Commentary by Michael Barone

January 24, 2011

Shriver and Lieberman Take JFK Link With Them By Michael Barone

Last Thursday was the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's inaugural speech, and while the anniversary did not go unmentioned, it got less attention than I expected. I suspect that those of us who can remember that snowy day -- why do we schedule our great national outdoor ceremony for a day that is as likely as any to be the coldest of the year? -- are inclined to overestimate the hold that Kennedy has on Americans five decades after he took the oath of office.
 

January 20, 2011

High-speed Rail Is a Fast Way to Waste Taxpayer Money By Michael Barone

Where can the new Congress start cutting spending? Here's one obvious answer: high-speed rail. The Obama administration is sending billions of stimulus dollars around the country for rail projects that make no sense and that, if they are ever built, will be a drag on taxpayers indefinitely.

January 17, 2011

A Sigh of Relief When Mad and Evil People Are Foiled By Michael Barone

In his superb speech in Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday evening, Barack Obama did great service to the nation. He put to rest the libel that political incivility is responsible for the Tucson shootings. He did so with three words that he added to the written text: "It did not."  

January 13, 2011

Systematic Assassinations Not Part of Our Politics By Michael Barone

The steam seems to be going out of the move to "deftly pin this" -- the shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 13 others -- "on the tea partiers," as one unidentified senior Democratic operative put it to Politico.

January 10, 2011

Deal-maker Daley: Obama's Emissary to Boehner? By Michael Barone

"He possesses a deep understanding of how jobs are created and how to grow our economy." That's what Barack Obama said as he announced the appointment of his new chief of staff, William Daley, before a crowd of admiring White House staffers.

January 6, 2011

Wily Old Dems Take on Whippersnapper Republicans By Michael Barone

Curious fact, unearthed by Gerald Seib of The Wall Street Journal. The average age of Republican House members in the new Congress convening this week is 54.9, younger than the Republicans' average age in the previous Congress, 56.5. But the average age of House Democrats has risen, from 58 to 60.2.

January 3, 2011

Personal Well-being Overshadows Income Inequality By Michael Barone

Consider one conundrum in American politics. Income inequality has been increasing, according to standard statistics. Yet most Americans do not seem very perturbed by it.

December 27, 2010

Even After Shellacking, Obama Looks OK in 2012 By Michael Barone

On the day after Boxing Day, it's worth noting that Barack Obama is down but not out.

December 24, 2010

Census: Fast Growth in States With No Income Tax By Michael Barone

For those of us who are demographic buffs, Christmas came four days early when Census Bureau Director Robert Groves announced yesterday the first results of the 2010 Census and the reapportionment of House seats (and therefore electoral votes) among the states.

December 20, 2010

Reid and Pelosi Finally Get Mugged by Public Opinion By Michael Barone

Elections have consequences. The consequences of the November 2010 elections -- and one might add the November 2009 elections in New Jersey and Virginia and the January 2010 special Senate election in Massachusetts -- became clear as lights shined over the snow at both ends of the Capitol on Thursday night.

December 13, 2010

Obama Riles Dems by Spurning New Deal Complacency By Michael Barone

"The single most important jobs program we can put in place is a growing economy." So said Barack Obama at his surly press conference last week defending the tax deal he made with Republicans.

December 9, 2010

While His Base Rages, Obama Faces Tax-cut Reality By Michael Barone

Reality strikes. Barack Obama spurned the advice of columnists Paul Krugman and Katrina vanden Heuvel and agreed with Republicans to extend the current income tax rates -- the so-called Bush tax cuts -- for another two years.

November 29, 2010

For Tottering States, Bankruptcy Could Be the Answer By Michael Barone

We won't be able to say we weren't warned. Continued huge federal budget deficits will eventually mean huge increases in government borrowing costs, Erskine Bowles, co-chairman of Barack Obama's deficit reduction commission, predicted this month. "The markets will come. They will be swift, and they will be severe, and this country will never be the same."

November 22, 2010

Ways to Come to Grips With American's Fiscal Mess By Michael Barone

Is there any chance we can come to grips with our short-term and long-term fiscal problems -- the huge current federal budget deficit and the huge looming increases in entitlement spending?

November 15, 2010

Bush Had Ups and Downs, but the Surge Counted Most By Michael Barone

George W. Bush is sitting on a hotel sofa in front of a south-facing window on a sunny November morning. His presidential memoir, "Decision Points," is No. 1 on amazon.com and is expected to be No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. "I've got a very comfortable life," he says.

November 12, 2010

GOP Freshmen Will Hold Boehner to His Big Promises By Michael Barone

For political junkies of a certain age, it was a given that the House of Representatives would always be controlled by Democrats. They won the chamber in 1954 and held on for 40 years -- more than twice as long as any party in American history had before.

November 9, 2010

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