Overview for David Frum in Print

For Martin And Stronach, It's Lose-lose

A few days before George W. Bush's second inaugural, I received an urgent call from a friend. Belinda Stronach wanted to come to Washington to see the event. Could I get her tickets to the swearing-in and the balls afterward? We did get the tickets -- and Belinda did the rest. Her progress …

Written by David Frum on Thursday May 19, 2005

Averting Their Eyes From Scandal Since 1993, Ottawa's Press Corps Has Been Taking A Nice, Long Nap

Things are looking mighty bleak for the Liberals this week. So naturally, it is the perfect time for the media to open a lengthy discussion of the flaws and foibles of Conservative leader Stephen Harper. You've been hearing for a week now that Harper is too angry and/or too hesitant, too …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday May 17, 2005

Seeking A Return To Pride

Last week, tennis fans gathering at Berlin's Rot Weiss club to enjoy the German Open received a jolt when they opened their programs. There appeared a photograph of Hermann Goring surrounded by uniformed Nazi officials, alongside text that described the flight of Jewish members from the club in the …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday May 10, 2005

The Tempting Of Michael Howard

Michael Howard, the leader of the British Conservative Party, is really a very fine man: highly intelligent, principled, capable. As Home Secretary in the last Conservative government, he was a tough-minded crime fighter, Britain's answer to Rudy Giuliani. Since he left office after the Conservativ…

Written by David Frum on Tuesday May 3, 2005

Woe Canada

"I LOVE Canada: It's so clean!" Visiting Americans may be about to lose their favorite clichŽ about their chilly neighbor. Over the past few weeks, a judicial inquiry in Montreal has heard charges that Canada's governing Liberal Party was running a system of extortion, embezzlement, kickbacks and …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday April 19, 2005

The Four Stages Of Adscam

Don't expect the Liberals to go quietly. You don't become the longest-ruling political party in the world by letting a little public disgust discourage you. While Justice John Gomery searches out the sponsorship scandal, the Liberals' best brains are searching for ways to get away with it. But …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday April 12, 2005

A Dialogue On The Uk Election

"YouÕve been dreading this. Tony Blair has called an election. Now you are finally going to have to make up your mind: Do you hope he wins or loses?" "Why do I have to answer that? I am not a British voter. Why canÕt I just say that IÕm glad that both Blair and Conservative leader Michael …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday April 12, 2005

A Tory Minority Calls For A Deal

SMASH, CRASH: Paul Martin's government is falling apart. For the first time in 15 years, it's possible to imagine the Liberals losing the next election. The trouble is, it remains very hard to imagine the Conservatives winning it. As things stand, the best likely outcome for the Conservatives …

Written by David Frum on Monday April 11, 2005

What Are You Going To Do About It?

By now, reader, if you have an Internet connection and access to Google, you have a pretty fair idea of what was said on Thursday in Justice John Gomery's hearing room. If true, that testimony portrays the most systematically corrupt government in Canada's modern history. Until now, there has …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday April 5, 2005

Unity, Finally

On the eve of the Conservative Party's convention in Montreal, a highly placed party member joked: "If we have the happiest, most harmonious convention in Canadian political history, the press headlines will read: 'Harper Papers Over Cracks.' " And sure enough, on Saturday morning, that was …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday March 22, 2005

The Latecomers

Piero Fassino did not quite say that George Bush had been right all along: That would be going too far for the leader of an ex-communist party. But in an interview this week with La Stampa, Mr. Fassino did say that he had come to recognize that President Bush is "fighting for freedom and …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday March 22, 2005

The Wrong Way To Honor A Hero

Italian intelligence officer Nicola Calipari was a true hero: a valiant officer of the law who devoted his life first to the fight against organized crime and then to international counterterrorist operations. He had negotiated the release of two Italian aid workers held hostage in Iraq last year. …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday March 8, 2005

Breaking An Industry Into Little Pieces

From the gush and glitz of Oscar night coverage, you'd never know that Hollywood is a deeply troubled enterprise. There will always be a demand for entertainment of course, and moving pictures will continue to dominate the entertainment industry for many years to come. But Hollywood as we know …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday March 1, 2005

He Didn't Start This Fire

You can't fix a problem if you don't understand it. We all know that there is a big problem in America's relations with Europe. But even now--with President Bush traveling the continent on a major trip--most reports still fail to show even minimal understanding of what the problem is or how it came …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday February 22, 2005

Preserving The Legacy Of A Radio Legend

The ancient Egyptians could scratch lines on a papyrus scroll, roll it up and put it in a jar in a dry cave--and 2,500 years later, the document would still be legible (assuming its discoverer could read ancient Egyptian). Modern technology is more impressive, but also more fragile. Celluloid …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday February 15, 2005

Gomery Makes Strange Bedfellows

What is it with these Liberals? When Fox News wants to come to Canada, they go on about the distinctive Canadian way of life and the perils of U.S.-style politics. Yet let one of their own get into trouble, and nationalism flies out the window: Suddenly Warren Kinsella and Sheila Copps are belting …

Written by David Frum on Monday February 7, 2005

The End Of The Transatlantic Affair

Over lunch at a Washington think-tank some time ago, a high-ranking German official told the room about his country's determination to win a seat on the United Nations Security Council. The reaction? From the Americans present, indifference verging on boredom. For the Europeans, though, it was as …

Written by David Frum on Monday January 31, 2005

Will A Rising Loonie Sink Martin's Ship?

What is Paul Martin thinking about as he jets around the planet? We can't know, but here's my guess: He's thinking about money. Not his own money -- as the old joke goes, Martin's fortune is big enough to look after itself -- but the unit of money itself, the once-pitiful, now mighty Canadian …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday January 25, 2005

It Was Always About Him

Review of "Here Be Dragons" by Peter C. Newman Not since George Brown has a Canadian journalist wielded such direct political power as Peter C. Newman did in his prime. His reporting helped destroy two prime ministers (Diefenbaker and Pearson) and contributed to creating a third (Pierre Trudeau). …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday January 18, 2005

Don't Worry About Running Out Of Oil

Two young men join the communist party in the 1930s. Years pass. They grow up, lose their illusions, leave the party and rejoin normal American life. More years pass. They achieve some intellectual renown, are offered teaching posts at major universities and settle into comfortable middle age. Then …

Written by David Frum on Thursday January 13, 2005