Useless Baggage

Citing significant concerns about long lines at airports and flight delays caused by the furlough of air-traffic controllers, Congress let the Federal Aviation Administration override strict sequestration rules and redirect funds within its budget

Flying Over an Act of Monumental Stupidity

Conservatives in Congress decided the sequester was just fine as it was and allowed the cuts to go forward. Until they caved on air traffic. That's undoubtedly a precursor to well-lobbied government programs getting exceptions

Drone World

We live in a society that requires enemies, and my guess is that, however much the promoters of drone technology extol the positive uses of drones -- finding lost children, rescue assistance, etc -- their primary use will be in us-versus-them situations

'Right wing' Does Not Equal 'Terrorist'

Over the last few years, the invariably unjustified rush to pin violence on the 'right wing' has reached the point of parody. The term 'right wing' is also routinely used to describe both terrorists and mainstream Republicans

Dubya's Library Opens Debate About Presidential Record

The public debate continues as to whether George W. Bush was the worst of all American presidents, just one of the worst, or not as bad as he is generally said to have been. That broad blanket seems to cover the consensus of many academic scholars

Obama Eye-Candy Comment Leaves Sour Aftertaste

Did you really call California Attorney General Kamala Harris, 'by far the best-looking attorney general in the country' at a Democratic fundraiser in the Bay Area? You weren't, like, nursing a cold and snockered on Robitussin or something?

Where Obama Should Listen to Rand Paul: Legal Pot

As the nation's capital prepares to open its first legal medicinal marijuana dispensary and Rand Paul's call for legalization basks in bipartisan praise, it's time for President Obama to clear the air around his own passive-aggressive position on pot

Rand Paul Gets Schooled at Howard University

Rand Paul, GOP senator from Kentucky, told the Christian Science Monitor that his recent visit to Howard didn't go so bad at all. He said any perception to the contrary was created by -- all together now -- the 'left-wing media'

Rand Paul has Explaining to Do

Within hours after Sen. Rand Paul's news-making speech at historically black Howard University, someone posted on the user-driven Urban Dictionary website this new definition of an awkward-sounding but quite timely verb, 'whitesplain'

Conversation Starters Paisley, Paul are Taking Their Lumps

Are Brad Paisley and Rand Paul the bravest men in America? Er, no. At least not by my lights. But maybe the country singer and the first-term senator are contenders for that title according to the attorney general of the United States, Eric Holder

An Odd Push to Privatize Marriage

Should government get out of the business of defining marriage? That's not a new question. But as conservatives appear to be losing ground in the same-sex marriage debate, some are showing a new interest in changing the rules

Where Our Democracy Works and Where It Doesn't

Who says American politics is gridlocked? It's nice to think logic and reason are finally catching up with our elected representatives, but the real explanation for these changes of heart is more prosaic: public opinion

America's Just Not That into Obama

Yes, Obama got elected and re-elected, and that's saying something. But whatever personal popularity the man has doesn't transfer to domestic policy. It's as if the American people are saying, 'Mr. President, we're just not that in to you'

2017: After Obama

We can imagine what lies ahead in 2017 -- no matter the result of either the 2014 midterm elections or the 2016 presidential outcome. That staggering deficit will force the next president to be a deficit hawk, both fiscally and politically

Fear of Gay Marriage Backlash Overblown

Even Supreme Court justices care what people think about them. In their current same-sex marriage cases, they fear a big public backlash if they overreach. But history also shows such fears to be greatly exaggerated when a controversial decision's time has come

Can GOP Reverse the Damage Done by Iraq?

Whatever defenses there may be for the Iraq war, it was a staggering political disaster for the Republican Party. Is that fair? Maybe -- or maybe not. As a matter of analysis, fair doesn't have much to do with it

Hagel's Challenge

Chuck Hagel, the former Republican senator from Nebraska who survived a stormy confirmation hearing to become the new secretary of defense, had a coming-out party of sorts before the National Defense University

Wasn't Sandy Hook Enough?

The sanitized narrative and images we have of Sandy Hook apparently aren't enough. After months of anticipation that now, finally, something would be accomplished on gun law reform, the Senate has deep-sixed a package of mild measures in an act of political cowardice

Gun Vote Reveals New GOP Divide

Inside Republican congressional leadership, celebrations are muted. This fight over background checks for gun purchases exposed a dangerous divide in the Grand Old Party's ranks that has opened up since the party's presidential election defeat

Marco Rubio Comes Up Short on Gun Control

Marco Rubio showed his true yellow colors, joining 45 other cowards to defeat Senate legislation designed to stop criminals from buying firearms online and at gun shows. The vote was nauseating. So is Rubio

Obama's Limited War on Guns

As a consensus has slowly built that Congress will at best settle for half a loaf on tough new gun-control legislation, President Obama continues to do a version of a Muhammad Ali rope-a-dope dance on the issue

School is a Battlefield, and NRA Determined to Keep it that Way

Good guys vs bad guys, both sides armed to the teeth. That's how the NRA views the moral universe. Yes, the group admits, an epidemic of gun violence is plaguing our nation. The reason for it is that good people have disarmed themselves. The cure is to rearm

Beware Public Opinion

History is full of warnings about what happens when people follow public opinion instead of standing by their principles. Major media have whipped the crowd into its latest frenzy over same-sex marriage

Why Do Liberals Fear Success?

There are many successful liberals, so why do so many of them wish to subsidize failure for the poor, instead of showing them how to succeed? That is precisely what the left does not want to do, because it would expose liberalism's failure

The Stealth Sequester

So far, the much-dreaded 'sequester' -- some $85 billion in federal spending cuts between March and September 30 -- hasn't been evident to most Americans. Take a closer look, though, and Americans are starting to feel the pain. They just don't know it yet

Gun Laws and Human Nature

The new 'tougher' gun laws in Maryland and Connecticut appear to be the result of high emotion, not logic and clear thinking. We all ache for the Sandy Hook victims, but the Newtown tragedy shouldn't be used as a prop for anti-gun proponents

Grief Without Borders

The bombs went off in the final stretch of the race -- which had been dedicated to the victims of the tragedy in Newtown. My God. Now another wound has opened in the social fabric. Another enormous question tears at our hearts. Once again we ask: Why?

Immigration: Of Athens and Jerusalem

It's a complicated mix, the history of American immigration, just as the future of American immigration doubtless will be. But creating two classes of Americans, foreign workers and real citizens, Americans first- and second-class, has never worked in this country

Chasing Infinity

We're chasing infinity. We're ceding ever more ground but aren't the least bit safer than we were a decade or a half-century ago. Every high-profile act of violence is followed by some new security procedure and market opportunity

Why the Boston Bombers Succeeded

When seeking to place an attack like the April 15 Boston Marathon bombing into context, it helps to classify the actors responsible. Such a classification help us understand how it fits into the analytical narrative of what is happening and what is likely to come

Pollution in the News Stream

In today's ever-growing coagulation of fact, fiction and rumor from print, digital and social media, where is the news consumer to look with confidence for the truth?

Banking on the Poor

What's a fair interest rate to pay on a loan? If you think 300 percent is no big deal, you can stop reading. But if you'd be outraged to learn that some of the biggest banks charge exorbitant interest on their most vulnerable customers, you might want to read on

Austerity Leaves Us Crying '96 Tears'

Harvard economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff wrote an economic paper that made champions of austerity happy. They did not discourage the austerians and basked in their global celebrity. Until a team of economists exposed their work as a sloppy scholarly fraud

One of These Things is Not Like the Other

Just because things can be put on the same list doesn't mean they are necessarily similar. I bring this up for the simple reason that we're hearing a lot about how the GOP must deal with 'abortion and gay marriage' as if they are almost the same issue

GOP Assault on Workers' Rights Continues

Today's GOP believes its solemn duty is to mow down workers' rights and wage protections. The onslaught is incredibly well-organized, particularly at the state level, where the well-manicured hand of the American Legislative Exchange Council is all over it

One More Bush?

The ruminations of Jeb Bush, son of one former president and younger brother of another, on maybe seeking the presidency in 2016 raises among other possibilities another campaign clash of the Bush and Clinton dynasties

Gun Control's Timid Advocates

For all the clamor from the White House and many in Congress to address the American scourge of gun violence, signs continue to point to a half-measure solution at best

Gun Lobby Defends Their Cynical Business Model

There's a little known fact about guns in America, and it's one that the firearms industry and its political allies don't like to dwell on: The rate of gun ownership in America is declining. This has been the case for decades

Right Decision, Wrong Reason

Let there be no cheers for Rob Portman. The Ohio senator, a conservative Republican, did something conservative Republicans do not do. He came out for same-sex marriage. And what prompted this? The senator made his U-turn because of Will

Obamacare: Unhappy Anniversary

Recently, politicians who helped craft the Affordable Care Act celebrated in self-congratulatory style the third anniversary of that monstrosity which will soon extinguish health care as we've known it

Flight of Fancy

President Obama should listen to former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the 'founder' of shuttle diplomacy. Kissinger sees little hope in the 'Arab Spring,' nor is he optimistic about peace in the region following the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood

The Downside of Conservative Orthodoxy

Shouldn't conservative Republicans be ecstatic by New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie's record? Not the folks at CPAC, which decided not to invite one of the party's superstars to its annual gathering

CPAC Unwise to Snub Chris Christie

What can you do with a man like Chris Christie? The answer, according to many with the conservative movement: Throw him overboard. The popular governor of New Jersey has certainly angered many conservatives

It's 'I Told You So' on Obamacare

The Iraq war justifiably led to a lot of media soul-searching about how journalists were too credulous of the Bush administration's arguments. A similar discussion about how we got stuck in the Obamacare quagmire seems long overdue

Mitt Romney's Surprising Post-Mortem

After three months of licking the wounds of his defeat, Mitt Romney surfaced on Fox News with a somewhat unexpected rationale for his disappointing election outcome. What cost him the White House, he seemed to say, was Obamacare

Do We Need to Maintain A Dole For Former Presidents?

In this era of debt and fiscal dysfunction, it's less than heartening to learn from the Congressional Research Service that the nation's four living former Presidents received $3.7 million in pensions and operating expenses last year from American taxpayers

Sequesterville

We're back in 'Hooverville,' the name given to shanty towns that popped up during the Great Depression. It isn't that bad yet, though the Obama administration is forecasting gloom and doom if Republicans don't cave on another tax increase

Fighting the Last Political War

Paul Ryan's revamped plan to balance the budget includes a pledge to 'repeal and replace Obamacare.' With slow economic and job growth continuing to plague the country, a decision to pivot back to that first-term battleground challenges common sense

RNC Power Grab

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, in an ambitious effort to direct a party makeover in wake of its defeat last November, has targeted the next presidential cycle's debates and primaries

The GOP Goes Under the Knife

In what unfortunately has been labeled an 'autopsy' of the Republican defeat last November, surgeons of the party establishment and its most conservative offshoot had their scalpels out recently, carving up the corpse

GOP Reboot: A 'Grand Open Party?'

Will Republican leaders listen to their own report that calls for minority outreach? First, they have to convince their party's right-wingers to avoid making younger and nonwhite voters feel about as welcome as a cheeseburger at a vegan buffet

The Demise of Moderate Republicanism

Among the casualties of the 2012 presidential election, along with Mitt Romney, was the vanishing breed of moderate Republicans of which he once was a star, until his embarrassing lurch into conservatism

GOP Needs to Make Up its Mind on Immigration Reform

Jeb Bush, has long advocated a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, roughly in line with current thinking of a bipartisan group in Congress. Yet in his new book, Bush has flip-flopped on the question of the path to citizenship

Fusion Power on the Right

Libertarianism has a better brand name than conservatism these days, particularly among young people. Conservatives shouldn't be freaking out about this any more than libertarians should start a victory dance

Extortionist in Chief

At the end of 1995 and stretching into January 1996, the federal government 'shut down' because of an impasse between President Clinton and House Republicans. The issue was increased taxes vs. less spending. Sound familiar?

