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Democratic Doom?

President Obama will campaign for Mass. Attny General Martha Coakley in hopes that she will replace the late Ted Kennedy and keep control of the Senate.
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President Obama is set to campaign for Mass. Attorney General Martha Coakley to replace the late Ted Kennedy and keep control of the Senate. “President Obama, who had no plans to travel to Massachusetts, may be heading there to campaign for a Democrat caught in a surprisingly tough race for a Senate seat that is crucial to Democratic hopes of keeping control in the Senate. Quoting Democratic Party sources, the Associated Press says Obama will visit Massachusetts before Tuesday’s special election in which state Sen. Scott Brown is running well, and in at least one poll, is beating the Democrat, Atty. Gen. Martha Coakley. There was no immediate comment from the White House. Earlier this week, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said there were no plans for Obama to campaign in person for Coakley, though the president has campaigned electronically. But that was before the latest polls showing Brown running very strongly. Brown has pledged to be the 41st vote against heathcare overhaul, enough to defeat Obama’s main domestic priority.”

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Whereas European countries were once able to tap into their history for subjects for opera, America’s never succeeded in doing the same. That problem comes in part from the decline in opera as a popular, public art form, but also perhaps from the lack of operatically epic subjects to be found in American history. Now, composer David T. Little hopes to create a modern American opera with JFK, a 2-act, 2-hour opera focusing on the life of President John F. Kennedy, whose life and death became defining moments not only for the Baby Boom generation, but also, many would suggest, the hinge upon which all American history turns for the last half century. Set to premier in 2016, JFK as a work-in-progress already raises important questions about how opera (and art in general) can approach history.

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