Commentary by Michael Barone

James Comey Is the Latest Victim of the Clintons By Michael Barone

Why did President Donald Trump fire FBI Director James Comey now? The answer, as my Washington Examiner colleague Byron York has argued, is that he waited until after his impeccably apolitical deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, was in place as Comey's direct superior. Rosenstein was confirmed April 25, and his memorandum titled "Restoring Public Confidence in the FBI" was appended to Trump's firing letter exactly two weeks later.

Cultural Appropriation: A Modest Proposal By Michael Barone

"Cultural appropriation" has become the latest evil denounced by soi-disant social justice warriors, on campus and off. Examples:

"I was taught that white people shouldn't listen to rap music because it's cultural appropriation and could be offensive to my classmates," writes Pomona College student Steven Glick in The Washington Post.

The New/Old Politics of Capital vs. Countryside by Michael Barone

Capital vs. countryside -- that's the new political divide, visible in multiple surprise election results over the past 11 months. It cuts across old partisan lines and replaces traditional divisions -- labor vs. management, north vs. south, Catholic vs. Protestant -- among voters.

Reading the Kansas 4 and Georgia 6 Tea Leaves By Michael Barone

What to make of the results of the first two of this spring's special House elections? Start off by putting them in perspective. They pose a challenge to both political parties, but especially to Republicans, who have been used to an unusually stable partisan alignment, an alignment that has become scrambled by Donald Trump.

Our Three Presidents Born in 1946 By Michael Barone

With the inauguration of Donald Trump this year, we have now had, for the first time in our history, three American presidents who were born in the same year. There have been three pairs of presidents born in the same year -- the very dissimilar John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson, in 1767; Richard Nixon and his surprise successor, Gerald Ford, in 1913; and Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush, in 1924.

Mistrust of Trump Threatens Political Corrosion and Rule of Law by Michael Barone

Donald Trump's unorthodox campaign and unexpected victory have produced a culture of mistrust permeating our politics and threatening to undermine the rule of law. That's not healthy, whatever you think of Trump or his political opponents.

Doesn't Anybody Know How to Play This Game? By Michael Barone

"Dare I suggest," writes the economist and blogger Tyler Cowen, "that the quality of governance in this country has taken a downward turn of late?" Or as Casey Stengel, while managing the New York Mets on their way to a 40-120 season in 1962, reportedly asked, "Can't anybody here play this game?"    

The Base's Rage Ill Serves the Democratic Party By Michael Barone

In a week chock-full of news, the party that on the night of Nov. 8 found itself, much to its surprise, very much out of power has been having difficulty finding a way to return.   

Perceptions Are That Trump's Policies Are Working By Michael Barone

Perceptions matter. People make decisions, even life-altering decisions, based on what they perceive as likely to happen. To the extent that public policy affects such decisions, the perception of likely policy change can affect behavior even before the change happens -- even if it ends up never happening.   

America's High-Risk Complacent Class by Michael Barone

"Most Americans don't like change very much," writes economist and Marginal Revolution blogger Tyler Cowen, "unless it is on terms that they manage and control." That's just one of many provocative sentences you can mine from the riches threaded through his new book, "The Complacent Class."

Facts on the Ground Moving Immigration in Trump's Direction by Michael Barone

The afternoon before President Donald Trump's Tuesday night speech to Congress, Twitter watchers were treated to a flurry of tweets, inspired by comments at the traditional lunch with network anchors, that the president was going to endorse something very much like the "comprehensive" immigration bills that foundered in Congress in 2006, 2007 and 2013.

Trump Has a Grating Style but Significant Substance By Michael Barone

Substance and style -- it's easy to get them confused or mistake one for the other. And they're never entirely unconnected, though exactly how much so is a matter of debate.

Partisan Lines Stay Fixed Amid Trump Turmoil By Michael Barone

Amid the turmoil of the first month of the Trump administration, with courts blocking his temporary travel ban and his national security adviser resigning after 24 days, the solid partisan divisions in the electorate -- modestly changed in 2016 from what they'd been over the previous two decades -- remain in place.   

Free Trade's Effect on 'Earned Success' By Michael Barone

Amid all the hurly-burly of President Donald Trump's first weeks in office, let's try to put the changes he's making and the feathers he's ruffling in a longer, 20-year perspective. Start off with his trademark issue -- one that clearly helped him win the 64 crucial electoral votes of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin: trade.   

Trump's 2nd-Week Follow-through by Michael Barone

Donald Trump's second week as president has been full of surprises and Sturm und Drang.

'America First' Is Not a Threat but a Promise By Michael Barone

"From this day forward, it's going to be only America first, America first," Donald Trump proclaimed in his inaugural address. As has been his habit, he added to the prepared text the word "only" and employed the rhetorical device of repetition by repeating "America first."   

Trump's Inauguration Is Not Without Precedent by Michael Barone

The United States has just had three consecutive eight-year presidencies, and it's only the second time in history that that's happened. The only other such moment came on March 4, 1825, 192 years ago.

The Intelligence Community, Russia and Trump by Michael Barone

On Wednesday, in his first news conference as president-elect, Donald Trump came out swinging -- against some of the media (while praising others), against the policies and performance of the Obama administration, and against the intelligence community.

Government by Faculty Lounge Subject to Repeal By Michael Barone

President Barack Obama went up to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to counsel congressional Democrats on how to save Obamacare. Or at least that's how his visit was billed.

Americans Are No Longer on the Move By Michael Barone

Americans see themselves as people on the move. When the going gets tough or when opportunity beckons, we get up and go. We move around a lot.