The Sound of Inevitability

Given his track record, former President Clinton is not the person I would consult about 'committed, loving relationships.' Clinton used those words in a recent op-ed, urging the Supreme Court to overturn the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act

Bringing California Back

Jerry Brown, who first served at age 38 as California's chief executive (1976-83), has returned at age 74 in the third year of his third term (2011-2015), arguably going stronger than ever

The California 'Mordida'

California now works on the principle of the mordida, or 'bite.' Its government assumes that it can take something extra from residents for the privilege of living in their special state. Gov. Jerry Brown made that assumption explicit in his latest back-and-forth

GOP Governors Still Know a Good Deal When They See One

You have to credit Rick Scott for coming around on Medicaid expansion. I never thought it would happen. Yet now Scott is one of eight Republican governors to announce their support for it. How refreshing to see fierce opposition give way to reasoned acceptance

Governor Scott to Voters: Never Mind

Governor Rick Scott was one of those tea party stars whom voters believed had the courage of his convictions to block The Affordable Care Act. But recently, Scott made an abrupt about-face, embracing a three-year expansion of Medicaid coverage

Another Scandal in Tallahassee? You Bet!

In Florida, not much is asked of the lieutenant governor. It's a sham job, devoid of responsibility. Your typical day is spent attending dull functions that the governor chooses to avoid. Unless you end up like Jennifer Carroll

Greatest Generation the Most Entitled

Perhaps it's time for both sides to consider an underappreciated fact of American life: The system we are trying to perpetuate was created for the explicit benefit of the so-called greatest generation, the most coddled and cared for cohort in American history

Michael Bloomberg: Freedom to Make Stupid Decisions

It is the very definition of liberalism run amok, a good idea (people should limit their intake of sugary soft drinks) driven headlong into the weeds of overkill, overregulation and basic preposterousness

Chuck Hagel Survives

After all the thunder and lightning signifying nothing but more Republican obstructionism, former Sen. Chuck Hagel has taken over at the Pentagon, vowing a realistic approach to America's military role in the world

American Recessional

Republicans and Democrats are blaming one another for cuts to the defense budget. But with annual deficits of $1 trillion and a total debt nearing $17 trillion, the United States was bound to re-examine its expensive overseas commitments and strategic profile

On Talking Things Out

Obama takes a bunch of Republican senators to dinner and invites the losing GOP vice-presidential nominee to lunch. Meanwhile, a Republican filibusters for 13 hours against theoretical use of unmanned drones on our own soil. What's going on here?

Rand Paul's Stunt Misses the Point

If you took Rand Paul duck hunting, he'd probably shoot the decoy. That's the impression he gave when he took the floor of the Senate for a 13-hour rambling real-life imitation of Jimmy Stewart's filibuster in 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'

What Rand Paul Got Right

A Democratic president clings to his constitutional right to rain death from the sky on American citizens drinking Frappuccinos, and conservatives attack the Republican senator who complains about it

This Florida Citizen Outraged by Citizens Insurance

Rick Scott campaigned for governor on the promise of running Florida like a big business, but the one big business -- Citizens Property Insurance Corp. -- that Florida actually runs is out of control

Visions: America after Hegemony

With the Iraq war fading into memory even as the country still simmers, the United States peace movement faces the need to reframe its message. The peace movement needs to make it clear not only what it is against, but what it is for

High Court Ponders: Is Racism Over?

Sometimes Supreme Court Justice Scalia reminds me of the grumpy old cranks in the balcony of 'The Muppet Show.' And talk Scalia did during oral arguments over the survival of a controversial provision in the 1965 Voting Rights Act

A Ruling on Racial Progress

I can only hope that the scourge of racism is finally purged from the 10 New Hampshire towns covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which requires local officials to get permission on any changes to their election laws

Detroit's Decline

Some years back, Detroit leaders announced a 'Renaissance' for the city. Detroit needs more than a Renaissance. It needs a revival, but that is not likely to happen as long as Democrats maintain their political stranglehold

Death and Life in Maryland

The Maryland legislature recently voted to abolish capital punishment in the state, making Maryland the sixth state in the last six years to eliminate the death penalty

Signs that the NRA is Losing

Now that they're facing Washington's first serious push for new gun violence prevention laws since the Columbine massacre, gun lobbyists are grasping at straw

Government Spending That Isn't Smart

Building roads and schools is a big reason why God created Democrats in the first place. And identifying the Next Big Thing -- and taking credit for it -- is something of a vocation for many liberal policymakers. But are these really the drivers of economic growth?

Obama's Second Coming

The first few weeks of the second Obama administration have signaled that a more assertive president now sits behind the Oval Office desk than the one who settled in there after his first inauguration four years ago

Operation Hubris

One of the great things about American politics is its capacity for punishing hubris. For the ancient Greeks, hubris was defined as taking too much pleasure in the humiliation of your foes. In its modern usage it usually means the pride that comes before the fall

Rubio and the GOP's Thirst for Leadership

Secret Valentine's Day memo to Senator Marco Rubio from the Strategy Office of the Republican National Committee on unorthodox rebuttal to the President's State of the Union Address

The GOP's Civil War Stumbles On

A blame-storm has broken out between Republican pragmatists who want to win elections and the zealots who love to argue. You can see that big divide most recently in the rebuttals to Obama's State of the Union Address

Two Cheers for Republican Rebranding

Ever since Mitt Romney lost, there's been a lot of talk about how the Republican Party needs to 'rebrand' itself. However, Rubio, Ryan, Jindal and Cantor are a pretty good counterargument to those who think the Republican Party is doomed

Obama's Blunt Challenge to Congress

Of all the words spoken, written about, broadcast or even just mused over the President's State of the Union address, none were more pointedly delivered than his direct appeal for tighter gun-control legislation: 'They deserve a vote'

Conservative Business Leaders Should Widen Their Scope

When you're a bigwig of industry, perched up high above the hoi polloi, maybe you really do think that the laws of politics, economics and even gravity are suspended, or are at least twisted, to your benefit. That's the only conclusion I can draw

Calling Out Bugnut Idiocy

Rush Limbaugh thinks John Lewis should have been armed. Right. Because a shootout between protesters and state troopers would have done so much more to secure the right to vote. Incredibly, that's not the stupidest thing anyone has said recently

No Easy Answers for Gun Woes

Unlike the Sandy Hook School massacre, the horrific death of Hadiya Pendleton might not have been enough all by itself to spark Senate hearings on gun violence. Yet as an urban teen, her tragic case is sadly far more typical

A Time to Resist

If we are to free ourselves of this gun violence terror, we will have to change our minds. Victims of tyranny have three options. They can adjust, they can resent but turn anger inward, or they can resist and fight back

Recycling Old and Failed Ideas

The state of the union would be much better if government were smaller and if people were allowed to keep and spend more of their hard-earned money. President Obama takes the liberal view; Marco Rubio the conservative view

Obama: An Energized Lame Duck

It's sometimes said that a lame-duck president is a weakened leader from the first day of his last term. But President Obama has issued a blunt pushback against the lame-duck sentence

Can the GOP Escape Its Bubble

After losing the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections, the Republican Party should be painfully aware of their need to step outside of the conservative bubble and talk to people who are not already voting for them

Leave Liberal Hollywood to the Liberals

Since conservatives are losing the culture which in turn leads to losing at politics, maybe that money could be better spent on producing some cultural ammo of our own? It's a bad idea

Can GOP's Local Success Translate to Federal Level?

The GOP has its troubles. Long-term demographic trends; often-irrational animosity; a thumbless grasp of the culture on the part of many Republicans: All of these things create a headwind for the conservative movement. But here's the weird part

Obama's Place in History Already Assured

The overall failure of American foreign policy during the first Obama presidency was foreseeable. He appointed advisers from past administrations representing the conventional liberal views of the period. In military matters, he inevitably was the prisoner of the Pentagon

Obama's License to Kill by Drone

Whoever leaked the Justice Department's 16-page confidential 'white paper' memo on the use of armed drones to NBC News sparked a long-overdue debate about something that makes both political sides feel uneasy: targeted killings by drone

Drone Double Standard

There hasn't been a huge outcry from those who attacked President Bush for his doctrine of pre-emptive strikes against terrorists. Recall, too, the vitriol directed at Vice President Dick Cheney for defending 'enhanced interrogation' techniques

Torture Helped Get bin Laden?

'Zero Dark Thirty,' the film about the hunt for and killing of Osama bin Laden, got a fresh infusion of buzz when outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta confirmed again that enhanced interrogation techniques aided the effort to find bin Laden

Let Us Prey

Our politics have become so polarized and corrupted that a president of the United States cannot even attend an event devoted to drawing people closer to God and bridge partisan and cultural divides without being lectured about his policies

A Message to Obama, Served Cold

In an earlier era, Dr. Benjamin Carson's speech before the National Prayer Breakfast last week would have been a really big deal rather than mere fodder for a brief squall on Twitter and cable news

Government Should Not Define 'Church'

The core issue as I see it is whether the government has the right to define a church as a building in which people congregate on Sundays and whether a private company headed by a religious person qualifies for conscience exemptions

Where The Buck Still Stops

A rare phenomenon occurred on Capitol Hill the other day when two ranking officials of the Obama administration testified that they had differed with the president they still served over providing arms to the rebels in Syria

Republicans Make Nice, But Are Their Hearts True?

I thought I'd give the GOP a little friendly advice. Some in the party leadership are preparing to woo Latino voters. They're fixing up a package of immigration reforms in the hopes of rekindling a relationship they dumped during the last election

Incoherent Immigration Reform

Nothing about illegal immigration quite adds up. Conservative corporate employers still support the idea of imported, cheap, non-union labor -- in a strange alliance with liberal activists who want the larger blocs of Latino voters

United States Shouldn't Create Underclass of Immigrants

House Republicans don't seem to get it. After getting pummeled by Hispanic voters in the 2012 election, they now want to create an underclass of 11 million people -- mostly Latinos -- by denying undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship

Rubio vs an Invisible Obama

Senator Marco Rubio's manufactured outrage over President Barack Obama's leaked immigration proposal illustrates the current Republican dilemma: They have to sound like they're doing battle with this president even when they agree with him

Marco Rubio's Problem Wasn't the Water

Marco Rubio, the Republicans' big Hispanic hope for 2016, is a smart politician who might still make it to his party's presidential ticket, but he blew it big time during his nationally broadcast State of the Union rebuttal speech

The Eye Doctor and the 'I' Pol

South Floridians are accustomed to the sight of blue-jacketed federal agents swarming a doctor's office and marching out with boxes of files. Normally this is unpleasant news for the doctor. But it's even worse news for Senator Bob Menendez

60 Minutes' Missed Opportunity

'60 Minutes' is known for hard-hitting, aggressive journalism. The program on which Steve Kroft interviewed President Obama (at his request, no less) and outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fell far short of that high standard

Obama and Rubio: A Study in Contrasts

The anticipated verbal duel between President Obama and Republican Senator Marco Rubio was an obvious mismatch. It seemed a case of man vs. boy, and of a perhaps overly ambitious agenda for the future vs. the same old GOP naysaying

State of the Union, At Home and Abroad

President Obama's first State of the Union address of his second term, following in the fashion of his second inaugural address, focused on the state of the nation at home

The Minimum Wage and The Meaning of a Decent Society

The proposed increase puts more money into the hands of families that desperately need it, allowing them to buy a bit more and thereby keep others working. A decent society should do no less. Some conservatives say decency has nothing to do with it

The Hoax of Austerity Economics

We are in the most anemic recovery in modern history. The president talks about boosting the economy and rebuilding the middle class, but Washington isn't doing squat. Apart from the Fed, the government is heading in exactly the wrong direction

Diplomacy: Lying Politely

There are a hundred places in the world that need the help U.S. power and money can provide. But we have to ask, how much can we do and how much do we have the will to do? How effective would diplomacy be?

United States and Israel Push The Boundaries of International Law

International law progresses through violations. We invented targeted assassination and we had to push it. At first there were protrusions that made it hard to insert into the legal molds. Now, it is in the center of the bounds of legitimacy

Pentagon Keyboard Jockeys Can Now Out-Decorate Combat Heroes

The Distinguished Warfare Medal will recognize those whose ability to incinerate a designated target from the comfort of an office chair wasn't prohibitively affected by a jumpy trigger finger on the joystick from a mid-shift java jolt

One Day The World Will Thank Bush For Shaking Up The Arab Region

The worst type of history is that inspired by political rivalry. The Iraq story is no exception; the received wisdom is largely shaped by Democrats vilifying the legacy of George W. Bush. The result is that most of the criticism focuses on the invasion itself and its aftermath

Immigration Reform Plan is a Farce

A bipartisan group of senators has just lit a soggy fuse under the immigration debate. This manifesto of mediocrity fails to address the biggest immigration problems facing America -- starting with the question of 'Why?'

