Looking Closer at the Massachusetts Senate Polls
On the surface, three recent polls on the upcoming Massachusetts special election to fill the Senate seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy seem to tell three different stories.
Political Commentary
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January 11, 2010
January 11, 2010
Imagine Waugh Writing About the Christmas Bomber By Michael Barone
In Evelyn Waugh's novel "Scoop," the best book on journalism ever written, Lord Copper, proprietor of the Daily Beast, is followed around by a flunkie who responds to every statement he makes. When Lord Copper says something that is true, the flunkie says, "Absolutely, Lord Copper." When he says something that is false, the flunkie says, "Up to a point, Lord Copper."
January 10, 2010
Obama at War with al-Qaida By Debra J. Saunders
In the days that followed a foiled attempt to blow up Northwest Flight 253, the Obama White House clearly thought that it could bluff its way past the near disaster.
January 9, 2010
Time to De-Stimulate By Lawrence Kudlow
After the arrival of a disappointing December jobs report, my thought on putting America back to work is simple: de-stimulate.
January 8, 2010
Partisan Hysteria Hypes (and Helps) al-Qaida By Joe Conason
The latest atrocity attempted by al-Qaida seems to be yet another example of history reprising a great tragedy as farce.
January 8, 2010
Schwarzenegger -- What Might've Been By Debra J. Saunders
Mention Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- you need only say his first name -- and many Californians respond with a long sigh, then with words like "squander" or "waste" or "missed opportunity." Those in the political class look at Schwarzenegger and see what might have been.
January 8, 2010
The Newest Federalism By Susan Estrich
In 1981, Ronald Reagan's ideologists pronounced his attack on the welfare state an expression of the "new federalism." It wasn't that they were against helping the poor and the needy, but that the federal government was the wrong branch of government to do it. Even the president talked about it. People, myself included, wrote papers.
January 7, 2010
Are Free Market Forces on the Comeback Trail? By Lawrence Kudlow
Here’s my latest Money Politics message: the midterm elections are going to be crucial in determining the outlook for pro-growth, free market policies includes lower taxes, lower spending, ending bailouts and diminishing federal control over our economic freedom.
January 7, 2010
Can Cocksure Obama Change Course -- and Keep His Nerve? By Michael Barone
A year ago, I was privileged to be one of several guests at a dinner with President-elect Barack Obama. One thing that struck me and others, aside from his courtesy and fluency, was his air of self-confidence.
January 7, 2010
Notes on the State of Politics in the New Year By Larry J. Sabato
What a difference a day makes. Two Democratic senators, both likely reelection losers, throw in the towel. The incumbent Democratic governor of key swing state Colorado shocks everyone by declining to run for a second term. And the all-but-certain Democratic nominee for governor of Michigan, Lt. Gov. John Cherry, drops out because he can't raise money.
January 7, 2010
An Unchained Dodd Rides Into Finance Reform By Froma Harrop
With polls showing that Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd would probably lose to most everyone running against him, the Democrat's decision not to seek re-election is a relief to all but his Republican opponents. A Senate seat from true-blue Connecticut isn't something Democrats should have to worry about. They've already got enough on their hands dealing with the state's other senator, independent Joe Lieberman.
January 6, 2010
The Lady and the Bracelet By Susan Estrich
We got to the airport two hours early. My daughter made fun of me. Maui is not a likely terrorist target. Then again, the president was about one minute away in Oahu, and so was Rush Limbaugh, so who’s to say for sure? The thing about terrorists is that they strike when and where you don’t expect them.
January 6, 2010
Winston Churchill Still Instructs By Tony Blankley
Over the Christmas holiday, I read a couple of books that, at least for me, may provide some guidance in the upcoming tumultuous and probably consequential year. The first book was "Munich, 1938" by David Faber (grandson of former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan), by far the most authoritative book on that world-changing event.
January 5, 2010
Another Entitlement That's Unsustainable By Debra J. Saunders
Inside the House and Senate health care bills lurks a ticking time bomb -- a new federal entitlement, under the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, which would allow Americans to buy into a voluntary federal long-term care insurance program.
January 5, 2010
Dems Should Stay Cool About Midterms By Froma Harrop
The midterm elections this November have spawned midyear panic, largely by Democrats. With their majorities in the Senate and House, Democrats have the most to lose. And historically, the president's party sheds congressional seats at this point in the electoral cycle.
January 1, 2010
Yes, Someone Has To Pay for Health Care By Debra J. Saunders
Most Americans already have health care insurance, but many middle-class Americans are afraid of losing what they have.
December 31, 2009
It's a Wonderful Life Working for the Government By Michael Barone
It looks like a happy new year for you -- if you're a public employee.
December 31, 2009
Let House Prices Do What They Must By Froma Harrop
To paraphrase Yogi Berra, the bubble's not over till the last drop splatters. That is certainly the case with the housing bubble. Home prices that seemed to be strengthening over the summer have again slipped, according to the S&P Case-Shiller index. Neither low interest rates nor a fat tax credit for homebuyers has changed this reality.
December 31, 2009
Market-Based Variables Point to a Mini Boom in 2010 By Lawrence Kudlow
Despite the historic expansion of the federal government’s involvement in, intervention in, and control of the economy — including Bailout Nation; takeovers of banks, car companies, insurance firms, Fannie, Freddie, AIG, GM, Chrysler, and GMAC; large-scale tax threats; overregulation; an attempted takeover of the health-care sector; ultra-easy money; a declining dollar; and unprecedented spending and debt creation — despite all the things that would be expected to destroy the economy — all this socialism lite and the degrading of incentives and rewards for success — despite all this, the U.S. economy has not been destroyed.
December 30, 2009
“Plato O Plomo” – Washington’s Gangster Way By Howard Rich
During the 1980’s, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar built a global cocaine cartel of unrivaled power and influence based on a simple philosophy, Plato O Plomo.
