Leslie Savan

Leslie Savan, author of Slam Dunks and No-Brainers and The Sponsored Life, writes for The Nation about media and politics.

George Will-ful Blushes George Will-ful Blushes

Ever since Barack Obama's inauguration, progressives have been able to point to one segment of the traditional media that consistently bears witness to the depth of change implied ...

Dec 2, 2009 / Leslie Savan

Palin as the Church Lady Palin as the Church Lady

You gotta give Sarah Palin's book tour credit for one thing: It's really putting the passive-aggressive instincts of the religious right on public display. And not just because sh...

Nov 20, 2009 / Leslie Savan

Hannity and Bachmann Almost Apologize Hannity and Bachmann Almost Apologize

A fundamental tenet for both rightwing politicians and their media pilot fish is: Never, ever, apologize for the crazy. If you get caught exaggerating or even lying outright, simpl...

Nov 13, 2009 / Leslie Savan

Ft. Hood Drowns Out the Tea Party Ft. Hood Drowns Out the Tea Party

Don't bring your pitchforks. This is to be our "last stand" to stop health care reform, it's Alamo time. Don't let your congressmen call it a "rally" or "p...

Nov 6, 2009 / Leslie Savan

Reparations? Reparations?

Even without George W. Bush's debut in Fort Worth as a motivational speaker (see Stephen Colbert swoon over the speech here), this past week has been full of reminders of 43. On We...

Oct 30, 2009 / Leslie Savan

Hoaxville USA Hoaxville USA

Ah, the dog days of autumn, when the media are full of hoaxes because nothing much else is going on. Last Thursday, the Heene family of Colorado gave us a homemade version of the ...

Oct 21, 2009 / Leslie Savan

Limbaugh’s Many Hats and Excuses Limbaugh’s Many Hats and Excuses

If there's one thing the last two weeks have proved it's that it doesn't matter whether you're a politician, journalist, or a media pundit, when it comes to personal indiscretions ...

Oct 14, 2009 / Leslie Savan

Joe Tells Rush Who Wears the Rants in This Party Joe Tells Rush Who Wears the Rants in This Party

The good folks on the set of Morning Joe spent Friday morning dodging prairie oysters flung by the host at rival Rush Limbaugh, who had called Joe Scarborough a "neutered, chi...

Oct 9, 2009 / Leslie Savan

Media Push False Equivalency Between Left and Right Rage Media Push False Equivalency Between Left and Right Rage

Nearly every morning for eight years, my husband would go into the shower with the news blaring on the radio, and I could hear him over the rush of water grumbling, "I hate Ge...

Oct 2, 2009 / Leslie Savan

Chris Wallace Goes Beck to the Future Chris Wallace Goes Beck to the Future

The headline out of Chris Wallace's tirade at President Obama for appearing on every Sunday talk show except his Fox News Sunday was that he called Obama's staff "the biggest ...

Sep 25, 2009 / Leslie Savan

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