The GOP Crack-up and Obama's Unraveling of the Republican Coalition

The GOP crack-up was probably inevitable. Inconsistencies and tensions within the GOP have been growing for years -- ever since Ronald Reagan put together the coalition. All Obama has done is finally find ways to exploit these inconsistencies

GOP: Rest in Peace?

Some political commentators are dancing on what they believe to be the grave of the Republican Party, claiming that the only way the GOP can have a viable future is for them to behave like Democrats

Taking Joe Biden Seriously

Standing at Obama's side, even more visibly during the second inaugural festivities than before, has been Vice President Joe Biden, not merely in ceremonial roles but as a key supporting player in Obama's most prominent second-term initiatives

Targeting Hillary Clinton

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's swan song before the House and Senate was in a sense a prelude to any future bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. It gave Republicans a last chance to cast her as irresponsible

Hillary Clinton Grilled, Punches Back

It was darkly amusing to watch Republicans go after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Capitol Hill hearings about the tragic fiasco in Benghazi. But the Grand Old Party's attack dogs were barking up the wrong tree

Hillary Clinton's Dodgy Testimony

In her recent testimony on Benghazi, Hillary Clinton brilliantly fudged, dodged and filibustered. Of course, she's a pro. Aided by a ridiculous format, she outfoxed most of the Republicans with ease

Wake Up, Socially Liberal Fiscal Conservatives

I don't expect you to vote Republican, never mind admit you're simply a liberal. But please stop preening about your fiscal conservatism, particularly as you condemn the GOP for not being fiscal conservatives

When Big Deficits Became Good

Obama was once right about the deficits. But the antidote for the profligacy of the Bush administration was not to increase the borrowing even more. What, then, explains the vast gulf between the prior Obama rhetoric and his current record on deficits?

Female vs Male Senators

As the son of a woman, the husband of a woman and the father of daughters and granddaughters, I celebrate the record number of females who are now United States senators. However, I do see some differences

Chuck Hagel: A Petty Decision by Obama

President Obama has named Chuck Hagel as his nominee for secretary of defense. The interesting question is, why? Why waste the political capital? Why pass over more qualified candidates who would sail through confirmation?

Chuck Hagel and Defense

President Obama's choice for secretary of defense, Chuck Hagel has a resume most politicians can envy: a clean senatorial record, no ethical lapses and two purple hearts. However, biography isn't policy

A Time to Build

Some 46 million Americans live in poverty, about 15 percent of the population, levels not seen since before Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. Can President Obama succeed in reviving the prospects of the poor?

Obama's Challenge

The new Obama assertiveness may well turn out to be a formula for more of the same Republican obstructionism. He is clearly hoping that, by taking his case to the country campaign-style, he may break the legislative logjam

Obama's Debt-Ceiling Strategy Could Put The Squeeze on GOP

The 2012 election has shaken the GOP, as have the post-fiscal cliff polls. Yet, the Republican Party may not care what a majority of Americans thinks. The survival of most Republican members of Congress depends on primary victories

No Labels, No Excuses

Recently, it was announced that a group of Republicans and Democrats agreed to get together once in a while and chat. This made news nationwide. Does that not tell you all you need to know about the sorry state of American politics?

Another Second Inauguration

The inauguration of a re-elected president should signify the country's satisfaction with his first term. Nevertheless, of the last seven presidential repeaters, arguably only two undertook another four years with wide public approval

Obama 2.0: The Sequel

President Obama's critics are shocked, shocked to hear him sound in his second inaugural address like what he is, a liberal progressive. In other words, how dare he wage a vigorous defense of what he really believes?

Big Government 2.0

Bill Clinton's assertion in his 1996 that 'the era of big government is over' was a bit premature. In light of President Obama's Second Inaugural Address, the era of big government has just begun

Oh, Yesterday Went Suddenly

The dawn is the symbolic beginning of the new day and thus, the symbolic end of the old. Keep that in mind as people parse Barack Obama's second inaugural address. Keep it in mind as they debate What It All Means

Time to Grow Up, GOP

It's hard to recognize that the conservative movement's problems are mostly problems of success. The Republican Party's problems are much more recognizable as the problems of failure, including the failure to recognize its limits

U.S. Policy as Global Security Provider Built on Plymouth Rock

The belief that the U.S. could and should assume such a global role and expect positive results derives from an invincible political ignorance and a credulous faith in an historical process leading ever upwards towards democracy

Avoiding the Wars That Never End

The United States is moving away from the view that it has the primary responsibility for trying to manage the world on behalf of itself and its allies. Instead, that burden is shifting to those who have immediate interests

I Am Because You Are

The website is called the Sandy Hook Promise. It advances no particular agenda, except to proclaim the value of life. And in so doing, the site's organizers -- residents of Newtown wounded by the tragedy -- quietly insist that this matters

Obama's Battle Hymn of the Republic

I don't think Obama gave a good inaugural address this time. I think it was a great one. After decades of being fed the lie that government isn't the solution but rather the problem, it was refreshing to hear a president sound like an unapologetic liberal

Why I'm Singing the Inauguration Blues

President Obama's second inauguration definitely had its high points: his uncharacteristically liberal speech and weather that broke 30 degrees. However, like Paul Ryan and Henry Marsh, I had a bad day on the mall

Obama's Inaugural Address Not Progressive Enough

It was a liberal speech by a liberal president. That sums up the commentariat's assessment of President Obama's second inaugural address. However, his speech didn't satisfy liberal longings in some key respects

Roe v. Wade at 40

Forty years after the Supreme Court opened the door to legalized abortion, the number of aborted babies has reached roughly 55 million. Think of that. Fifty-five million potential what -- doctors, athletes, mothers and fathers?

An Imperial President

A petulant and confrontational President Obama spoke like an emperor or supreme ruler. All that was missing was a scepter and a crown. This president exceeds even Bill Clinton in his ability to evade, prevaricate and dissemble

Obama's Flip-Flops on Money in Politics

When President Obama told supporters that he would morph his campaign into a new nonprofit that would accept unlimited corporate donations, the announcement set off a familiar round of griping from campaign finance reformers

Control Politicians, Not Guns

The latest effort to 'control' guns in America is as likely to deter someone intent on breaking the law as outlawing lust would affect one's libido. What's in a heart can't be controlled by restricting what's in a hand

Obama Goes Big on Gun Control, But Can He Deliver?

First reactions to President Obama's package of gun control ideas seem to be criticism that it's too ambitious. Predictions are being heard that he will fall far short of his aspirations and even fail to restore the ban on assault weapons

Appropriate Job for Big NRA Backer

It's only fitting that the NRA's biggest tool in Florida is Rep. Dennis Baxley, a Republican who does whatever the gun lobby wants. Baxley made headlines by suggesting that weapons should be carried by employees at public schools

Warm Coats and Inaugural Memories

It's that time again, so I've collected a few facts about presidential inaugurations. Maybe you can surprise your friends with them

War On Pot Has Gone Up in Smoke

The war on marijuana is going up in smoke, and it's about time. There is no bigger waste of money and resources in all law enforcement. Failure is too polite a description for the long campaign to eliminate the pot trade. A colossal flop is what it is

Second Amendment Vigilantes

It's a myth that the right to bear arms stemmed from the Founders' wish that Americans be free to stage an armed rebellion against our own government, should it become tyrannical

On to the Next Cliff

The United States Congress simply postponed its tough decisions on federal spending until March

Congress and the Fiscal Cliff: More of the Same

Everything that everyone loathes about Washington was present in the 'fiscal cliff' bill just passed by Congress. It is 153 pages long. It was delivered in the middle of the night; and it was loaded with pork

The Dropped Ball

While many spun the hurried late-night move as a victory for the middle class, it was a win paid for with new tax cuts worth hundreds of billions of dollars for America's wealthiest families

Fiscal Cliff Deal Won't End War Between Democrats and Republicans

So we've come full circle. On it goes, battle after battle in what seems an unending war that began with the election of Tea Party Republicans in November 2010. The war isn't really over the federal budget deficit

Joe Biden Has the Last Laugh

Vice President Joe Biden, the Republicans' favorite punching bag, gave his critics nothing to laugh about as President Obama's ultimate fireman in rescuing the country from the fiscal cliff it teetered on as 2012 ended

When Uncle Sam Pays Dividends

Who won the budget standoff? In one sense, everyone scored a 'victory.' However, the real winners don't come into focus until we take in the big picture

Winning Ugly: Obama and the Fiscal Cliff

By all accounts, President Obama won the fiscal cliff showdown. Why anyone would take much pride in this kind of 'win' is beyond me. It's a bit like being the least filthy toddler in the mud pit

Obama's 2013 priorities -- and Guns

President Obama has four priorities: immigration reform, stabilizing the economy through debt reduction and infrastructure repair, generating more energy production, and protecting the middle class from higher taxes

The Year That Was in Politics

It would be nice to feel, after one of the most costly and abrasive presidential campaigns in our nation's history, that the fog has cleared from the miasma of the year 2012, revealing bright prospects for a better 2013

2012: When Dreams Died

The year 2012 should have taught us that dreaming is no answer to reality; 2013 will determine how well we learned that lesson

Don't Tread on Six-Toed Cats

One of my New Year's resolutions is to work harder to persuade ideological friends and foes alike that the way to reduce partisanship and maximize happiness in America is to embrace federalism

The Crisis of the Middle Class and American Power

United States power is threatened by the decline of the middle class and the potential creation of two Americas without a common interest

What Price U.S. Citizenship?

With so many foreigners wanting to become U.S. citizens, it's still a shock to know someone who has relinquished his citizenship. It is another reason for simplifying the U.S. tax code

The Geopolitics of Immigration

The United States is a nation of immigrants. That is the ultimate cliche and the absolute truth

The Great New-Year Stampede

There is a new-year stampede developing in the United States that we have not seen for a long time

Who's Afraid of the Fiscal Cliff?

The big fight of the hour is over how best to deal with the self-made fiscal cliff crisis. Or is it a 'fiscal bluff?' Both sides know what they need to do, but, since all of the options will bring pain, each side drags its heels

The Kingdom of Fairness

There is now only one commandment in the new Kingdom of Fairness: Make less than $250,000, and the government will ensure that you get your fair share. Make more than that, and the government will demand that you pay your fair share

Never Ever, Ever, Ever...

Strip away the false piety offered by Republican lawmakers rationalizing their decision to abandon a pledge that they will never ever, ever, ever vote to raise taxes, and that's pretty much what the explanation boils down to

Obama Plays His High Cards

President Obama has turned a corner from his earlier wishful thinking about playing nice with obstruction-minded Republicans in Congress. Now, to get his way, he needs to apply the Lyndon Johnson weapon of the iron fist in the velvet glove

Let The Real Fat Cats Pay Their Fair Share

For much of 2012, Obama waged a veritable class war against conservatives, as if they were all right-wing clones of Donald Trump and the Koch brothers. But modern Democrats are as likely to be very wealthy as are Republicans

Tea Party Down But Not Out

So far, there is no sign of a shifting of the tectonic plates of the conservatism on which the tea party movement was built. Nor are there any indications that more moderate views will soon be prevailing in the GOP

GOP Voter Suppression Continues

It really is no secret that Republicans want to make it harder for people to vote. Some are even up-front about it

How the GOP Can Blow Another Election

You'd think Republican leaders would comprehend the futility of sucking up to the beet-faced Limbaugh fringe and pushing an agenda that most Americans viewed as extreme, exclusive and intrusive

The GOP -- Not a Club for Christians

In the scramble to make the GOP more diverse, a lot of people are looking at Asian Americans, whom many believe are a natural constituency for the party. But, the challenge for Republicans is harder than many appreciate

'Amnesty' Not Looking So Bad to GOP

I expected to see Republicans make some changes. But even I have been surprised to see so many changes so soon, beginning with the Grand Old Party's brand new vigor for making new amigos with Hispanic voter

Republicans: You Gotta Have Hope

Listening to Senator Marco Rubio and Rep. Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican and of late the GOP vice presidential candidate, I sensed more than a generational shift in party leadership. It was a 'back to the future'

Federalism Could Be Solution to GOP Branding Problem

To understand why Republicans have a 'branding problem,' you first need to understand how the system is rigged against conservatives. Such is the schizophrenic dysfunction of our politics

Politicians: No Skin in the Game

Politicians often use the phrase to justify policies to their liking. It can also be applied to the latest in a long list of their outrageous behaviors, as well as to those of President Obama

Goodbye, Senator Joe Lieberman

After 24 years in the United States Senate, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, the first and only Jewish politician nominated to a national major party ticket, in 2000, had some advice for his colleagues in his farewell speech on the Senate floor

Jim DeMint: A Senate loss or gain?

