Commentary by Michael Barone

Steady in Iowa, Romney Counts on New Hampshire, Florida By Michael Barone

Election year has finally arrived, well after the beginning of a turbulent and unpredictable elections season, and voting begins on Tuesday in the Iowa Republicans caucuses.

Voters Want Growth, Not Income Redistribution By Michael Barone

"A 2008 election widely regarded as heralding a shift toward the more government-friendly public sentiment of the New Deal and Great Society eras seems to have yielded just the reverse."

Obama Succeeds Abroad When He Follows Bush, Clinton By Michael Barone

The world usually turns out to work differently from what American presidents expected when they were campaigning.

Franklin Roosevelt campaigned on domestic issues in 1932 and ran a more isolationist foreign policy for his first years in office than any of the Republican presidents elected in the 1920s. But he became aware of the threat that Adolf Hitler posed earlier than most, and changed course accordingly.

New Hampshire Quick to Divorce Candidates, Not Marry Them By Michael Barone

Three weeks out from the New Hampshire primary, and voters in the Granite State don't seem to have settled firmly on one of the Republican presidential candidates.

A Democrat Reaches Across the Aisle on Medicare By Michael Barone

It's highly unusual in a presidential debate for two Republican candidates -- the two leading in current national polls -- to heap praise on a liberal Democratic senator. But in the Fox News debate in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday night, both Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney had very good words to say for Oregon's Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden.

Romney Bets on Old Rules as Newt Moves Under Radar By Michael Barone

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- "We're not going to lose in New Hampshire." So says Mitt Romney's state coordinator, Jason McBride.

Stuart Stevens, the Romney campaign's TV ad-maker, expresses similar confidence. Asked if Romney might finish second in New Hampshire, his answer is an unhesitating "no."

Obama, Romney Change Tacks in Week of Political Risks By Michael Barone

It was a week of risk-taking in the 2012 presidential race.

Barack Obama, his job approval languishing in the low 40s, delivered a much heralded speech in Osawatomie, Kan., framing the choice between the parties in class-warfare terms.

Newt Keeps Pitching the America of His Imagination By Michael Barone

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind about Newt Gingrich, as he leads in polls for the Republican presidential nomination nationally and in Iowa and South Carolina, and may be threatening Mitt Romney's lead in New Hampshire.

Untouched by the 60s, 'Romney reflects the Corny '50s By Michael Barone

One question I sometimes have been asked in this presidential campaign goes something like this: Why does Mitt Romney sound so corny?

Entitlement, Not Tax Cuts, Widen the Wealth Gap By Michael Barone

What should be done about income inequality? That basic question underlies the arguments hashed out in the supercommittee and promises to be a central issue in the presidential campaign.

Put Tax Breaks for Mortgages, Local Taxes on Table By Michael Barone

Supercommittee members Sen. Pat Toomey and Rep. Jeb Hensarling are taking flak from some conservatives for proposing a deal including increases in "revenues," and a Washington Post reporter had some fun insinuating that they were backing a tax-rate increase.

Obama Has a Knack for Ticking off America's Friends By Michael Barone

The election of Barack Obama, we were told, would bring new respect and friendship for America in the world.

Tea Partiers, Like Peaceniks, Upset Political Order By Michael Barone

It irritates members of both groups when I note the similarities of the tea party movement that swept the nation in the 2010 election and the peace movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Can Cain Keep Flouting the Cardinal Rules of Politics? By Michael Barone

Herman Cain, beleaguered by charges of sexual harassment, was all over Washington last week -- an odd choice of venue, considering that the Iowa precinct caucuses are now just 58 days away and the New Hampshire primary 65.

But as I learned when I sat next to Cain Friday morning during a long-scheduled taping of Richard Carlson's "Danger Zone" radio program, Cain seemed unfazed.

In conversation before the taping he dismissed the controversy. "No documentation. No witnesses. And I didn't cancel a single event this week" -- although his wife Gloria, accompanying him for the first time, cancelled an interview with Fox News' Greta Van Susteren.

The Revolt Against the Experts Helps Herman Cain By Michael Barone

At the moment, national polls show Herman Cain leading or tied for the lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. This, despite the fact that he has never won an election, has never held public office (except on a regional Federal Reserve advisory panel), and has shown prodigious ignorance on some important foreign policy and domestic issues.

Congress Softens Stance on High-skilled Immigrants By Michael Barone

We've been hearing a lot about immigration on the campaign trail, most of it based on outdated assumptions and echoing the arguments made when Congress was considering so-called comprehensive immigration reform bills in 2006 and 2007.

Romney Buoyed by Good Luck -- and Hard Experience By Michael Barone

Napoleon is supposed to have said that the quality he most valued in his generals was luck. In the current race for the Republican presidential nomination, Napoleon's favorite would clearly be Mitt Romney.

Obama Drags Feet to Avoid Offending Political Pals By Michael Barone

Leadership, said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in his press conference Tuesday announcing he would not reverse his decision not to run for president, is something you can't be taught or learn. "Leadership today in America has to be about doing the big things and being courageous."

Is Herman Cain a Contender? By Michael Barone

Is Herman Cain a serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination? It's a question no one in the pundit world was asking until the past week.

Cain has never held public office. When he ran for the Senate in Georgia in 2004, he lost the primary by a 52 percent to 26 percent margin.

Mitch Daniels Dares GOP Candidates to Be Grown-ups By Michael Barone

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels did not attract as large a crowd when he spoke at American Enterprise Institute (where I am a resident fellow) earlier this week as he did when several months ago, before he disappointed admirers by announcing that he wouldn't run for president.