When will the first presidential debate be

PRINCETON, N.J. — By the time he was a senior at Princeton University in 1992, Ted Cruz had developed an arsenal of rhetorical skills and theatrical gestures that made him one of the most polished performers on the college debate circuit. So when he reached the quarterfinals of the national championships at M.I.T., with the title that had eluded him so far now in sight, he decided to try to knock his Harvard opponents off balance with one of his favorite tricks. Instead of the regular practice of defending his proposed topic — the merits of mind-reading — Mr. Cruz let his adversaries choose which side to argue. But the tactic, intended to highlight his confidence, backfired. As he waited for them to decide, the two Harvard students conspicuously dithered, eating up Mr. Cruz’s allotted speaking time as they whispered and searched their pockets for a coin to flip. The audience, now on to the stalling tactic, chuckled as Mr. Cruz snapped: “Gentlemen! You must have decided by now.” … [Read more...] about Ted Cruz Showed Eloquence, and Limits, as Debater at Princeton

PARIS (AP) — France’s parliament on Monday started debating a fiercely contested pension bill that’s triggered recent strikes and large street demonstrations, with more protests set to come this week. The lower house, the National Assembly, began debating the plans that would raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64. The parliamentary session comes one day before Tuesday’s third round of protests called by eight main workers’ unions, with more demonstrations planned Saturday. French President Emmanuel Macron’s government is now facing a harsh political battle at parliament that could span weeks or months. Macron vowed to go ahead with the changes – his second presidential term’s flagship legislation — which he described last week as “indispensable when you compare to (other countries) in Europe.” Faced with opinion polls repeatedly showing that a growing majority of people are against the reform, and his own popularity shrinking, Macron argues that it was a key electoral … [Read more...] about French parliament debates Macron’s divisive pension bill

The memos of Supreme Court clerks evaluating death row petitions usually consist of a brief review of the facts and then a dispassionate legal analysis as to whether the court should hear the case. Not so for Ted Cruz . Mr. Cruz, the most ardent death penalty advocate of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist’s clerks in the 1996 term, became known at the court for his signature writing style. Nearly two decades later, his colleagues recall how Mr. Cruz, who frequently spoke of how his mentor’s father had been killed by a carjacker, often dwelled on the lurid details of murders that other clerks tended to summarize before quickly moving to the legal merits of the case. “That, I think, was a special interest of his,” said Renée Lerner, then a clerk for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who said she was impressed with how deeply Mr. Cruz delved into the facts and history of a murder case. “It was unusual for a Supreme Court clerk to do that.” Other clerks, however, had a less admiring … [Read more...] about As Supreme Court Clerk, Ted Cruz Made Death Penalty His Cause

On Abe’s 200th birthday, it seems everyone wants a piece of the Great Emancipator. Except the Republicans, that is, who have wiled away the legacy of their one-time standard-bearer. Avlon is the author of Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe Is Hijacking America . Today is the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln and rarely has Honest Abe been in such demand. Our nation's first African-American president—also a self-made lawyer from Illinois—rarely loses an opportunity to compare himself to the Great Emancipator. There are new documentaries like Looking for Lincoln on PBS and best-selling biographies like Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals that inform our political debates. Lincoln looms large because his wisdom, integrity, and humility are always in short supply among politicians. But for the Republican Party this anniversary is at best bittersweet. Lincoln was, of course, the first Republican president—and the GOP has called itself with justifiable pride "the Party of … [Read more...] about How the Party of Lincoln Forgot About Lincoln

William H. Rehnquist, who died Saturday at the age of 80 almost a year after learning he had thyroid cancer, helped lead a conservative revolution on the Supreme Court during 19 notably successful years as chief justice of the United States. Including 14 years as an associate justice, Chief Justice Rehnquist's tenure on the court was not only one of the longest in the institution's history but also one of the most consequential. With a steady hand, a focus and commitment that never wavered, and the muscular use of the power of judicial review, he managed to translate many of his long-held views into binding national precedent. Chief among those was an enhanced role for the states within the federal system, which the court accomplished under his leadership by overturning dozens of federal laws that sought to project federal authority into what the Supreme Court majority viewed as the domain of the states. In the zero-sum game of the tri-partite separation of powers, the Supreme … [Read more...] about William H. Rehnquist, Chief Justice of Supreme Court, Is Dead at 80

See the article in its original context from November 12, 1972 Section Page Buy Reprints View on timesmachine TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. About the Archive This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. “The Best and the Brightest;” Pulitzer Prize winner David Halberstam's latest, most important and impressive book, sets out to discover why America got involved in the worst and messiest war in our history. “What was it about the men, their attitudes, the country, its institutions and above all the era which had allowed this tragedy to take place?” They were, after all, “the best and … [Read more...] about How we got into the messiest war in our history

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is claiming to be the latest “target” of former President Trump after stating during an appearance on ABC’s This Week that Trump was so “toxic” that “boring” Joe Biden won in 2020. “Joe Biden’s president because Donald Trump lost. Joe Biden didn’t win, and Joe Biden’s never taken possession of that fact. So he continues to do what he did when he was running which he thinks was great, because ‘I won,'” Christie told ABC’s Jon Karl over the weekend. “No, you didn’t win, Trump lost, and you can’t change who somebody is, Jon,” Christie continued, admitting that Biden is “old” and “boring.” However, Christie said Biden was successful in the last election because he was “running against someone … who was so toxic that he won anyway.” Trump took to TruthSocial, hitting back against Christie, pointing to the former governor’s abysmal approval ratings as well as the failure of the 60-year-old’s presidential campaign and his recommendation of … [Read more...] about Chris Christie Claims to Be ‘Target’ of Trump After Bashing Him