In a profession like politics and in a town like the nation's capital, the decision of Republican Jim DeMint of South Carolina voluntarily surrendering his seat for a think-tank job would have been unthinkable some years ago

A 'Right To' Words that Work

Words have power. If anyone wonders whether conservatives have taken the lead in effective political catch phrases, the term 'right to work' should remove all doubt

Liberal Obsession with Race is Growing Old

When will liberals stop living in the past? Specifically, when will they accept that they aren't all that stands between a wonderful, tolerant America and Jim Crow?

Some Companies Resorting to Extremes to Dodge Obamacare

Just wait until corporate executives finish slashing the hours of their workers to under 30 per week. By slighting workers the hours they need to make any kind of decent living, employers will be able to dump their health insurance obligations

The Other Cliffs

The 'fiscal cliff' isn't nearly the biggest cliff we face -- if we're talking about dangerous precipices looming on the horizon. While the so-called 'fiscal cliff' could be dangerous, these other three cliffs pose far greater perils

Take Care of the Children

America's children are shortchanged on almost every issue we face as a society. Not only are we failing to protect our children from deranged people wielding semi-automatic guns, we're not protecting them from poverty. And we're not protecting their health

U.S. May Pay More Attention to Latin America in Obama's Second Term

If President Barack Obama appoints John Kerry as secretary of state to replace Hillary Clinton when he starts his second term next month, as some administration officials anticipate, you may see a somewhat greater U.S. focus on Latin American affairs

Obama's Own Cliff

As official Washington nervously ponders the approaching fiscal cliff and the potential economic chaos it entails, President Obama faces a precipice of his own in the challenge of making use of his re-election victory

'Fiscal Cliff' Obscures Lack of Shared Sacrifice

The pressure is growing in the face-off over the so-called 'fiscal cliff' in Washington. The president put his plan on the table. Republican Speaker John Boehner rejected it out of hand. And then . . . and then nothing

The Fiscal Cliff: False Fears and Horrors

Don't fall for the hype. The fiscal cliff is not a product of nature. Essentially, Congress is threatening to blow up the economy unless Congress agrees not to blow up the economy

Taxpayers, Revolt!

Congress returned to 'work' to complete its lame-duck session before taking another holiday. Their task is to avoid the 'fiscal cliff,' a geological construct of their own making

Republicans: The Party of No

As President Obama and Republicans in Congress approach the much-feared fiscal cliff of automatic deep budget cuts by year's end, his re-election victory may be his best trump card to get new revenue and avoid calamitous hemorrhaging to the social safety net

For Pete's Sake, What's Happened to Our Democracy?

You don't need smarts, courage, or vision to change history. You just need a ton of money, the sort of fortune that 86-year-old Peter Peterson has amassed over his years wheeling and dealing on Wall Street

Let Obama be Obama

Obama was re-elected by painting his Republican opponents as heartless in favoring lower taxes for the rich; as nativists for opposing the Dream Act amnesty for illegal immigrants; and as callous in battling the federal takeover of health care

Ascendant Hillary Clinton

As Hillary Clinton nears her promised resignation at the end of the first Obama term, and absent any Sherman-like statement that she will not run for president again, she'll be leaving the administration at a peak of her popularity

Right, Left Get Along -- Outside Washington

Despite the partisan bickering and gridlock in Washington, I am encouraged by the surprisingly bipartisan coalitions that backed recent state victories. Maybe we can all get along

If, At First, You Don't Secede...

What a coincidence. It is intriguing to watch Steven Spielberg's 'Lincoln' biopic about Abraham Lincoln at a time when the current president is receiving secession petitions via the Internet

Republican Problems are About More than Just Packaging

The vote totals (Obama won by about 3.5 million) don't look like a blowout for liberalism. But it would be wrong to analyze what happened this election year strictly through lens of what happened on the presidential level

Marco Rubio: A Hispanic Reagan?

Conservatives have been dreaming that a political reincarnation of Ronald Reagan would lead them to an electoral promised land. Senator Marco Rubio closely represents the substance and style that made Ronald Reagan who he was is

Obama Needs a Family Plan

There is one area where Obama could be transformative and bipartisan while helping both the middle class and the poor. He could show some leadership on the state of the black family, and the American family in general

An Unsightly Scrap Over Cabinet Nomination

There was a time when a president and the opposition party in Congress could agree on certain basics, such as the right of the chief executive to select members of his cabinet with no fuss or bother

Throwing Rice: A GOP In-Crowd

Do race and gender bias fuel the raging Senate fight that has erupted for remarkably little reason over United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice's possible nomination to be secretary of state? I think not

The Decline of Moderate Republicanism

Sometimes it takes the passing from the scene of a strong yet reasonable and accommodating voice to show how valuable and in short supply that commodity is in today's political discourse

To Appeal to Black Voters, GOP Must Run Gauntlet of Racism Accusations

Right now, many in Washington -- particularly the leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus -- insist that Republican attacks on U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice are racist and, yawn, sexist

BP is Not a Criminal

I'm appalled by the carelessness and indifference of the BP executives responsible for the disaster. But holding corporations criminally liable reinforces the same fallacy that gave us Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

When the Curtain Rises

Having just come through a bruising national election when it felt at times like the future of the Enlightenment was at stake, there is nothing like finding refuge and diversion in a darkened theater and its typically too-cramped seats

Mitt Romney's Own Gift

His critics could not have made a better case that Romney is as an out-of-touch rich guy. No wonder major Republican political figures lined up to denounce him and write off any future for him in the party

The 'Land of Opportunity' is Becoming Hollywood Fiction

Opportunity for everyone is fast becoming Hollywood fiction. Ironically, Hollywood may be one of the few pockets where upward mobility is based on merit. Silicon Valley is another. But for the vast majority another story is emerging: a new plutocracy of the super-wealthy is cementing its hold on the top

Will the Supreme Court Dismantle the Voting Rights Act?

Widespread efforts to suppress voting by people of color and the poor through a rash of voter ID laws make it clear that we still need the landmark 1965 legislation today

The Pollution of Political Discourse

As the dust settles in the wake of the latest presidential election, where can the open-minded voter turn these days for reasonably unbiased analysis and commentary on the state of political affairs?

The Sad State of Zealots with Microphones

America, you are an idiot. You are a moocher, a zombie, soulless, mouth-breathing, ignorant, greedy, self-indulgent, envious, shallow and lazy. The foregoing is a summation of 'analysis' from conservative pundits and media figures

Mitt Romney's Uncertain Legacy

As if Mitt Romney's defeat weren't a cross enough to bear, the kind of campaign he ran could make him uniquely a man on the outside of his party looking in

Obama's Re-Election: Oh, We Forgot to Tell You ...

Apparently, like tragic Greek heroes, administrations grow arrogant after their re-election wins. They believe that they are invincible and that heir public approval is permanent rather than fickle

2012 Election Results: A Victory for Creatures of the State

The Progressives won. I don't mean the people who voted Democrat who call themselves 'progressive.' Though they won, too. I mean the Progressives who've been waging a century-long effort to transform our government into a European-style state

Let's Make Sure Every Vote Matters

Before this chance for post-election reflection completely vanishes, though, let's talk election reform -- and begin to push for it. Congress needs to act to clean up the mishmash of rules, modernize the process, and address the real problems

Obama Re-Elected as President

President Barack Obama captured a number of battleground states including Ohio on Tuesday's election to beat Republican rival Mitt Romney and won another four-year term in the White House

Obama Victory Speech Talks About Reconciliation and Hope

U.S. President Barack Obama said that the 'best is yet to come' for the country during his reelection victory speech in his hometown Chicago

Romney Ends Presidential Run, Congratulates Obama's Election Win in Concession Speech

Republican nominee Mitt Romney conceded the presidential race to incumbent Barack Obama and gave a brief address to his supporters in Boston

GOP Retains House Majority But Democrats Keep Control of Senate

Tuesday's general elections saw the Republicans maintaining rule in the House of Representatives while the Democrats kept control of the Senate

Obama Re-election the Result of Increasingly Diverse Electorate

The widely noted aspect of Barack Obama's reelection victory was its social and class character. The president was reelected by a majority of American minorities

Voters Said No to 'Politics of Pitchforks'

One can argue that voters did more than re-elect Obama. They also repudiated the scorched-earth extremism and acute cognitive dissonance that have come to characterize the Republican Party in recent years

Obama Presses On

In the closing hours of President Obama's drive for re-election, he sounded a most unusual rallying cry to his supporters. He urged them to join him in 'keeping on keeping on'

Four More Years of Decline

Great nations and proud empires have always collapsed from within before they were conquered from without. President Obama's re-election mirrors the self-indulgent, greedy and envious nation we are rapidly becoming

Republicans and Democrats Playing Game of Economic Chicken

With the election behind us, I had hoped our politicians would get beyond games of chicken. No such luck

Petraeus Yet Another High-Ranking Military Official Mired in Scandal

'Duty, Honor, Country' is the West Point motto, but it seems to have lost what once was its compelling power over the men of the Long Gray Line, as they pursue the military careers that follow graduation

David Petraeus: Sex and the City (of Washington)

The resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus over an extramarital affair has raised and will continue to raise a number of questions

David Petraeus: What Obama Did Not Need to Know

Past CIA officers have withheld information so presidents will have 'plausible deniability.' In the matter of David Petraeus' career-killing extramarital affair, President Obama is stuck with a deniable plausibility

David Petraeus: The Public's Need to Know or Not

We're seeing the eagerness to know, and to judge, in the latest and still-unraveling sex scandal among the mighty -- the sudden resignation of retired Army Gen. David Petraeus from the CIA

Election was a Turning Point for Latinos

President Barack Obama's re-election was a huge victory for Latino voters, one that will transform U.S. presidential elections for the foreseeable future

Republicans Need to Rethink Future; Latinos Here to Help

If the GOP wants to have a shot at governing this country in the coming decades, they will have to shed their stereotyped thinking and understand the Latino electorate

2012 Election Results: Once Again, Florida is the National Punchline

The bad news is that Florida screwed up another big election. The good news is that it doesn't matter this time. By now, Floridians have stoically accepted our laughingstock role in the Electoral College

GOP Defeated by Single Women

As Republicans reflect on what went wrong, they should think back on when Republicans organized a grandstanding hearing on contraception coverage under Obamacare, in which they proclaimed it an affront to an employer's religious freedom

2012 Election Results: The Mandate

Elections have consequences. President Obama's stunning re-election victory came dramatically from the same emerging majority coalition brought him to the presidency in 2008

An America Yet to Be Born

I went to bed last night feeling an enormous inner cry of relief that the neocons and right-wing crazies were held at bay for four more years. Now what?

Democrats' Medicare Offensive Falls Flat Against GOP

The temptation to claim a 'status quo' outcome from the election ignores broader trends in this year's health and Medicare debates, according to longtime congressional observers

Federal Deficit Talks Could Impact Obama's Moves On Health Law

Some analysts predict the mounting pressures to reduce federal spending will complicate efforts to implement the law, known as the Affordable Care Act

Groundhog Day in America

Barack Obama won a moderately close victory over Mitt Romney on Tuesday. But oddly, nothing much has changed. The country is still split nearly 50/50

10 Reasons Latinos Voted for Obama

It shouldn't come as a big surprise that a whopping 70 percent of Latino likely voters supported President Obama, while only 25 percent supported Gov. Mitt Romney. There are 10 major reasons for that

The French View of The Petraeus Sex Scandal

French public reaction to American CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus' suicide-bombing of his own career demonstrates a lack of understanding of the perceived offense in favor of a blind defense of libertinism

Mitt Romney's 'Gifts' Gaffe

Mitt Romney finally has it figured out. He knows why he lost. Guess what? It was all President Barack Obama's fault. Of course, that's not exactly the way Romney puts it. He puts it in a way that sounds even sillier than that

Mitt Romney Self-Destructs Again

Defeated presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who helped do himself in with his closed-door characterization of nearly half of all Americans as content to live off federal handouts, wasted no time doubling down on the theory

Ballot Measures Reveal Electorate No Longer in a Tea Partying Mood

The 2012 elections put the 'progress' back in 'progressive.' Americans pushed the tea party aside and voted for an expansive and egalitarian constitutional vision where government plays an active role in problem-solving

Real Facts Catch Up with the GOP Spin Doctors

As the numbers rolled in and one battleground state after another fell to President Barack Obama, it was time for despondent conservatives to drop the feel-better projections and start the feel-better rationalizations

2012 Election Results: Changing America

Historically, the losing party turns introspective and asks itself how to attract more voters. Some Republicans are suggesting that social issues be jettisoned and the GOP should become more like Democrats. Why, then, have two parties?

