Opinion Focus

Washington Post opinion columnist Eugene Robinson was online Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss his recent columns and the latest news.

Discussion Group: Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood

The transcript follows.

Archive: Eugene Robinson discussion transcripts

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Eugene Robinson: Hi, folks. Anything to talk about today? I think maybe there is. With no further ado, let's get started.

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Jacksonville, Fla.: Thank you for the article in today's Washington Post. Two questions: U.S. Attorney David Iglesias was fired because he refused to prosecute bogus cases of "voter fraud." Didn't you think this an important aspect to reveal in your article? Also, Rep. Heather Wilson was one of the "other GOP officials" involved in removal of David Iglesias. As she is now running for Sen. Pete Domenici's Senate seat, and is an active member of John McCain's Presidential campaign, why did you leave her name out of your article? Just curious.

washingtonpost.com: Politics Over Prosecutors (Post, Sept. 30)

Eugene Robinson: Thanks. Unfortunately, there's only so much that can be crammed into a 750-word column. I thought I had mentioned that the Iglesias thing was about supposed voter fraud and corruption cases involving Democrats, but you're right that I didn't go into much detail.

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Montreal: Hi Gene, sorry to ask you this but they cancelled the politics chat this morning (of all days!) and I desperately want an answer to what should be a simple question: Who's in charge of the Republican Party in general right now?

Eugene Robinson: I don't know that anyone could have given you a definitive answer. John McCain is the nominee, so traditionally he would be thought of as head of the party. Only, obviously he isn't. Neither is John Boehner.

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Savannah, Ga.: Thanks for the column today, Gene. I thought I was the only one who still cared about the prosecutor dismissals. One of my concerns is that with so many outrage-inducing oversteps by this administration, each thing will get drowned out by the sum total, and people will just get tired of looking back at the Bush years. What do you think are the odds that the next president will aid this investigation and see it through to prosecutions? If Obama is president, will he be able to compel Karl Rove, Harriet Miers and David Addington to testify? (Or, if so compelled, will each of them plead the fifth while suffering from Gonzales Memory Loss Syndrome?)

Eugene Robinson: I think the special prosecutor will indeed pursue the investigation, and we all know that special prosecutors have ways of hauling people in to talk. Obviously, though, I don't know whether Gonzales Memory Loss Syndrome is contagious.

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Gaithersburg, Md.: Mr. Robinson, polls clearly are trending in Obama's favor at the moment, but a close reading of the polls shows a substantial oversample of Democrats among the respondents. The single major national poll showing McCain up is George Washington University Battleground, which uses a larger sample of Republicans among respondents.

Is it a safe assumption, in your opinion, that there are more Democrats than Republicans in the U.S.? Do you know what assumptions The Washington Post's own weights and samples are based on? I am wary of the samples because GWU Battleground was closer than most in the most recent presidential election. Thanks for any light you can shed on this.

washingtonpost.com: What's Wrong With the Battleground Poll (FiveThirtyEight.com, Sept. 30)

Eugene Robinson: There are indeed more Democrats than Republicans in the United States. In 2004, according to the Pew Research Center, the numbers were around 33 percent Democrats, around 29 percent Republicans and the rest independent/no party affiliation. The gap has grown in the years since; and this year especially, the Democrats have registered far more new voters than the GOP.

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Athens, Ohio: Mr. Robinson, I guess the inevitable question would be about Sarah Palin. Given her bomb-out with Katie Couric, what can we expect Thursday night at the debate?

Eugene Robinson: Who knows? Sarah Palin has lowered expectations for her performance to the point where speaking in reasonably complete sentences will be seen as a triumph. Honestly, I have no idea what she will say. No idea.

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Philadelphia: Gene... I'm getting really annoyed with the conventional that says Biden should ignore Palin, play it super-safe and let her dig her own grave. Why?! He should go for the knockout on Thursday night. McCain/Palin is on the verge of losing this election right now. It's time for the Obama campaign to land the winning punch. Sure, if he gets rough with her she'll get all kinds of sympathy, and I'm sure Fox News will call for Biden to be hauled off to Guantanamo Bay. But please, if he exposes her for what she is, come Election Day people won't remember the bullying, they'll remember that McCain is old and Palin is supremely unqualified to serve as vice president. Thoughts?

Eugene Robinson: It would be wrong for Biden to come across as patronizing, but I think it also would be wrong for him to be overbearing. Just let Palin field her questions, point out glaring contradictions or gross misstatements of fact, and let viewers decide what they think.

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Boston: The report on the prosecutor dismissals caught me completely by surprise yesterday. I don't know about everyone else, but much of my news-seeking time these past couple of weeks was spent hitting the Refresh button on an economist's blog over at Brand X. Has justice delayed meant justice denied? Do you think that the combination of stonewalling -- and the unfortunate timing of the release of the report -- effectively has shielded the administration from any repercussions, criminal, political or otherwise?

Eugene Robinson: See my earlier response. A special prosecutor is a dangerous thing, whether or not the nation is distracted by other matters.

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Austin, Texas: At the GOP convention, much was made of Governor Palin's executive experience. I'm wondering if any reporter is asking McCain about the advise he must be receiving from Palin on the economy right now, and whether she, as an executive -- which McCain, after all, never has been -- is his chief advisor as he sorts through the current economic troubles.

