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Political Commentary

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July 29, 2011

Why Can't Women Be Comfortable? By Froma Harrop

Women run companies and countries. Some even play on co-ed football teams. But there's one glaring gender disparity that never gets better and only seems to grow: comfort.

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July 28, 2011

A Downgrade Is Serious Business By Lawrence Kudlow

Standard & Poor's government-credit-ratings guru David Beers played his cards close to the vest on the topic of a U.S. downgrade in our CNBC interview this week. However, this head of S&P's global sovereign-ratings business -- with a staff of 80 covering 126 countries -- issued three strong warnings to the debt-ceiling negotiators in Washington.

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July 28, 2011

The Folly in Obama's 'Grand Bargain' by Debra J. Saunders

Here is what I do not understand: President Barack Obama is acutely aware of what will happen if Congress fails to raise the government's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. As he told the nation Monday, if Washington does not raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2, rating agencies are expected to downgrade the government's AAA credit rating, and interest rates will rise for everyone. The fallout could spark "a deep economic crisis."

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July 28, 2011

Under Obama, Millennials Move Into the Republican Fold By Michael Barone

Most presidents affect the standing of their political parties. Ronald Reagan advanced his party's standing among young voters. So did Bill Clinton.

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July 27, 2011

Stand by Your Man By Susan Estrich

The headlines on the Drudge Report make it sound worse than it is: "Blacks, liberals flee in droves." And underneath: "Sanders (that's Bernie Sanders, the Independent from Vermont): Obama should face primary challenger." And above: "Obama's Base Crumbles."

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July 27, 2011

Government by Coup de Theatre or the Constitution? By Tony Blankley

How have we arrived at this place where the fate of our federal budget -- our economy, indeed our capacity to have a functioning federal government -- seems to depend on what two men (the speaker of the House and the president) may or may not be secretly talking about in an interior room in the White House?

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July 26, 2011

Norwegian Crime and Punishment By Debra J. Saunders

In 2007, Norwegian Justice Minister Knut Storberget proposed extending Norway's absolute maximum criminal sentence of 21 years to 30 years for genocide, crimes against humanity and terrorism. That proposal didn't go anywhere. The maximum criminal sentence in Norway is 21 years.

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July 26, 2011

What the Oslo Killer 'Wanted' Doesn't Matter By Froma Harrop

"What did the Oslo killer want?" asks one of many irritating headlines over the weekend. The Norwegian terrorist, Anders Behring Breivik, called for a number of societal changes as he massacred his countrymen in a meticulous assault, Foreign Policy reported. But let's skip them and cut to the chase: Breivik was insane.

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July 25, 2011

To Get a Mandate, GOP Must Win Another Election By Michael Barone

Those who consider themselves constitutional conservatives should take care to consider not only the powers that the Constitution confers on the different branches of government and reserves to the states and the people, but also the schedule that the Constitution sets up for sharp changes and reversals of public policy.

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July 24, 2011

Pawlenty's Appeal to GOP: I Won't Embarrass You By Debra J. Saunders

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's bid to win the GOP presidential nomination hasn't exactly been catching on fire. Earlier this month, The New York Times ran a story about his candidacy under the headline "Will Republican Race's First In Be the First Out?"   

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July 23, 2011

"Dysfunctional" Too Polite to Describe Tea Party Congress By Joe Conason

As America lurches toward new and unfamiliar status as a nation that defaults on its debts, commentators around the world are wondering how the democratic government that was once the most admired in the world -- for many reasons -- is now so "dysfunctional," to use the polite term. But the truth is that the entire U.S. government is not dysfunctional. Much of the government functions well enough or better, and even the members of the troubled U.S. Senate seem to be trying, a little late, to deal with the problem before us.    

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July 22, 2011

Fundraising: Much Ado Over Not All That Much By Kyle Kondik

Former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer is expected to officially launch his presidential campaign today. His announcement again tests the famous philosophical question: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

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July 22, 2011

Updating The Governors' Races By Larry Sabato & Kyle Kondik

Although the calendar for gubernatorial elections in the 2011-2012 cycle is relatively light since most of the action in statehouse races occurred last year, several notable contests are developing for this November and next. States such as Indiana, Missouri and North Carolina, which happen to have been the three closest states in the 2008 presidential election, could see competitive races for governor in 2012, and two off-year elections -- in West Virginia and Kentucky -- will test Democrats' strength in deeply Red states.

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July 22, 2011

Getting Headaches and Giving Them By Debra J. Saunders

I've been plagued with migraines for years. So when The Daily Caller reported that GOP presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann has had severe migraines, it took my colleagues but minutes to propose that I write on the controversy.

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July 21, 2011

A Pro-Growth Plan from the Gang of Six By Lawrence Kudlow

There are a lot of known unknowns about the new "Gang of Six" budget proposal. But conservatives should hold back from trashing it. Why? There's a large, pro-growth tax-reform piece in the plan that would lower tax rates across the board. This is a stunning reversal of the Obama Democrats' soak-the-rich, class-warfare campaign.

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July 21, 2011

Confessions of a Recovering Light Bulb Hoarder By Froma Harrop

I have a horrible confession to make. I'm an environmentalist who's been hoarding old incandescent light bulbs before they become illegal in January. But it was all unnecessary, so I learn.

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July 21, 2011

Will College Bubble Burst From Public Subsidies? By Michael Barone

When governments want to encourage what they believe is beneficial behavior, they subsidize it. Sounds like good public policy.

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July 20, 2011

No More Washington Tricks By Tony Blankley

In Atlanta, the teachers cheat on exams so the students don't have to. It doesn't raise the knowledge level of our children, but it gets the school system past the next exam -- even as the system continues its death spiral. We will know the spiral has reached its terminal station when there is full unionized teacher employment and complete student illiteracy.

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July 20, 2011

The Crisis that Wasn't By Susan Estrich

For weeks, the signs were flashing on every freeway in Los Angeles: 405 closed between 10 and 110/July 16-17. EXPECT BIG DELAYS.

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July 20, 2011

U.S. Default Wouldn't be Carmageddon II By Debra J. Saunders

If Washington fails to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling and default follows, the results won't mirror that of L.A.'s "Carmageddon" weekend (when Angelenos stayed home in response to a major freeway closure and then blamed the media for over-hyping the story). A default on the federal debt means interest rates will rise, the cost of borrowing will balloon -- and the only sure outcome will be that voters will blame Republicans.