2012 Election Results: The Right Is Not Waving a White Flag

It's not to say that the conservative movement and the Republican Party are doing great. They're not. But whether fueled by left-wing glee or right-wing dread, rumors of the right's death are exaggerated

Whither the GOP?

While Republican leaders console themselves that they salvaged control of the House from the defeat of Mitt Romney, they need to ponder the long-term future of the party of Lincoln and of Ronald Reagan

GOP's Biggest Problem is Itself

There are no smiles among the Republicans, however, only a pressing question: Can the GOP fix itself? Can a party whose appeal is wholly white and mainly male learn to appeal to a rainbow electorate which is neither?

2012 Election Results: Compassionate Conservatism Redux

I still don't like compassionate conservatism or its conception of the role of government. But given the election results, I have to acknowledge that Bush was more prescient than I appreciated at the time

The New American Civil War

The vitriol is worse than I ever recall. Worse than the Palin-induced smarm of 2008. Worse than the swift-boat lies of 2004. Worse, even, than the anything-goes craziness of 2000 and its ensuing bitterness. It's almost a civil war

What's Next?

Presidential elections decide only who wins the White House and a congressional majority. What will happen if Mitt Romney wins the White House, but Democrats maintain a Senate majority?

Nate Silver's Numbers Racket

An intense kerfuffle broke out over the poll-prognosticator Nate Silver. Silver, a statistician, has been predicting a decisive Obama victory for a very long time, based on his very complicated statistical model

Florida Voters Won't Be Fooled Again -- or Will We?

There are so many bad constitutional amendments on Florida's ballot that it's hard to know where to start. The most deceptive is Amendment 8, which is fraudulently captioned 'Religious Freedom'

A Date with History: The Cuban Missile Crisis

The mythology of the Cuban Missile Crisis, along with accounts of the cool resolve of President John F. Kennedy in answering Nikita Khrushchev's emollient first letter rather than the tougher second one, has proved surprisingly durable

Women Voters: Kingmakers in 2012

Women were the winning force behind Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, and still favor the president in polls. But Mitt Romney has worked hard to gain ground

Another Electoral College Nightmare?

Only a dozen years after the infamous Florida recount fiasco that put the loser of the national popular vote in the Oval Office, the specter of a repetition appears to be a possible outcome in 2012

FEMA vs 'Romnesia'

Words have a way of coming back to haunt Mitt Romney, especially when he says them in front of TV cameras. No, Team Romney insisted, their candidate does not really want to abolish the FEMA, even if his words make him sound like he does

An Unscripted October Surprise

Only days before the presidential election, Superstorm Sandy handed President Obama an unanticipated spotlight in which to act as commander-in-chief

Stormy Weather Politics

On the heels of Superstorm Sandy, a minor whirlwind has been unleashed over how its aftermath may affect the remaining days of the presidential campaign. The immediate response was simple and predictable

The Vanishing Act of Dubya

One of the most telling aspects of the 2012 presidential campaign now racing to its end is the matter of the vanishing former two-term Republican president. His name is so seldom mentioned

Not an Easy Makeover for Florida Representative Allen West

After less than two years in Congress, Rep. Allen West has raised $15 million to get himself re-elected. That's a mountain of money, but you'd need every dime if your job was to make West look like a calm, responsible person

What Men of the GOP Don't Get About Rape and Abortion

If women are such a coveted voting demographic, why are so many male politicians hell bent on offending us? Senate candidate Richard Mourdock of Indiana is the latest office seeker to rankle when discussing rape, pregnancy and abortion

The Final Days, The Biggest Issue and The Clearest Choice

As we go into the final days of a dismal presidential campaign, the biggest issue on which the candidates have given us the clearest choice is whether the rich should pay more in taxes

Why We're Still in Deep Trouble No Matter Who Wins The Presidency

Regardless of who wins the presidential election, one thing seems certain: Americans are about to learn some hard lessons. That is, whoever ends up being elected will be required to work within the confines of current economic forces

A Romney Presidency Would Erase Decades of Progress

Presidents alter the trajectory of nations and the life prospects of citizens, from FDR giving us Social Security and LBJ giving us Medicare, to the disastrous policies of George W. Bush. Here are five ways Mitt Romney would indelibly alter the USA if elected

President Obama Has Earned Our Trust -- and Our Vote

Voters are faced with a clear choice. Mitt Romney is a wealthy man -- a plutocrat -- who champions a plutocrat's agenda. He would cut taxes on the wealthy and eliminate taxes on profits multinationals reporting abroad

Conservatives Long for the Sad Days of Yesteryear

They still say President Obama wasn't born in the United States. Just the other day, Mitt Romney surrogate John Sununu, honest to God, called him 'lazy'

The Key Election Factor -- Hispanic Turnout

President Obama may be wrong on many issues, but he is right on this one: he may win the election because Republicans have totally alienated Hispanic voters

In GOP View, Life is Sacred ... Except When It's Not

'... And I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.' -- Richard Mourdock, GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate

Storm Saves Obama From Himself

If President Obama had the time for some introspection on the campaign trail, he might take offense at all the media speculation that his response to Hurricane Sandy will give him the edge going into Election Day

Obama: 'You Know I Tell the Truth'

President Obama told thousands lining the streets of downtown Concord, New Hampshire that voters can trust what he tells them, as opposed to what he says are the repackaged ideas of rival Mitt Romney

Romney: Obama Victory Would Mean More Gridlock

Republican Mitt Romney tells a Cleveland, Ohio crowd that re-election of President Barack Obama would mean more partisan gridlock in Washington

Romney Pledges Bipartisanship in Final Push

Two days ahead of the election, Republican Mitt Romney is renewing his pledge to work with Democrats on Capitol Hill if elected

Obama: 'We've Got More Work to Do'

President Obama told voters in Iowa that he kept his promises to end the war in Iraq, provide health insurance for millions and bring Osama bin Laden to justice

The Uncool President

In 2008, Barack 'No Drama' Obama was the coolest presidential candidate America had ever seen -- young, hip, Ivy League, mellifluous and black, with a melodic and exotic name

The 2012 Choice

This election will tell us what kind of America we believe in. Is it the one our Founders bequeathed to their posterity of limited government, or is it the one re-made in the image of liberal paternalistic government?

Busting Myths about Benghazi

Sarah Palin hereby accuses President Barack Obama of the high crime of shucking and jiving or, more precisely, a 'shuck and jive shtick' with 'Benghazi lies.' Evidence? She don't need no blinkin' evidence

Benghazi -- No Mere 'October surprise'

If you want to understand why conservatives have lost faith in the so-called mainstream media, you need to ponder the question: Where is the Benghazi feeding frenzy?

Mitt Romney's Question-Mark Economy

We're closing in on Election Day, but the questions about what Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan would do if elected are only growing larger. Rarely before has a presidential ticket campaigned on such a blank slate

Will Money Talk?

An unprecedented flood of money is going into political ads. Much of it from independent front groups that are spending ever-greater sums of money from anonymous donors largely on attack ads. What is going on?

With Time Short, Obama and Romney Hit Key States

President Obama began a cross-country rush to hold onto office in tough economic times with a new booklet outlining his second-term agenda and a closing argument that the choice comes down to trust

Romney: One Campaign Taking on Water

Republican nominee Mitt Romney appears with his running mate Paul Ryan in Nevada. Both slammed President Barack Obama for the lack of what they say is an agenda for another term

The Winning Road to 270

The road to the 270 electoral votes needed for victory is a bit more complicated. The AP's Kelly Daschle explain

Obama Blasts Romney in Foreign Policy Debate

Barack Obama pummeled Mitt Romney on foreign policy, casting him as outdated and 'all over the map' -- while the Republican White House challenger sought to cast himself as a more moderate candidate

Billionaire Koch Brothers Try to Buy Court

The new stealth campaign against three Florida Supreme Court justices is being backed by those meddling right-wing billionaires, Charles and David Koch. They love to throw their money around

Mitt's Hubris Shows Through in Town Hall Debate

The focus on style over substance in the presidential campaign debates has been an evident and disturbing aspect for voters hungering for more enlightment on the candidates' positions

Obama's Economic Spin: A New Pony or Manure?

On the stump and in the recent debates, the president has been taking credit for things that are symptoms of a bad economy and touting them as major accomplishments

Moderators Must Push Debates Past Talking Points

We need moderators to press candidates to discuss fundamental issues that too often are cut out of the debate. And we need them to press for answers beyond the talking points and help Americans see where candidates really stand

The Second Presidential Debate

In form, President Obama came back strongly in the second debate with Mitt Romney, but substantively he continues to lag behind the Republican candidate. That's because the president has a record to defend and it isn't a good one

Mitt Romney's Case to Women Fails to Convince

Mitt's obvious devotion to one woman doesn't have a great deal of relevance to women voters. Women are increasingly the household breadwinners. Yet women still earn less then men do

Foreign Affairs Debate Analysis

The main topic of the final Presidential debate in the campaign was foreign policy. The candidates also tried to bring the discussion back to the economy

Ann Coulter Calls President Obama Offensive Name

Conservative political pundit, Ann Coulter, is being criticized by Republicans and Democrats alike for a tweet where she called President Barack Obama a 'retard'

What Did Ohioans Think of the Debate?

Ohio is an important swing state in this presidential election. CBS News' Dean Reynolds watched the final presidential debate with a group of people in Steubenville, Ohio

A Vote for Election Day

I think mandatory voting is an abomination, and I don't lose any sleep over the influence partisans have on U.S. elections. But early voting still strikes me as a terrible idea

Principled Pragmatism Beats Bush-style Bluster

Obama has effectively cornered the market on foreign and defense policy, leaving Team Romney on the defensive, struggling to land punches on Obama's record

Teacher Would Show 'Em How To Run A Debate

If a fourth-grade teacher was moderating the final presidential debate ...

Mitt Romney's 'Binders' Bind

Mitt Romney's wince-inducing suggestion for gender equality, 'binders full of women,' has become almost as much of major Mitt-ism from the second presidential debate as 'Big Bird' was in the first

Obama's Recovery

President Obama did what he had to do in his second debate with Mitt Romney. He showed enough fight to revive fellow Democrats dispirited by his soporific performance in their first encounter

Left Wants Multiculturalism to Trump Free Speech

The American Left used to champion free expression. We were lectured -- correctly -- that the price of being repulsed by occasional crude talk and art was worth paying

Needed: A New Foreign Policy

Mitt Romney is correct in his indictment of the Obama administration for its numerous failures -- especially in the Middle East -- and his embrace of Ronald Reagan's 'peace through strength' philosophy

Quit Blaming Bush

Some Obama defenders will say that Bush's deficits made it harder to deal with the crisis. That seems reasonable, even if it's a red herring in the debate about what caused the crisis

A Bright and Shining Libyan Lie

Almost everything we have been told about Libya over the last two years is untrue. A free Libya was supposed to be proof of President Obama's enlightened reset Middle East policy

Presidential Candidates Not Speaking the Same Language

It's not just budget arithmetic that separates President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney; it's vocabulary, too

Foreign Policy Comes to the Fore

After more than a year of fighting over the pace of economic recovery, the race for the White House comes down to President Obama's supposedly strong suit, the conduct of foreign policy

Mitt Romney's Foreign Policy a Puzzle that Doesn't Fit Together

The principal problem with Mitt Romney's foreign policy statements is not that his position swings widely, or that he often reverses himself, according to the audience and the daily news

Reality: Product of the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy

It was one of those jokes that isn't, one of those barbs that captures something painfully true. And so it goes in the conservative War on Reality

The Politics of Fear and the Party of Non-Voters

Polls of 'likely voters' are notoriously imprecise because they reflect everyone who says they're likely to vote -- including those who hope to but won't, as well as those who won't but don't want to admit it

Bainport: A Taste of the Romney Economy

Sensata Technologies does sophisticated work creating sensors for automobiles. It enjoyed record profits last year. But not enough for its owner -- Bain Capital -- which is moving the jobs and the machinery to China

Florida's Amendment 8 An Assault on Church-State Separation

In a campaign season where lying has become a centerpiece political strategy, there is no greater lie than Florida's Amendment 8

VP Debate Winner? Barack Obama

In the debate between Vice President Joe Biden and his Republican challenger Rep. Paul Ryan, the real winner was off stage: President Barack Obama

As Vice President Role Grows, Spotlight Becomes Brighter

While VP candidates are most often little seen and less heard, their debates have become increasingly valuable. They shed light on the political wisdom of the presidential nominees

Biden vs Ryan: Old vs New

Had Vice President Joe Biden behaved toward Sarah Palin in their 2008 debate the way he behaved toward Paul Ryan in their debate, he might have been denounced as a patronizing misogynist

Red, Blue and Faithful

Apparently, Paul Ryan and Joe Biden are both theocrats willing, nay eager, to use state power to impose their religious views on the rest of us

Presidential Debates Reveal More About the Candidates and Less

Candidates are as trapped with who they are as the rest of us. They have only their own personalities, their own intelligence or lack of it, their own virtues and their own defects

The 'Self-Made' Hallucination of America's Rich

Like Mitt Romney, most Americans who amass grand fortunes have a substantial head start

Why Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are Going Down

Unemployment is still above 8 percent, job gains aren't even keeping up with population growth, the economy is barely moving forward. And yet, according to most polls, the Romney-Ryan ticket is falling further and further behind. How can this be?