Eugene Robinson: I assume there will be questions Thursday night about the financial crisis and the economy. I have a decent idea of what Joe Biden might say, but I have no idea where such questions will lead Sarah Palin. Will she give the same answer she gave Katie Couric?

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Seattle: If you were prepping Biden for the debate, what would your advice be? Biden, if left talking long enough, makes honest mistakes and occasionally gaffes ... but hard attempts to swing all the conversation back to Palin might be seen as bullying.

Eugene Robinson: I'd just tell him to be concise, or as concise as possible. That's about it.

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Campbell, Calif.: Hello. Your column today, and the HBO documentary "Taxi to the Dark Side" bring to the forefront the persistent abuse of power by this administration under the guise of jaw-dropping legal opinions. This from an administration that makes trial-lawyer bashing a regular exercise. I conclude that this administration is adept at perverting that which it views with disdain -- government, lawyers, regulation of business. Is this Republican creed?

Eugene Robinson: Demonizing the opponent has been pretty much standard practice in recent years.

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Springfield, Mo.: You end today's column with this question: "And, if you want to draw the line a little further, who cares if the prospective vice president appears to know nothing about anything?" I want to draw it. Monica Goodling. Sarah Palin. Care to comment?

Eugene Robinson: Ideology is the most important qualification. Everything else is an afterthought.

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Bethesda, Md.: Has hell frozen over? I see that most congressional Republicans and Code Pink (see photo on front page of washingtonpost.com yesterday) are on the same side of an issue. No good can come of something when the laws of the universe are so blatantly violated.

Eugene Robinson: The way things are going this year, they'll be ice skating in Hades by November.

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Re: Biden/Palin: Really, all the advice for Biden ... why doesn't he just go into the debate the same way he did in the primaries? He always was informed and articulate (ha ha), not rude or patronizing to anyone on stage -- including the tough female -- and he was likeable!

Eugene Robinson: You know, you're right. And the worst thing to do would be to overthink everything.

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Minneapolis: Are there any political leaders left with the credibility to make the case for the bailout plan? On the Republican side in particular, there seems to be a leadership vacuum; on the Democratic side, nobody seems to have stepped forward and made a strong case for why something should be done. Who's it gonna be?

Eugene Robinson: That's the big question, and I don't know the answer. There's a real vacuum, and it's not one that either of the presidential candidates really can fill. Maybe they should start a new bill on the other side of the Capitol, in the Senate.

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Erie, Pa.: I think what happened yesterday showed just how broke Washington is. Representatives voted against the bailout because they feared they would lose their upcoming re-election. So much for Country First. Do you feel this proves we need to change how we elect officials and do away with the two-party system? They surely have not served us well. Oh, I am a Democrat.

Eugene Robinson: In retrospect, there were two big problems with the bailout plan. First, nobody -- certainly not Paulson, Bush, Pelosi, etc. -- was able to explain the need for the plan in terms that most people could understand. Second, when people did come to understand the plan, they didn't like it. I wonder at this point if it's possible to win consensus for any plan that involves having the government buy hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of bad debt from imperiled financial institutions. Maybe a new plan has to start with measures to aid homeowners. (Keep in mind that I've never been accused of being an economist.)

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Herndon, Va.: As a matter of principle do you think it is better to have divided government, or one party in control of both the White House and the Congress? Do you think one-party rule is a good thing for democracy?

Eugene Robinson: For me, there's no distinction in principle. Both one-party government and divided government can do great things, and both can fail miserably. It depends on leadership in the White House and on Capitol Hill.

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College Park, Md.: In your recent column you compared Hank Paulson to a kidnapper delivering a ransom note. This seems to me to be an overly partisan way to look at our current crisis. I have no idea whether or not Paulson is a good secretary of Treasury, but I don't see how he is doing this for personal gain. Maybe he is delivering the ransom note but he is not the kidnapper. I don't think this kind of attack is helpful, because it gets in the way of the real case to be made against the administration, which is overwhelming.

washingtonpost.com: Drama King to the Rescue (Post, Sept. 26)

Eugene Robinson: That wasn't an attack on Hank Paulson, but on the way he proposed the bailout -- a three-page document calling for appropriation of $700 billion with no oversight or accountability. Not a smooth move.

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Sterling, Va.: I disagree wholly with Philadelphia that Biden should deliver a knock out blow on Thursday. I remember well how Admiral Stockdale looked at his debate in the 1992 election -- vulnerable and almost innocent. The American public won't react favorably to an overly-aggressive or condescending Biden. On the other hand, I'm disappointed Obama isn't taking a stronger, more aggressive approach -- taking the fight directly to McCain. Do you agree that he's taking it too slowly and being too easy on McCain, or is he doing the "smart thing?"

Eugene Robinson: In light of the recent movement in the polls, it's hard to argue that Obama is doing something terribly wrong. Critics who thought he should have snarled more in the debate are forgetting, I think, that snarling almost never wins these things.

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Re: Erie's Comment: Actually, I think that the failure yesterday shows the limitations of those pundicrats who believe in "bipartisan compromise" over substance. In effect, the effort to craft to bipartisan bill made it unpalatable to rank-and-file among both parties.

Eugene Robinson: Except that there had to be support from both parties. The Democrats are in the majority, but they would be falling on their swords if they crafted a humongous bailout (any kind of bailout) and passed it on their own, effectively giving the Republicans a free ride. If unpopular measures are needed to save the economy, both parties should share the responsibility.

My time is up, folks. Thanks for dropping by, and I'll see you again next week.

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