Commentary by Debra J. Saunders

December 6, 2009

Declaring War on Another "War President" By Debra J. Saunders

As soon as President Obama had finished his West Point speech in which he pledged to send 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, conservative pundits started poking at the president's demeanor and message. Big mistake. If Obama's delivery seemed, well, unenthusiastic, so be it. What is important is that Obama delivered a policy that will keep Afghanistan from devolving into a terror pit. He offered the best plan that conservatives possibly could expect.

December 3, 2009

Huckabee Handed Out Pardons Like Candy By Debra J. Saunders

There is no need to tiptoe gingerly around this topic: Maurice Clemmons, who was shot and killed as authorities tried to apprehend him for the shooting deaths of four Washington police officers -- is former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's Willie Horton.

December 1, 2009

The Inquisition of Global Warming By Debra J. Saunders

This just in from the Times of London: After the leak of highly embarrassing e-mail messages from the University of East Anglia's influential Climatic Research Unit, CRU has been forced to admit that it dumped "the original raw" climate data used to bolster the case for human-caused global warming, while retaining only the "value-added" -- read: massaged -- data.

November 29, 2009

Sarah Palin: Going Rogue, Getting Even By Debra J. Saunders

"Going Rogue: An American Life" acquaints the reader with author Sarah Palin's life and work before she was plucked from her Little House on the Tundra to serve as John McCain's running mate and turned into a national caricature.

November 24, 2009

Politics of the Pardon By Debra J. Saunders

On Wednesday, President Obama will issue the White House's standard hokey pardon of a Thanksgiving turkey. It goes with the job.

November 22, 2009

In New York, Flanked by Lawyers By Debra J. Saunders

"I'm not scared of what (self-professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed) would say at trial," Attorney General Eric Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee as he defended his decision to prosecute Mohammed and four other accused 9/11 planners in a federal criminal court.

November 20, 2009

Brown Ensnared in His Own Tapegate Trap By Debra J. Saunders

A recent Gallup poll found that 55 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of the mass media. Hence, many readers may have felt little outrage when they read a few weeks ago that Scott Gerber, then communications director for California Attorney General Jerry Brown, recorded interviews with reporters -- most notably, my friend and colleague Carla Marinucci -- without notifying them.

November 15, 2009

Scots Outraged Over Bomber's Release By Debra J. Saunders

EDINBURGH -- Do not believe that Scotland was united behind Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill's decision to grant "compassionate" release to the terminally ill convicted Pan Am 103 bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi in August.

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 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

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 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.

October 30, 2009

No Fireworks with Harmer, Garamendi By Debra J. Saunders

No journalist who has followed Lt. Gov. John Garamendi over the years could be surprised at his answer to the final question at Monday night's debate at St. Mary's College among candidates competing to replace Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Walnut Creek, in Tuesday's special election. When an opportunity for fulsome flattery presents itself, Garamendi does not miss a beat.

October 27, 2009

License To Drive While Unlicensed By Debra J. Saunders

Mayor Gavin Newsom's office has argued that San Francisco's "sanctuary city" policy protects undocumented immigrants who are otherwise law-abiding residents.

October 25, 2009

The Long and the Short of Steve Poizner By Debra J. Saunders

Why isn't Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner doing better in his bid for governor? On paper, Poizner is a solid contender.

October 23, 2009

The Real Flaw: Fox Is a No-Fawn Zone By Debra J. Saunders

The Obama White House's war on Fox News heated up when President Obama appeared on five Sunday talk shows in September, but snubbed Fox's Chris Wallace. Then White House Communications Director Anita Dunn told CNN's Howard Kurtz, "Fox News often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party." On ABC's "This Week" Sunday, Obama guru David Axelrod commented on Fox mogul Rupert Murdoch's "talent for making money" -- and added that Fox News programming is "not really news."

October 20, 2009

Buying the Votes of Senior Citizens By Debra J. Saunders

It's hard to instill confidence in the U.S. economy when Washington keeps finding new and creative ways to spend money it doesn't have.

October 18, 2009

Bipartisan Facade Can't Hide Health Plan's Flaws By Debra J. Saunders

If the Democrats' health care package is so great, why are President Obama and Dem congressional leaders so hungry to share the credit for its passage with a Republican?

October 16, 2009

The Bay Area Bridge That Time Forgot By Debra J. Saunders

On Oct. 17, 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake brought down a chunk of the upper deck of the Oakland-Bay Bridge onto the lower deck. Anamafi Moala Kalushia, 23, of Berkeley died. Twenty years later, some 280,000 cars use the bridge daily -- and it still isn't safe.

October 13, 2009

What Happened to Global Warming? By Debra J. Saunders

"What happened to global warming?" read the headline -- on BBC News on Oct. 9, no less. Consider it a cataclysmic event: Mainstream news organizations have begun reporting on scientific research that suggests that global warming may not be caused by man and may not be as dire and eminent as alarmists suggest.

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