Four Reasons Why Mitt Romney Might Still Win

Can Mitt Romney possibly recover? Pundits and pollsters are beginning to doubt it. However, rumors of Romney's demise are premature for at least four reasons

America Needs Good Refs -- On the Gridiron and in Politics

Seldom do America's two great passions come into sharp focus together as they have in the uproar over the role of the referees in each field, in the midst of the 2012 presidential campaign and the NFL season

How the GOP Protects Its Falsehoods

Most political campaigns are guilty of exaggeration. Some distort the truth. But rarely if ever has one resorted to such bald-faced lies -- even after they're shown to be lies

2012 Election Could Mirror 1980 Race

There was only one debate in 1980 between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. Yet there was more to the 1980 campaign than the game-changing debate rhetoric -- and some of the details are relevant to 2012

The Poor: America's Forgotten Swing Voters

Because the poor tend not to vote, they are often ignored by political campaigns seeking to appeal to 'likely voters.' But this reality makes the poor potential swing voters

Pragmatic Racism

Today's Republicans are capable of adoring select right-wing African-Americans. The Jim Crow revival they're pushing -- the large-scale disenfranchisement of primarily minority voters -- is pragmatic

Mitt Romney's Taxes: Who Cares?

Did anyone think the release of Mitt Romney's tax returns would satisfy Democrats and make them focus on the real issues in this campaign

Waffling on Obamacare will Not Help Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney has been no more unequivocal than in his full-throated embrace of the pledge to 'repeal and replace Obamacare.' But with the presidential nomination now in hand, leakage in the commitment is already visible

Why They Call Bill Clinton 'Big Dog'

Something unexpected happened when I came across the Democratic National Convention on CNN. Bill Clinton was talking on stage, and he was every bit as compelling

Bill Clinton's Secret: Make Little Words Matter

Bubba is back. As a word man, I was most impressed at the Democratic National Convention by Bill Clinton's skillful speech, much of it ad-libbed

Bill Clinton Delivers

It was no surprise that it fell to former President Bill Clinton to respond to the Republican taunt that the country is worse off now than when Barack Obama took over four years ago

Forward to What, Democrats?

Forward is a perfectly appropriate slogan for progressives. For progressives, what counts as moving forward depends entirely on where you want to go -- and where you think you've been

The New Obama Shows Muscle

What do you do after hope and change have failed? This was the question Barack Obama needed to answer in accepting his party's nomination for a second term

Words of Wisdom from a Nun

Granted, the rebuke was only implicit: Sister Simone Campbell never specifically mentioned the new GOP slogan of rugged individualism. But it was no less powerful for that

Likable Mitt Romney

Here's what Mitt Romney must be thinking about his 'likability' numbers

A GOP Civil War Simmers

A civil war is brewing within the Republican Party. It's a fight between two familiar factions: the party establishment vs the right-wingers

Mitt Romney Missed Big Chance with Latino Voters

Mitt Romney had his best opportunity to reach out to Hispanics and increase his support among Latino voters when he appeared before a Univision/Facebook forum. He blew it

Mitt Romney's Losing Bid to Win the Latino Vote

Mitt Romney has been trying harder to connect with Latino voters. Through it all, he gave misleading answers and sidestepped important issues. It seems that his new Latino outreach is as fake as his new skin tone

Does Political Discourse Need Geneva Conventions?

We are in another presidential election cycle where persuading the electorate using facts, evidence and reasoning is lost to emotional manipulation and lies

Another Episode in Mitt Romney's Foreign Policy Follies

With his intemperate criticisms of the handling of the anti-American episodes in Egypt and Libya, Mitt Romney has leaped before looking into the arena of President Obama's greatest political strength

Team Romney Doubles Down

Blundering into unfamiliar foreign-policy territory by accusing President Obama of apologizing in the current Mideast crisis, Mitt Romney has compounded the political misstep by throwing more fuel on the fire

Mitt Romney Misjudges Voters

If Mitt Romney really wants to give voters away, I'm sure Obama would be delighted to take them

Mitt Romney's Troubling Pattern

Every candidate commits a gaffe. It becomes a major cause for concern when a pattern sets in that creates a negative image with voters. That's what is happening with Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney's Party -- Checks OK, iPhones Not

Mitt Romney returned to Florida, only this time his handlers cautioned donors not to make video recordings at private fund-raising events. In other words, take out your checkbook but pocket your iPhone

Distractions and Diversions

There's another video, this one of Mitt Romney speaking to donors at a fundraiser in Boca Raton

The Self-Immolation of Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney's uphill struggle to convince doubting lower-income voters that he cares about them has taken another devastating hit with his worst-yet act of political self-destruction

The Latest Battle in the War on Voting

The kind of big government the Right likes is the kind that keeps certain people from voting

Better Off Today? Don't Ask

Are we better off than four years ago? Politically, the exact numbers are less important than how voters feel -- and a lot of us are feeling pretty miserable these days

What has Obama Learned?

Four years later, it's worth asking, 'What has Obama learned?' Several journalists have asked that exact question. And Obama's answers raise another question: Can Obama learn?

Obama Sells Old Ideas as New

Obama insists that the GOP represents old ideas. It's a remarkable claim for a president who has taken to FDR. That doesn't make it bad, necessarily, but ...

Let George W Bush Be

The re-election campaign is that George W. Bush left such a terrible mess that Barack Obama could hardly be expected to clean it up in four years

Do We Want This Foolish Man?

Mitt Romney should be ashamed. The way he behaved after the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and the killing of the American ambassador to Libya, is not befitting a candidate for President

In Defense of the 47 Percent

If the 47 percent gaffe concretizes the caricature of an out-of-touch rich guy, it's important to remember that Mitt Romney is hardly alone in his sentiments

The High Cost of Mitt Romney's Candor

It took Mitt Romney's unguarded remarks to a private audience of similarly well-heeled campaign contributors to lay bare the callowness of his whole bid for the presidency

It was a privilege, Mitt Romney

One inescapable conclusion is that it is much easier to make more wealth if you had a nice chunk handed to you at birth or by marriage

The Obama Hare and Romney the Tortoise

The 2012 race has turned into one of Aesop's classic fables. After each new media blitz against the no-frills Romney, a far cooler Obama races ahead in the polls -- only to fall back to about even

An American Shame that Both Candidates Ignore

Life expectancy is the measure of civilization. Life expectancy is a meter of our character. Yet this subject remains almost invisible on the campaign trail

Revisiting Wilson's 'Truly Disadvantaged'

We're finding lots of new ways to argue about it, even if our theories are no less sharply divided than the rest of our politics

Poor Visibility

The mainstream media needs to step up its reporting on poverty as a campaign issue

Paul Ryan Runs Into the Truth

Whether you run a marathon or run for office, facts -- and integrity -- matter. Paul Ryan can run, but he can't hide the truth about himself

Team Romney's War Against Facts

There's no excuse for the fantasies repeated by myth-building politicians like the evening's star speaker, presidential nominee Mitt Romney

Both Parties Go to Extremes

At a time when the two parties usually reach out to grab every swing voter they can woo, this year's conventions were unusually obsessed with firing up the base

Candidates Have De-Emphasized Foreign Affairs

Foreign affairs have fallen off the map for both major presidential candidates. Even though our relations with the rest of the world have a direct, undeniable bearing on the economic issues

Campaign 2012 in a Nutshell: Wrong Ideas vs No Ideas

Going by the conventional rules of American politics, the Democratic Convention was an unmitigated disaster. And, going by the same rules, GOP convention was a disaster, too

Memo to GOP: Demography is Destiny

Forget the pundits about which party's message will hit home with voters. From the perspective of millions of Americans who watched the conventions on TV, the difference was striking

Tribe of Liberty

In the context of American politics, I often argue that the left has grown confused about all this. They've tried to turn government itself into tribal enterprise of some kind

The Price of Freedom

If extremists learn the lesson that we will abandon a core principle because they throw tantrums or even commit murder, what does that tell them about us? What might we next be bullied into doing?

Paul Ryan Calling the Kettle Black with Medicare Scare Tactics

The Medicare 'death panels' bogeyman is back, reintroduced by, of all people, Paul Ryan, the man who would reform the Medicare entitlement

House of Representatives Armed with Irony

If lawmakers really want to stop blank checks for spending binges, they should start with the Pentagon

A Modest Proposal: Three Weeks of Paid Vacation

Here's a modest proposal I offer free of charge to President Obama and Mitt Romney: Every American should get a mandatory minimum of three weeks paid vacation a year

The Paul Ryan Choice

Paul Ryan exemplifies the social Darwinism at the core of today's Republican Party: Reward the rich, penalize the poor, let everyone else fend for themselves

Mitt Romney's Misguided Blue-Collar Voting Bloc

We tell ourselves stories in order to vote. Which is why Mitt Romney maintains a huge lead in the polls among blue-collar white men

What Mitt Romney Could Do to Connect with Hispanics

One of the key things to watch is whether the Romney-Ryan ticket will be able to connect with Hispanics and improve its dismal approval ratings among Latino voters

Romney and the Republican Club

Groucho Marx was said to have declared that he wouldn't want to be a member of a club that would have him as a member. One wonders whether Mitt Romney may feel deep down the same way about his Republican Party

Hurricane Isaac's Impact on the GOP

Hurricane Isaac may have spared Tampa its most severe hit, but the Republican National Convention taking place there nevertheless has been left with a clean-up job regarding the GOP itself

Five Things Romney Needs from GOP convention

Depending on how Romney and Ryan play it, they'll either gain mileage with the voting public, or crash into a pole. Nothing stands in their way except themselves

The Goldwater Legacy

As the 2012 Republican National Convention gathers, I find my thoughts going back to San Francisco in 1964. It was was the one at which Barry Goldwater was nominated for president

We're All Subsidizing Free Lunches for America's CEOs

It's time to close the tax loopholes that subsidize runaway executive compensation

Washington, Are You Listening?

The Bush tax cuts siphon off money that could fund education and other crucial programs

Class Warfare

Raise taxes on the rich? 'Class warfare' rail the Republicans. Any discussion of inequality, says Mitt Romney, should be held privately. Yet the Romney agenda opens a new offensive in class warfare

Indefensible: The Truth About Pentagon Spending

A mountain of misleading rhetoric from big Pentagon contractors has buried the facts

David Barton's Make-Believe Version of American History

Despite the fact that he has no academic training in history or related fields at all, David Barton has become the go-to man for much of the religious far right

Onward Christian 'Teavangelicals'

Despite the tea party's well-known fiscal focus, the anti-tax budget-slashing movement's most underappreciated energy source may be its evangelical Christians

Campaigns Touch Briefly on the Wars

Politics tends to wring all seriousness out of speech. Sometimes this is a demonstration of unforgivable ignorance

'Mad Dog' Harry Reid

To call Senator Harry Reid a 'mad dog' is an affront to the canine community. Reid was completely sane when he spread hearsay about an anonymous Bain Capital investor who allegedly told him Mitt Romney paid no taxes for 10 years

Mitt Romney Risks 'Hispanic Debacle' in November

Mitt Romney was already polling at historically low numbers among Hispanic voters before his decision to name Paul Ryan as his running mate. Now, Romney risks a total debacle among Hispanic voters

Mitt Romney Runs Away from his Running Mate

If they were honest with voters, their bumper sticker would read: 'Ryan-Romney 2012'

Paul Ryan's Magical Thinking

Paul Ryan brings to the Romney campaign the tea party's style of magical thinking, a blissfully simplistic, ideologically driven world view

Mitt Romney Finds Love in the GOP

In picking Paul Ryan as his running mate, Mitt Romney has finally found a way to get the Republican Party to love him. Now all he has to do is find acceptance in the rest of the country

What Ryan Says About Romney

With his choice of Paul Ryan, this should put an end to all hopes that Romney is a closet Republican business moderate, only adopting extreme positions to appeal to the Republican primary base

Romney-Ryan: Real change

The Wall Street Journal editorial 'Why Not Paul Ryan?' made the case for his selection as the Republican vice-presidential nominee in this statement: 'Romney can win a big election over big issues. He'll lose a small one'

Obama vs Romney: Meanest campaign ever?

