50 states and the District of Columbia and casting what should be the final and deciding votes in the 2020 presidential election. Should be, but may not be.]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[The Cost of Failed Presidential Leadership]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/09/21/the_cost_of_failed_presidential_leadership_144256.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/09/21/the_cost_of_failed_presidential_leadership_144256.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Mon, 21 Sep 2020 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Les Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA['&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('œ').';'Trump lied. People died.'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('�').';' That was Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'s succinct verdict on what we now know from Bob Woodward'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'s detailed account -- including recordings of his interviews with the president -- of Donald Trump'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'s response to the coronavirus...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Happy 40th Birthday, Department of Education]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/05/04/happy_40th_birthday_department_of_education_143108.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/05/04/happy_40th_birthday_department_of_education_143108.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Mon, 04 May 2020 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Les Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[The poster on the office wall is faded, but not so our memories of the day it commemorated or the struggle to make it happen. Monday, May 4, 2020, marks the 40th anniversary of the official opening of the Cabinet-level U.S. Department of Education. It was a historic day in the history of...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[The Perilous State of Our Union, and How We Got Here]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/04/28/the_perilous_state_of_our_union_and_how_we_got_here_143048.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/04/28/the_perilous_state_of_our_union_and_how_we_got_here_143048.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2020 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Les Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[The coronavirus epidemic has shed a glaring light on weaknesses in the American public health care system, as well as structural fault lines in our economy. The crisis is particularly lethal where those weaknesses and fault lines intersect -- among racial/ethnic minorities and the poor....]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[How to Overcome Fear, Bias and Modern Media]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/07/17/democracy_at_risk_how_to_overcome_fear_bias_and_modern_media_140793.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/07/17/democracy_at_risk_how_to_overcome_fear_bias_and_modern_media_140793.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Wed, 17 Jul 2019 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Les Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[How can otherwise intelligent, decent people -- neighbors, friends and business acquaintances -- see the same news events, hear the same facts, and yet come to entirely different conclusions?'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('‚').';']]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[House Investigations Will Help Dems Remove Trump in 2020]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/06/11/an_alternative_to_impeachment_140541.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/06/11/an_alternative_to_impeachment_140541.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Tue, 11 Jun 2019 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Les Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Each day, it seems, yet another Democratic member of Congress or one of the two dozen or so Democratic presidential hopefuls joins the ranks of those calling for the impeachment of President Trump. They, and a sizable portion of the activist element of the party'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'s base, are...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Norm Mineta and the Art of Representation]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/05/11/norm_mineta_and_the_art_of_representation__140292.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/05/11/norm_mineta_and_the_art_of_representation__140292.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Sat, 11 May 2019 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Les Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Nearly a quarter-century has elapsed since Norman Y. Mineta retired from Congress after two decades representing his hometown of San Jose, Calif. Yet he remains one of the area'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'s most well-known and highly respected public figures -- ever. Of course, having an airport and major...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Pelosi's 'Reputation of Power' Is Needed as Speaker]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/11/27/pelosis_reputation_of_power_is_needed_as_speaker_138761.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/11/27/pelosis_reputation_of_power_is_needed_as_speaker_138761.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Tue, 27 Nov 2018 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
							<author>Les Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Writing about the impeachment of Richard Nixon in '&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('œ').';'How the Good Guys Finally Won,'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('�').';' the late, great Jimmy Breslin observed, '&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('œ').';'Tip O'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'Neill'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('¦').';'understands so well that all political power is primarily an illusion. If people think you have power, then you have power. If...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[The Iran Deal and the Cost of Political Polarization]]></title>
							<link>http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/09/02/the_iran_deal_and_the_cost_of_political_polarization.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/09/02/the_iran_deal_and_the_cost_of_political_polarization.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Wed, 02 Sep 2015 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Les Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[In just a week or two, Congress will consider (actually, '&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('œ').';'consider'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('�').';' may be too generous a term in this instance), the negotiated agreement between Iran and the '&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('œ').';'P5+1'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('�').';' (the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('”').';'the United States, Great Britain,...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[To Fellow Dems: Better Want What You Wish For]]></title>
							<link>http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/08/11/to_fellow_dems_better_want_what_you_wish_for.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/08/11/to_fellow_dems_better_want_what_you_wish_for.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Tue, 11 Aug 2015 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Les Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[I grew up in San Jose, Calif. Politically, our neighbors were a mix of Republicans and Democrats, and included a rising local Democratic activist named Al Alquist.
My parents were staunch Republicans, but they and the Alquists became good friends, well before Al was elected to the state...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Civic Ignorance Begets Civil Unrest]]></title>
							<link>http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/05/07/civic_ignorance_begets_civil_unrest_126509.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/05/07/civic_ignorance_begets_civil_unrest_126509.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Thu, 07 May 2015 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Les Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Every now and then those of us who follow the news closely will read, view or hear stories that seem separate and unconnected. But, as we think more about them, we make connections and establish a larger context. So it was for me last week.
First came the alarming civil unrest in...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Mourning Curtis Gans, a Force of Nature in Politics]]></title>
							<link>http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/04/25/mourning_curtis_gans_a_force_of_nature_in_politics_126373.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/04/25/mourning_curtis_gans_a_force_of_nature_in_politics_126373.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Sat, 25 Apr 2015 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Les Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[The first set of 2015'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'s major thunderstorms roared through the Washington, D.C., area earlier this week, leaving in their wake a number of fallen limbs, scattered patio furniture, and mangled umbrellas. Going outside the morning after the storms, I was relieved to see that, with the...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Loss of a Public Citizen: Bill Hauck]]></title>
							<link>http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/03/11/loss_of_a_public_citizen_bill_hauck_121882.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/03/11/loss_of_a_public_citizen_bill_hauck_121882.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Tue, 11 Mar 2014 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Les Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[I doubt that anyone has ever mentioned Ralph Nader and Bill Hauck in the same conversation, let alone the same paragraph. But I will.
Ralph Nader is quoted as having once said, '&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('œ').';'There can be no daily democracy without daily citizenship.'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('�').';' I can say, without question or...]]></description>
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