Do You Recognize Your President? By Susan Estrich
There's an old saying that hard cases make bad law. The same rule, unfortunately, applies to presidential decisions.
Political Commentary
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November 13, 2009
November 12, 2009
History Is Calling -- Will Obama Answer? By Michael Barone
Anniversaries are opportunities to reflect on the past and on what it might mean for the future. Monday saw the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, even if Barack Obama could not find time to travel once again to Berlin to attend the commemoration there. And Wednesday is the 91st anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I.
November 12, 2009
Testing Next Year's Lies Today By Joe Conason
Within hours after the House of Representatives approved health care reform by a narrow margin, Republicans predicted retribution at the polls next fall. They promised to make every Democrat regret that historic vote as the first step toward the reversal of power in Washington.
November 12, 2009
Casinos Take Money From States By Froma Harrop
In Las Vegas, house prices have dropped 55 percent since peaking in August 2006, and the foreclosure rate is seven times the national average. Gigantic new condo towers sit nearly empty (real-estate pros call them "see-through buildings"), and unemployment tops 13 percent. The recession has sent casino revenues plunging 20 percent from two years ago.
November 11, 2009
The San Francisco Democrat By Susan Estrich
You've got to hand it to Nancy Pelosi. Love her or hate her -- and there are probably more people in the second category than the first -- you can't deny the enormity of her accomplishment. She did something very, very big.
November 11, 2009
Hillary in 2012? By Tony Blankley
I write this week from New Orleans, where I am participating in the Bipartisan Policy Center's Inaugural Political Summit, organized by Tom Daschle, Howard Baker and Bob Dole and hosted by Mary Matalin and James Carville.
November 10, 2009
The Shrink and the Terrorist By Debra J. Saunders
There have been two views on what happened last week when Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire on unarmed military colleagues at Fort Hood, Texas, killing 12 soldiers and one civilian. The politically correct version blames a lonely soldier's personal meltdown, precipitated by the fear of being deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.
November 10, 2009
Two Dots Don't Make a Political Map By Froma Harrop
It is the duty of every pundit to be all-knowing on what the recent elections mean for the future of American politics. They may have only three dots to connect -- and two dots may have been state-level contests mostly about local issues -- but the confident ones plot detailed maps of political change.
November 9, 2009
Freewheeling Young Voters Scare Both Parties By Michael Barone
In November 2008, 658,000 Americans under 30 voted in New Jersey and 782,000 did so in Virginia. In November 2009, 212,000 Americans under 30 voted in New Jersey and 198,000 did so in Virginia. In other words, young-voter turnout this year was down two-thirds in New Jersey and three-quarters in Virginia.
November 8, 2009
D.C.'s 'Failure To Launch' National Health Care Policy By Debra J. Saunders
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee health care bill includes a provision that would allow parents to keep their children as dependents on their health care policies until age 26. Not to be outdone, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced last month that, as Congressional Quarterly reported, the House bill "will allow young people to stay on their parents' policies until age 27."
November 6, 2009
Everything and Nothing By Susan Estrich
Everything and nothing happened on Tuesday. I could have predicted that. Whoever "wins" says it means everything. Whoever "loses" says it means nothing. That's how off-off-year elections work. History supports both sides.
November 6, 2009
There Is No Honor; There's Only Killing By Debra J. Saunders
The Council on American-Islamic Relations sent out its usual roundup Tuesday of news stories alleging the mistreatment of Muslims in America. There was a story critical of the FBI harassment of Muslims in Queens, N.Y., in the wake of the arrest of a suspected terrorist. Another story concerned calls for an investigation into an FBI shooting that left Detroit Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah dead. There were also notices of CAIR banquets.
November 6, 2009
Virginia, New Jersey Races Showing Voters Changing Course By Michael Barone
As the final votes were being counted, it was possible to draw some lessons from Republican Bob McDonnell's victory in Virginia and the close, three-way governor's race in New Jersey, never mind that White House press secretary Robert Gibbs has taken to saying that the elections don't mean much.
November 5, 2009
The GOP's Toxic Tea Party By Joe Conason
When Newt Gingrich warned Republicans that they were making a grave "mistake" by driving out moderates and enforcing the angry orthodoxy of the far right, the sober tone of his remarks was stunning.
November 5, 2009
The Economics of a GOP Gubernatorial Sweep By Lawrence Kudlow
Against the backdrop of high unemployment and a public revolt against a Democratic health-care bill -- which would significantly increase taxes, slash Medicare spending, and massively raise health-care spending elsewhere in a government takeover of our leading growth sector -- the Republicans swept the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races.
November 5, 2009
The Tea-Baggers Were Carpetbaggers By Froma Harrop
The Tea Party wing of the Republican Party had the perfect strategy for upstate New York's 23rd congressional district:
November 4, 2009
My President By Susan Estrich
There's an old story about a Harvard professor who gets a call from the president (of the United States) and responds that his president is the president of Harvard.
November 4, 2009
A Curious Lack of Curiosity Over Intelligence Outrage By Tony Blankley
Not so long ago, there was a furious fight among different tribes in the White House, CIA and State and Defense departments over the correct war-fighting strategy. The coin of the realm back then was intelligence. Intelligence that pointed in the right policy direction was cherry-picked and shown to the public; covert players connected to undesirable conclusions were outed or disparaged. This fight for the hearts and minds of Washington opinion shapers was fought out on the battlefields of The Washington Post and The New York Times -- and from them to the networks and news outlets across the country and around the world.
November 3, 2009
The Population Boomerang in Iran By Froma Harrop
Iranian students are engaging this week in Round Two of their street-level struggle for reform. Round One took place last June, when young people protested the fixed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
November 3, 2009
Levi Johnston Stripped Bare By Debra J. Saunders
Be prepared to see more of Levi Johnston than you ever wanted to see. The 19-year-old who fathered a baby born out of wedlock to Sarah Palin's teenage daughter Bristol is about to pose nude for Playgirl magazine. Also, with Palin's book, "Going Rogue," set for release this month, some publications may follow Vanity Fair's example in October by granting the high-school dropout a byline.