Is this the nastiest campaign ever? That's a toughie. Past campaigns have set the bar so low that, to quote a Romney senior advisor, 'I don't think a world champion limbo dancer could get any lower'

That's Joe Biden

To no one's surprise, Joe Biden said what was on his mind the other day down. To no one's surprise either, the Romney campaign pounced on the notoriously free-speaking politician like a feline on catnip

Republican Woes with Women

Todd Akin's ludicrous outburst about 'legitimate rape' may turn out to be another pothole in Mitt Romney's already uphill road to narrow President Obama's wide polling lead among women voters

Rape, Patriarchy and the Bomb

Todd Akin could have worked on the script for the 1983 Monty Python movie, 'The Meaning of Life': 'If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down'

Akin Offers Unflattering Glimpse of Widely Shared Republican Attitudes

Ladies, remember what your mothers told you about men who regard women as sex objects? They're no good. Keep that in mind when pondering the Republican Party platform this year

Todd Akin's 'Legitimate' Pain

It always amuses me when conservatives, who rail relentlessly against 'political correctness' when it comes from the left, turn against one of their own like Todd Akin for saying what he really means

Todd Akin's Idiocy is Infectious

Todd Akin's idiocy appears to be infectious. The evil genius of the Missouri congressman's comments is that they lend themselves to such broad interpretations -- and misinterpretations

Todd Akin's Ignorance Hardly Unique

Todd Akin's fame -- more accurately, his infamy -- now reaches all the way to the Congo

The Decline of Party Power

No recent development has underlined the decline of political party clout more than beleaguered Senate Republican nominee Todd Akin's refusal to accede to GOP leadership demands

Trapping Season

It's trapping season. The bait in the latest case is the issue of abortion in cases of rape. The hunter's target is Rep. Todd Akin, a Missouri Republican

Mitt, More Gaffes Like This, Please

One of the few things Americans on both sides of the partisan divide can agree on is that this election is shaping up to be vexingly petty

Muzzle Mitt Romney on Taxes Now?

For all the media clamor for Mitt Romney to come clean on his past tax returns, maybe his campaign advisers would be better off just advising him to keep quiet on the matter, before he gaffes again

A Debate About Debates

A debate is a 'formal contest in which the affirmative and negative sides of a proposition are advocated by opposing speakers.' That is not what will take place between President Obama and Mitt Romney

Decoding Mitt Romney's Odd Humor

Mitt Romney probably should not try to joke about President Barack Obama's birth certificate. It's potentially offensive and, worse, he's not very good at it

After Romney Birth Certificate Joke, Dems Play the Race Card

As with most things Mitt Romney says, it's hard to appreciate the full breadth and depth of the blandness of his delivery from just reading the words on the page

The 'Boring' 2012 Presidential Campaign

Two of my pundit colleagues -- David Brooks and Peggy Noonan -- have written about this 'boring' and 'inconsequential' presidential campaign

Mitt Romney's 'Welfare Queen'

Mitt Romney's assault against President Barack Obama's welfare reform policy sounds good, except that it gets in the way of putting welfare recipients to work

Mitt Romney's Opportunity

When Mitt Romney strides to center stage to deliver his acceptance speech, he might draw inspiration from an unlikely source: the song 'I Am What I Am'

Mitt Romney's 'Zero-Percenters'

What caught my eye were the numbers reported in key segments of Obama's political base: He led among African Americans 'by 94 percent to 0 percent.' Say what?

No More Boring White Guys for the GOP

The GOP needs to figure out a way to become more appealing to new constituencies, particularly younger voters and Latinos. Boring white guys aren't great for that project

Eating America's Seed Corn

As gas prices climb back toward $4 a gallon, the Obama administration -- facing a tough re-election campaign and rising Middle East tensions -- is once again considering tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Romney and Ryan Project Vague Foreign Policy

Mitt Romney's selection of Paul Ryan confirms that this campaign is going to be mainly about domestic issues. Yet foreign affairs is important as the United States staggers forward into the void

A Storied Presidency

In 1995, Barack Obama released 'Dreams From My Father,' a compelling memoir full of stories about his life that persuaded many people that this young man had a great political future

There is No California

Consider the disconnects: California's combined income and sales taxes are among the nation's highest, but the state's deficit is still about $16 billion

The Koch Brothers' Moonshine

The paper industry's titans have teamed up with practitioners of the legislative black arts to turn their sludge into a slick tax loophole

No Need for a Witch Hunt Over Executive Pay

Income inequality is rising in most rich countries, and has been for many years. People are angry, especially in these tough times

What Should Come First, Partisan Advantage or National Security?

It's more evidence of the prime directive of the GOP: Ask not what you can do for your country; just focus on getting Obama out of the White House

How Mitt Romney Got His

Mitt Romney a living portrait of Mr. Wall Street Man. As his candidacy unfolds, it's allowing us commoners to get a peek into how the privileged few rig the rules for their own gain

Mitt Romney: Put up or Shut Up

Mitt Romney can fall back on the view that the two past tax returns he has released meet the legal requirement. In the court of public opinion, however, Romney risks encouraging doubts

Is Obama's Best Hope The Inadequacy of His Rival?

Could it be that President Obama's best chance for re-election in November is ... Mitt Romney?

Texas GOP Wages War on Thinking

The Texas GOP has set itself explicitly against teaching children to be critical thinkers. That explains a lot

Time to Listen to the Other America

Get to know it. This is the emerging political theme of 2012: the divide between the haves vs. have-nots. We live in the same America, but trust me, we don't all see it the same way

President Obama: You're No Bill Clinton

The Obama re-election team must be in panic mode. The president is stuck in a virtual tie with Mitt Romney, so in desperation it has reached out to the Big Dog, Bill Clinton, for help

What's Behind Hatred of Obama?

What drives Barack Obama's 'doubters and haters'? So asks Obama biographer David Maraniss in a recent op-ed article for the Washington Post

Cleaning Up Campaign Finance

If there were ever any hope that the Supreme Court's right wing would temper its assault on clean elections laws, that hope recently slipped away

Mitt Romney's Foreign Folly

The big question about Mitt Romnney's trip to England, Israel and Poland in the midst of his presidential campaign seems to be, or should be: Why?

Mitt Romney: An Innocent Abroad

If there figured to be any safe political ground for Mitt Romney on his little overseas gambit, it was Great Britain

Mitt Romney: Showing off the GOP

In the long lull before the Republican National Convention, party leaders and strategists for Mitt Romney are calculating how they can put their collective best foot forward

2012 Elections: 100 Days is a Long Time

The presidential election is about 100 days away. President Obama and Mitt Romney are roughly even in the various polls, with Obama holding slight leads in the key swing states

Supreme Court, Inc.

The precedents the Roberts' Supreme Court is setting are making it easier for corporations to exercise the rights of American citizens without corresponding civic responsibilities

His So-called 'Post-Racial' Presidency

Talk about a 'post-racial' America when President Barack Obama was elected has pretty much gone away, for good reason. Even he didn't believe it

The Terrible Economy and the Anti-Election of 2012

The worst economy since the Great Depression and you might think at least one of the candidates would come up with a few big ideas for how to get us out of it

Marching Toward Greater Inequality

The world's super rich, according to a new report, are squirreling away phenomenal quantities of their cash in secret tax havens

The Rich Grabbing Bigger Slices of Pie

In countries that go soft on taxing the rich, top business executives have a huge incentive to game the system and to squeeze out every bit of personal profit their power enables

Truth Meets the Gaffe Factory

Political gaffes are showing up increasingly in the form of what I call pseudo-gaffes. That's a truthful and seemingly inoffensive statement that, taken out of context, reinforces the worst impressions

The Election, the Presidency and Foreign Policy

Differences between the U.S. presidential candidates' foreign policy perspectives are less significant than they appear

Tax Cut Kabuki

In the slow waltz on Capitol Hill over extending or dropping the Bush tax cuts due to expire at year's end, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid one-upped the House Republicans

De-Bushing Mitt Romney

This is shaping up to be the second election in a row that's about someone who isn't on the ballot: George W. Bush

Turning College Students into a Commodity

Looking at America's trillion-dollar student debt crisis, free-market purists have had a revelation. The crisis can be healed by getting government out of the student loan business. In other words, turn students into Wall Street commodities

My Quest for 'Commonsense' Gun Laws

In the wake of the Colorado catastrophe everyone seems to be calling for 'commonsense' gun laws. Unfortunately it's hard to tell whose sense is common enough these days

Gun Lobby Fires Up Obama Fear

As with other mass shootings, the killings at a movie theater in Aurora, trigger a familiar chain of reactions: horror, remorse, rage and a call for new restrictions on guns

One Nation, Under the Gun

Why do so many Americans believe that to properly protect ourselves today, we need guns?

The Persistent Threat to Soft Targets

Despite security measures, soft targets will always avail themselves to potential attackers

Condi Rice Rumor Reveals Divisions in Romney Camp and on the Right

The African-American Swing State

Mitt Romney's Tour Starts in Wrong Place

Teen Assailed for Outgrowing Conservatism

Obama's Outsourcing Ad is Demagogic Populism

Campaign on Cruise Control

Mitt Romney's No-Brainer

No Loonies Need Apply for GOP Vice-President

Mitt Romney's Veepstakes Mania

Mitt Romney's Hidden NAACP Audience

The Subject Straight-Shooting Mitt Romney Doesn't Dare Address

The Sham Battle For The Black Vote

Mitt Romney and the NAACP

Mitt Romney's Hysteria Bubble

Our Voting Rights: Protect Them, Don't Reject Them

A New Kind of Scrutiny on the Campaign Trail

Older Voters' Disapproval of Affordable Care Act Selfish

Affordable Care Act: Lifesaving Law

The 'Freedom' to Refuse Health Insurance

Shameless Tax Loopholes

7 Habits of Highly Ineffective Government

Co-sponsoring Your Success

The Escalator of Success (Next Time Take the Stairs)

Weeding Out Phony Warriors

The Numbers Game

The Stossel Solution

The War on Soda Pop

Cutting Pentagon Fat

Don't Expand NAFTA

21 Trillion Dollars Hidden in Tax Havens

Super Pacs -- Who Comes Up with Those Names?

Sabotaging Montana's Campaign Finance Legacy

Taxing Mitt Romney's Consistency

Mitt Romney's Worst Enemy

Conservatives May Want to Think Twice About Repealing Obama/Romneycare

Symptoms of a Sick Culture

Why Women Love John Roberts

Will Young America Come Alive in 2012?

Voter Apathy is Not a Crime

Supreme Court Surprise

Corporations Score Another Supreme Court Victory on Healthcare

Chief Justice Roberts' Choice

Supreme Court Hypocrisies

Health Care Access Shouldn't Require Good Luck

Health Care Deja Vu

Justice Roberts' Ruling Took Guts

Reading Roberts

The 'Oprahfication' of America

The NHS: A guide for Americans under Obamacare

Live Free -- And Uninsured

Florida Governor's Tenuous Relationship with the Truth

Bait and Switch on Obamacare

Legal Illegal Immigration

Arizona's Immigration Bind

The Tea Party Shtick

How Wall Street is Trying to Avoid Oversight

The Robin Hood Tax

Growing Independence from Both Parties

Are the Democrats Doomed?

Mitt Romney: Running for Magician-in-Chief

Mitt Romney is Dangerously Naive on Foreign Policy

Is Marco Rubio the Hope of the GOP?

