Commentary by Michael Barone

For Pakistan and the United States, it's one Delusion After Another By Michael Barone

Not many foreign policy experts would argue with the proposition that the country with which the United States has the most problematic relationship is Pakistan.  

Welcome to the Kludgeocracy By Michael Barone

How is it possible that Barack Obama did not know that his beloved healthcare.gov website was a botch? That's a question many thoughtful people (including thoughtful Democrats) are asking.

We heard him say that he wouldn't have boasted that it would be as easy to use as amazon.com or obitz.com had he known that it wouldn't. I'm not "stupid enough," he said at his Nov. 14 press conference. Most Americans agree that's true.

For Obamacare Architects, Problems are Features, not Bugs by Michael Barone

The defects of the Obamacare website have become well known. But the problems with the law go further than the website. These problems are not incidental, but central to its design and the intentions of its architects.

Many Obamacare backers, including Barack Obama, would prefer "single-payer" health insurance. The government would pay for everything and you would get health care for free.

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A Devastating Poll on Obama -- and Obamacare By Michael Barone

"The Affordable Care Act's political position has deteriorated dramatically over the last week." That, coming from longtime Obamacare cheerleader and Washington Post blogger Ezra Klein, was pretty strong language. And it was only Wednesday.   

Colorado a Microcosm for American Politics By Michael Barone

Colorado, writes National Journal's always insightful Ronald Brownstein, is "America, writ small." "A microcosm," he goes on, "of the forces destabilizing American politics."

Of course, Colorado is not entirely typical of the nation. It has America's lowest rates of obesity, for example -- because of a young population and because most Coloradans live a mile or more above sea level. You burn more calories there just getting out of the car and walking to the mall.

Lessons for Both Parties in Virginia and New Jersey Elections by Michael Barone

In an August Washington Examiner column, I argued that this year's governor elections in New Jersey and Virginia would have little precedential significance, unlike some other off-year elections in those states.

Boiled down, my argument was that in New Jersey you had a governor who could not lose and in Virginia you had two governor candidates who could not win.

Michael Barone, senior political analyst for The Washington Examiner (www.washingtonexaminer.com), is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a Fox News Channel contributor and a co-author of The Almanac of American Politics. To find out more about Michael Barone, and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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Audacious Wildcatters Trigger Fracking Revolution by Michael Barone

Capitalism, said economist Joseph Schumpeter seven decades ago, is a process of creative destruction. New inventions, new processes, new methods of organization lead to the creation of new profitable and efficient businesses and to the destruction of old ones unable to compete.   

Americans Keep Moving to States With Low Taxes and Housing Costs by Michael Barone

Where are Americans moving, and why? Timothy Noah, writing in the Washington Monthly, professes to be puzzled. He points out that people have been moving out of states with high per capita incomes -- Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland -- to states with lower income levels.

"Why are Americans by and large moving away from economic opportunity rather than toward it?" he asks.

Little Wars Turn Messy Because of Politics on the Ground - A Commentary by Michael Barone

"The examination of war from an exclusively military perspective, isolated from its social and political context, leads to false conclusions and poor strategy."

That is the conclusion of Emile Simpson, a former infantry officer in the Royal Gurkha Rifles, who served three tours of duty in Afghanistan, in his book, War From the Ground Up.

In Shutdown Fight, the Dog That Didn't Bark: Taxes By Michael Barone

Sherlock Holmes famously solved a mystery by noticing the dog that did not bark. In the recent government shutdown/debt ceiling fight, there was a five-letter dog that didn't bark: T-A-X-E-S.

Unions Turn on Obamacare, but Don't Call Them Hypocrites By Michael Barone

It's not just Republicans who are unhappy with Obamacare. Labor union leaders have been complaining too.

In July, the presidents of the Teamsters, United Food Commercial Workers union and UNITE-HERE (combined membership: 2.9 million) wrote a letter to congressional Democrats saying that Obamacare will "destroy the very health and well-being of our members along with millions of other working Americans."

What if Obamacare Software Crashes and Burns? By Michael Barone

Amid all the tussling over the government shutdown and the debt ceiling, a couple of bombshells went off in the blogosphere that may prove of more enduring importance.

What to do About America's Low-Skill Workforce By Michael Barone

Some bad news for America, not on the political front this time, but on what corporate executives call human resources.

Voters to Politicians: Both Parties are Blundering By Michael Barone

What to make of all the polls on the government shutdown? You know, the ones that say that, to varying degrees, congressional Republicans are being blamed more than Democrats and Barack Obama.   

Tyler Cowen's Future Shock: No More Average People By Michael Barone

"This book is far from all good news." So writes Tyler Cowen at the beginning of his latest book, "Average is Over: Powering America Beyond the Age of The Great Stagnation."
Cowen is an economist at George Mason University who is generally classified as libertarian and whose interests range far afield. His most recent books include "The Great Stagnation" and "An Economist Gets Lunch" (his advice: skip fancy downtown places, eat at restaurants attached to Pakistani-owned motels).

If Only Obamacare Had Been Passed With Careful Deliberation By Michael Barone

Many Democrats are genuinely puzzled about Republicans' continuing opposition to Obamacare. It is the law of the land, these Democrats say. Critics should accept it, as critics accepted Medicare.   

New Report Undercuts Global Warming Alarmists By Michael Barone

Events have failed to fulfill the prophecy. Preachers have suddenly been struck dumb by uncertainty. Believers are understandably nervous and some, under their breath, are abandoning the dogma.   

America's new Isolationism By Michael Barone

America has gone back to isolationism, many commentators are saying. Not just the dovish Democrats, but also Republicans who were so hawkish a decade ago are turning away from the world.   

Democrats no Longer Following Obama's Agenda By Michael Barone

Presidents tend to set the agenda for their parties. Most of the party's members of Congress tend to go along.   

Republicans Need Future-Looking Policies, not old Bromides By Michael Barone

Republicans have been getting a lot of advice on how they should change their party ever since Mitt Romney's defeat in November 2012. They need it.

They are in more than the usual disarray that afflicts parties out of the White House. Many members of their majority in the House of Representatives are out of step with the Republican leadership on issues ranging from Syria to defunding Obamacare.