Character and Care By Debra J. Saunders
Toward the end of his speech on health care Wednesday night, President Obama said that he had been thinking a lot about the phrase "the character of our country."
Political Commentary
Most Recent Releases
September 13, 2009
September 11, 2009
Is the GOP On the Cusp of Another 1994? By Isaac T. Wood
All sound electoral predictions are grounded in history. Astute observers look back over the electoral landscape of the past and pick the bits and pieces of past years that match the conditions of the present.
September 11, 2009
The Government-Insurance Option Is Dead By Lawrence Kudlow
The day after President Obama's impassioned speech for big-government health care, Wall Street bet heavily that the so-called government-insurance option he supports is dead.
September 11, 2009
GOP Revival for 2010 House? By Isaac T. Wood and Larry J. Sabato
While the next slate of House elections does not occur until 2010, congressmen and their challengers certainly don't take off the "off-year." Instead, this year is a crucial one for the parties who must prove their recruiting chops, for the incumbents who seek big fundraising numbers and positive headlines, and for the challengers who have to prove their ability to take down a sitting member of Congress. And that doesn't even include the open races, 18 so far, where incumbents have announced they will not seek reelection. In those districts, both parties are scrambling to find candidates who can quash takeover hopes or, conversely, take advantage of this rare opportunity.
September 10, 2009
Van Jones Meets America By Debra J. Saunders
One of the (many) irritating things about being a Republican in the liberal Bay Area is the certainty that if there is a story out there that makes conservatives look stupid -- like the protests against President Obama's Tuesday speech to America's students -- then you know that wherever you go, folks are going to ask you about that particular flap.
September 10, 2009
A Perfect Storm of Idiocy By Joe Conason
The wild furor over President Obama's speech to the nation's schoolchildren raises many questions, but there is only one that really matters. How did America surrender its political discourse -- not to mention the news cycle -- to the most unreasonable and unstable elements of the far right?
September 10, 2009
The Convenient Fantasies of President Obama By Michael Barone
The resignation over the Labor Day weekend of White House "green jobs" czar Van Jones tells you some interesting things about the Obama administration.
September 9, 2009
Respect and Responsibility By Susan Estrich
The gifted woman who headed my children's elementary school, Reveta Bowers, always said that teaching kids values was as important as teaching them skills.
September 9, 2009
You Really Don't Know Jack By Debra J. Saunders
"You Don't Know Jack" is the perfect title for the upcoming HBO biopic starring Al Pacino as Death Doc Jack Kevorkian -- because it is clear that many of Kevorkian's fawning interviewers don't know much about Jack.
September 9, 2009
Impending Washington Deal on Health Care By Tony Blankley
As the politicians who support the president's health care plans escape back into Washington from America -- and as the politicians who oppose the president's health care plans leave their safe redoubt in the heartland and go once more behind the lines into the hostile territory of the Federal Triangle -- only one thing is certain: We don't know the end of this story.
September 8, 2009
Holder Should Do Some Remembering By Froma Harrop
America will soon mark the eighth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The replays of burning buildings and piercing screams will bring back jagged memories of that horrific day.
September 7, 2009
Obama Cannot Escape Hard Choices in September By Michael Barone
"Very active." That's what White House aides say Barack Obama is going to be this month. That's probably an understatement.
September 6, 2009
Too Much Gained in Afghanistan To Exit Now By Debra J. Saunders
As he campaigned for the presidency, Sen. Barack Obama argued that Afghanistan should become "the central front in the battle against terrorism." Obama has delivered on that issue.
September 5, 2009
The Jobless Recovery By Lawrence Kudlow
The jobless-recovery theme re-emerged on Friday with the arrival of a disappointing employment report.
September 4, 2009
Cracked Justice Enabled Girl Rape Case By Froma Harrop
Many astounding details surround the story of the California rapist who kidnapped an 11-year-old and kept her captive for 18 years. None shocks more than the raw fact that Phillip Garrido was not locked up, the key lost.
September 4, 2009
Who Will Run the Free Hot Dog Stand? By Susan Estrich
Watching conservatives cheer the demise of the "public option" has left me shaking my head.
September 3, 2009
New Facts Undercut Old Positions on Immigration By Michael Barone
Before leaving for his vacation on Martha's Vineyard, Barack Obama said the next big item on his legislative agenda -- well, after health care and cap-and-trade and maybe labor's bill to effectively abolish secret ballots in union elections -- was immigration reform.
September 3, 2009
Hey, Conservatives, We're Recovering By Lawrence Kudlow
Believe it or not, sometimes good news on the economy can be bad news for stocks.
September 2, 2009
In Memory of Teddy By Susan Estrich
It's been a long and ugly weekend, e-mail wise. Ted Kennedy may be gone, but the haters are still out there. Every time I said a nice word, my BlackBerry would start vibrating.
September 2, 2009
Waterboarding Policy and Consequences By Tony Blankley
"President George W. Bush kept us safe from further terrorist attacks." Few presidential claims have been less persuasive to the public than that. Yet after Sept. 11, most Americans thought, "It's not a question of whether, but when." We would have been grateful if we had known at the time that there would be no further attacks while Bush was president.