Progressive Morality

Running Against a Ghost

Candidates Must Steer Clear of Political Potholes

Obama Shows that Political Gaffes are a Game Two Can Play

Candidates Woo Skeptical, and Possibly Decisive, Latino Bloc

From Hope and Change to Fear and Smear

Obama's DREAM Gambit

The Limits of Compassion in Politics

All Hail Emperor Obama

Drone Warfare Foretells an Ever-Expanding and Illegal War

Sending in the Drones

Realists Play Video Games

Women Candidates Need to Fight Back Against Innuendo

Obama's Truthiness

Wisconsin Wakeup Call

Hard Times, Weak Unions

Wisconsin Vote Dashes Union Hopes, An Entire Movement's Gains

Wisconsin: Labor's Love Lost

Liberal Nostalgia for The Good Old Days of Conservatism

The Big Lie Coup D'etat

Super PAC Era Links Back to Early James Burnham

Recalling the Gilded Age

A Fair Shot

Low-Wage Nation

Supreme Doubts

Obama's 'Fine' Mess

Making the World Safer for the Next Bernie Madoff

'Compromise' is Not a Dirty Word

Googling Anti-Obama Racism

Who are You Calling 'Extreme'?

Is the Worm Turning?

Searching for a Surrogate

The Essentiality of Journalism

Our Press Freedom is Under Fire

Mitt Romney Must Find Tactical Advantage

New Marco Rubio Faces Key Test

Mitt Romney's Pitch to Hispanics Won't Work

Turning the Other Cheek to Donald Trump

Trampling the Right to Vote

Ham-Handed Solution to a Problem That Doesn't Exist

New Florida Voter Purge Should Come As No Surprise

Romney and Bain: Actual 'Entitlement Society' in Action

An 'Independent' Super PAC Demonstrates Supreme Court's Folly

On Picking an Unprepared Vice-President

Fat Cat Urged to Bankroll Anti-Obama Hatefest

The Massachusetts Indian War of 2012

Chameleon Nation

Cabinets Gone Wild

Which Kind of Capitalism? A Debate for Obama and Romney

More Campaign Surrogate Blunders

Are We Better Off Than in 2008?

The Defeat of a Man of Reason

Our Politics is a Mess, But Only One Party is The Cause

Right-Wing Rage Trips Itself

'Money Primary' Pushes Obama to the Left

Mitt Romney's Stellar Performance

A Campaign Treading Water

Mitt Romney Feeds the Crocs

The Power of the Incumbency

Demise of a Centrist Nominee Dream

The Media's Religion Deficit

Crushing College Dreams

We Can't Afford Energy Subsidies and Tax Breaks

The Truth's Liberal Tilt

Mitt Romney's Media Handicap

George Bush's Pithy Endorsement

Spending Debate Creates an Opportunity for Mitt Romney

The State of the Military-Industrial Complex Is Strong

Republicans Have Bad Brains?

The Citizen and the Government

The President's 'Other Gospel'

Voter IQs Need Refresher Course

Cliches Conservatives Say

Generation Pap

Are Government's 'Strategic Communications' Coming to American Airwaves?

The Job Stall

Who Lost Latin America?

United States Unlikely To Condemn Argentina's 'Outlaw Behavior' -- Yet

French Elections Lesson

Pothole Nation

Why Being 'On The Right Track' Isn't Enough

The Poor as Collateral Damage

The Real Deal About College Costs

Damage to the Republican Brand

The Freedom to Fear

Mitt Romney's Presumption

Mitt Romney's Borking Strategy

Romney Courts the Right, Threatens Equality, with Bork

The GOP's Money Man

The Curse of Mitt Romney's Millions

Catholicism and the GOP: An Awkward Tango

More Class Warfare to Come in Presidential Campaign

Give 'em 'L' Mitt!

In Battle for Young Voters, Romney Should Play It Uncool

Marco Rubio's False Promise

Marco Rubio and the DREAM Act: He Walks on Eggs, Not Water

Taking Mitt Romney's Measure

Redbait and Switch: An Arms Race of Outrage

Drafted into the Mommy Wars

The War on Mommies

Latest Salvo Fired in 'Mommy Wars'

Mommy Wars: Issues vs. Distractions

The Republican War on the Young

Obama's Problem? His Record

When Administrations Implode

Stimulus Spending for Party Animals

'Buffet Rule' Is a Hypocritical Political Ploy

'Buffett Rule' Moves Us in the Right Direction

'Veep' Entertains, But Doesn't Hold Mirror to Reality of Office

Worker-First Philosophy All Too Rare

'Say on Pay' Votes Battle Back Against Income Inequalities

Why Fairness is Essential for Economic Growth

GOP: That Great Enemy of Reason

GOP's Presidential Plans in Peril if Economy Keeps Improving

Mitt Romney's Woman Woes

Can Republicans Regain Women Voters?

Independent Ladies Pick Obama

Republicans Can Close the 'Gender Gap' With the Economy

How the Rich Welch on Retirement Taxes

Invoking Fake Job Creators to Cut Taxes on the Rich

Down and Out on Wall Street

Enemies of the People

The 99 Percent Spring

The Most Lopsided Economic Recovery On Record

Massachusetts Health Care Reform from the Front Lines

Health Care Jujitsu

Taxation without Representation

Rich Freeloaders

Free The Markets, Mitt Romney

Obama and Romney Struggling With Working Class Voters

Mitt Romney Turns Attention to Contrasts With President Obama

The Mitt Romney Veepstakes Begin

Tool Or Hero: What Role Will Marco Rubio Play?

Freedom or Fairness in 2012?

Obama Energy Policy: Very Few of the Above

Faith-Based Energy Policy

Obama Unleashed

Five Economic Mistakes Obama is Making

Better Public Schools Require a Stronger Safety Net

Catching up to the Local Food Revolution

Paul Ryan: Chairman of the Con Man Committee

Paul Ryan's Medicare Hot Air

Grand Old Pedagogy

For Government: No Limits

Parties Begin Staking Out Ground For a Budget Deal

Obama Will Not Stand Up for His Party's Politics

Partisanship Bickering Hangs Over Immigration Hearing

Women Agree With the GOP on Birth Control

Has Obama Gone Too Far in His Rhetoric About the Supreme Court?

The Second Oil Revolution

An America in Decline

Romney's Russia Remarks and the Dangers of Dumbed Down

Volatile Times, Uncertain Futures

Where's The Hope?

Rising Economic Tide Lifts Obama's Fortunes

Politics: A Never-Ending Game of 'Hot Potato'

Why Older Citizens are More Likely to Vote

Ryan's Budget Plan Could Cause Problems Within Both Parties

Re-election Could Put Obama in Top 4 All-Time

Obama Deserves Credit for the Recovery

False Comparisons

What now for Republicans?

Brokered GOP Convention Would Ensure a Second Obama Term

Rick Santorum Could Use Convention Influence to be Romney's VP Pick

Brokered Convention Improbable, Even If Superdelegates Get Floor

Conservatives Must Force an Open Convention

How Obama Could Have Better Fixed the Economy

Obama's Policies Have Not Turned the Economy Around

Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Has Been a Success

President Obama's Policies Revived the Economy

Obama Has Tried All the Wrong Policies

Mitt Romney Should Pick Mainstream VP

Even Beloved Bob McDonnell Can't Save Romney in Virginia

Mitt Romney: In Search of Authenticity

The Federalist Solution

Pumping Gas Prices for All They're Worth

Democracy: A Right, Not a Luxury

Obama's Super, Super PAC

Rush Limbaugh and the Live Volcano

Hate Groups Spread Lies and Kill Cops

What's Good for the CEO May Be Bad for Business

Misplaying the Political Game

Mitt Romney's Sad Search for Authenticity

Mitt Romney's Hispanic Problem is Serious

Woman Troubles: The GOP's Bizarre Quarrel with Reality

How the GOP Can Woo Women Voters

The Trap of Nation Building

Job-Killing Tax Breaks

Why Newt Gingrich Stays In

A National Primary Wouldn't Work

We Need to Re-imagine Our Democracy

The Current Primary System Promotes Deliberation

Tough Primary Battles Forge More Resilient Nominees

Bruce Springsteen Captures The State of America

God and Caesar in America

The God Gap

When the Senate Worked

The Congressional Thaw

Failed Highway Bill Shows Just How Fanatical GOP Has Become

Starving Public Universities Shrinks the Middle Class

The GOP's Worst Week

Why Marco Rubio Can't Save the GOP

Third-Party Group Wants Internet to Pick Presidential Candidate

Buddy Roemer to Seek Third-Party Presidential Nomination

Debt, Baby, Debt: America's Newest Voting Bloc

GOP Candidates Could All Add to Federal Deficit

Who is the True GOP Conservative?

Rick Santorum: The GOP's Unelectable Soul Mate

Getting to Know Them

No Republican Middle

Note to GOP Field: Braggadocio Is Not Leadership

GOP Will Lose in 2012 if Social Issues Take Center Stage

Why Looks Are Everything in a Presidential Election

Swing Voters Need a Champion

Good Businessmen Rarely Make Good Presidents

Un-Presidential Primaries

Inside Rick Santorum's Head

Improving Economy Driving Independents Back to Obama

The Federal Budget Is a Myth

Don't Expect Too Much of the Next US President

There's Still Potential for Palin Presidency

Obama Has It Right on Birth Control

Save the Babies

Republicans Enjoy the Health Care They'd Deny to the Rest

War Through Weakness?

Liberals are the True Aggressors in Culture Wars

Nearing a Decision on Iran

Newt Gingrich's Alinsky Claims Miss Their Mark

Increase Capital Gains Tax, Decrease Corporate Tax

Rick Santorum Repulses Independent and Moderate Voters

What Rick Santorum Has Been Saying, And 'Not Saying'

Only Santorum Addresses Values Issues that Concern Voters

Rick Santorum Appeals to Only a Minority of Voters

Mitt Romney Is More Electable, But Needs to Clean Up Campaign

Both Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum Disappoint Conservatives

Mitt Romney Can't Be Trusted So Rick Santorum Is More Electable

Romney's Arizona Law 'Model' Would Hurt All Immigrants

The Manufacturing Myth

GOP Candidates Revive Bush Pre-emption Doctrine

The Tricky Politics of the Auto Bailout

Protesting Today's Threat to Voting Rights

Turning a Blind Eye to Government Benefits

Obama Fights Back on GOP Gas-Price Attacks

How Sex Hijacked Election Talk

Rick Santorum's Reverse Snobbery

Mr. Right Eludes the GOP

Understanding the Real Mitt Romney

A Pointed Comment on Ronald Reagan's Legacy

Tim Tebow: Public Faith vs Private Faith

Distorting Civil Rights History

Obama Campaign: We'll Win Largest Latino Vote Percentage Ever

Could High Gas Prices Hurt Obama's Reelection Campaign?

Now the Santorum Option

The GOP Race Gets Messy

Buyer's Remorse Already?

Mitt Romney is Dangerously Naive on Foreign Policy

Newt Gingrich's Secret Alinsky Love

The un-Obama

The President's 'Social Gospel'

War Against Mexican Drug Cartels Needs New Focus

Globalizing Private Sector, Government Overwhelmed by Corporate Money

America's Constitutional Paralysis

Warren Buffett Is Right

Latino Voters to Candidates: What Are We, Chopped Chorizo?

Lack of Enthusiasm Isn't Just a GOP Problem

A Brokered GOP Convention?

Obama's Cynicism for Me, Not for Thee

Brash Limbaugh

The Supreme Court: Politicizing Justice

Muddying the Playing Field

National Deficit Result of Wars and Bush Tax Cuts

Five Ways to Spin Obama Tax Plan

Social Issues Bring in Popular Vote for Republicans

Republicans Can Win on Economic Issues, Not a Culture War

Social Issues Are at the Core of Our Problems

Republicans Should Focus on the Economy

GOP Needs to Rethink Positions on Economy, Foreign Policy

Republican Mean Streak Could Leave GOP Out in the Cold

Extra Dollars You're Paying At Pump Going To Wall Street Speculators

A Farewell to Fossil Fuels

United States Can't Control the World Oil Market

The Future of U.S. - Chinese Relations

If American Manufacturers Keep Jobs, So Does Obama

Concerning the Poor and Mitt Romney

For Worse or For Worst, Guns Rule

The Donald Backs The Mitt

The Case for Mitt Romney

Romney Running Against Economic Recovery

Ron Paul's Appealing to Mormons

Playing with Fire

Profiting from the Pentagon

Super PACs: Hypocrisy and Necessity

The Sad Spectacle of Obama's Super PAC

Mitt Romney is the Type Americans Want to Empower Economically

A Flat Tax Is the Answer

Punishing the Rich Is a Mistake

Europe Needs a Marshall Plan