Insanity, Defined By Howard Rich
One of the oldest clichés in the book defines insanity as doing the same thing “over and over again” and expecting a different result.
Political Commentary
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December 16, 2009
December 16, 2009
Three Undemocratic Temptations By Tony Blankley
As the Democrats in Congress approach the end of a frustrating first year's legislative effort, their leaders and the White House are being tempted by three possible shortcuts around the regular lawmaking process.
December 16, 2009
What Will Democrats Do? By Susan Estrich
Whatever it takes.
Whatever Joe wants.
That's the short answer to what the Democrats will do to get health care reform passed. If Joe Lieberman doesn't want 55-year-olds to buy into Medicare, they won't. Poof. Gone.
December 15, 2009
Sin Taxes Are a Shame By Froma Harrop
Sly industry-sponsored ads in which ordinary Americans worry about some scheme in Congress generally irritate me. A grunt greeted the TV spot you've no doubt seen: A woman unloading groceries frets over a proposed "tax on juice, milk and soda" as Americans like her count every penny.
December 15, 2009
Electoral Dysfunction from Barbara Boxer By Debra J. Saunders
The U.S. Senate defeated an amendment last week to restrict taxpayer funding of abortions under Obamacare. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., voted against the measure, arguing that it would require women to buy special riders to purchase abortion coverage.
December 14, 2009
Could Obama's Speeches Reflect a Foreign Policy Shift? By Michael Barone
"Evil does exist in the world." This bald assertion is probably not what the Norwegian grantors of the Nobel Peace Prize expected to hear from Barack Obama. It sounds like something that the definer of the axis of evil might say, without the Texas twang.
December 12, 2009
First, the Good News on the Economic Recovery...By Lawrence Kudlow
First, the good news on the economic recovery that everybody loves to hate: Retail sales totally beat Wall Street estimates with a huge 1.3 percent gain in November. Core retail sales have increase 5.6 percent at an annual rate over the past three months. Family net wealth has rebounded $5 trillion over the past six months.
December 11, 2009
Happy Hanukkah By Susan Estrich
I like Hanukkah. It's a very nice holiday, as Jewish holidays go; one of the few where the Jews actually won, as opposed to having the Temple destroyed, or fleeing the divided sea, or being spared from the evil Haman. Usually, it's enough if we survive. Often, we don't even do that.
December 10, 2009
Fair and Balanced (and Phony) Science By Joe Conason
Evading the challenges of climate change -- and the human responsibility to save the planet -- is simple enough even for the laziest citizen. Pay attention only to the theories that support the comforting skepticism of the oil industry. Focus on a set of purloined emails that prove nothing except that scientists can be as unpleasant to each other as any other group of people. Get the "facts" from Fox News Channel, the Wall Street Journal editorial page, the Moonie-controlled Washington Times and all the other conservative outlets that are as fair and balanced as an Exxon press release.
December 10, 2009
Misusing Knowledge to Expand Government Power By Michael Barone
"Knowledge is becoming more specialized and more dispersed, while government power is becoming more concentrated," writes economist Arnold Kling in his new book, "Unchecked and Unbalanced." "This discrepancy creates the potential for government to become increasingly erratic and, as a result, less satisfying to individuals."
December 10, 2009
"Socialized Medicine"? Whatever By Froma Harrop
So it's come down to this. Republicans and some Democrats wouldn't vote for a government-run health plan that competed with private insurers -- though it would enjoy no special taxpayer subsidies. That's socialism.
December 9, 2009
Tiger's Feet of Clay By Susan Estrich
Nine women. And counting.
When did this guy find time to play golf?
December 9, 2009
Too Few Troops, Too Much Spin By Tony Blankley
A sense of unreality overshadows our debate on Afghan war policy across the spectrum of opinions. The unreality derives from the simple fact that we do not have enough troops to rationally implement an adequate defense of our national interests. So every argument for Afghanistan policy tends to seem unserious, perhaps pointless.
December 8, 2009
America's Clean-Energy Defeatists By Froma Harrop
The United States used to be the can-do country. A respect for science married to the entrepreneurial spirit propelled America to the forefront of global progress and made it rich. But a late-20th century malaise had crept in, fueled by a conservative hostility to modern science and public investment.
December 7, 2009
Professor Obama as Dutiful Commander in Chief By Michael Barone
Every time I visit the White House, I am struck by its military environment.
December 6, 2009
Declaring War on Another "War President" By Debra J. Saunders
As soon as President Obama had finished his West Point speech in which he pledged to send 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, conservative pundits started poking at the president's demeanor and message. Big mistake. If Obama's delivery seemed, well, unenthusiastic, so be it. What is important is that Obama delivered a policy that will keep Afghanistan from devolving into a terror pit. He offered the best plan that conservatives possibly could expect.
December 5, 2009
What I Don't Know About Afghanistan By Susan Estrich
People keep asking me whether I agree with the president's troop surge in Afghanistan. I am a lawyer. I know what to do with a hard question: Answer another one that is so similar that even the person asking may not notice you've changed it. So I answer that I absolutely support the president on this one, that I absolutely approve of the process and the decision and the way he's handling his responsibility as commander in chief.
December 4, 2009
Looking Ahead: Senate Races 2012-2014 By Larry J. Sabato
As the most recent Crystal Ball ratings showed, Democrats are benefiting from the equal split of Senate seats up in 2010. Even though Democrats have a large majority of senators, it just so happens that both Democrats and Republicans are defending 19 seats each in the upcoming midterm election, which makes it exceedingly difficult for the GOP to gain enough seats to capture the Senate.
December 4, 2009
The Crushing Legacy of Bush and Cheney By Joe Conason
From now on, the headlines about Afghanistan will be slugged "Obama's War," and perhaps that is fair enough given the president's many endorsements of what he has called a war of necessity. It would be much less fair, however, to ignore the events that led us to this moment, when whatever choice he makes will offer no great guarantee of progress and no small prospect of trouble.
December 4, 2009
Big Government Can't Put Young Americans to Work By Michael Barone
"What have you done for me lately?" It's a question that voters implicitly ask politicians, especially ones they have supported and who are seeking their votes again. And it's a question that young voters in particular may be asking Barack Obama, whom they supported by a 66 percent to 32 percent margin 13 months ago.
