The Political Picture By Thomas Sowell
The good news is that both political conventions are now behind us. The bad news is that the election is ahead of us.
Political Commentary
Most Recent Releases
August 2, 2016
August 2, 2016
Does Either Party Have a Winning Strategy? Not Clear by Michael Barone
What is the campaign strategy for the two political parties? Clues can be had from the responses to a question I asked about a dozen dignitaries of each party at their conventions in Cleveland and Philadelphia. What's your best guess, I asked, emphasizing guess, of your nominee's percentage of the popular vote in November 2016?
August 2, 2016
Is Trump the Peace Candidate? By Patrick J. Buchanan
With Democrats howling that Vladimir Putin hacked into and leaked those 19,000 DNC emails to help Trump, the Donald had a brainstorm: Maybe the Russians can retrieve Hillary Clinton's lost emails.
Not funny, and close to "treasonous," came the shocked cry.
July 29, 2016
Hillary's Strategy By Ted Rall
Hillary Clinton's strategy for the general election is to try to peel away anti-Trump Republicans. That's why we are seeing her move to the right.
July 29, 2016
The Democratic Convention: Mission Partly Accomplished By Michael Barone
It was a variant on a traditional convention for a party seeking a third straight term in the White House, attempting to overcome an apparent post-convention bounce for the opposition's candidate: shades of 1988 or 2000 or 2008. Usually it starts with a valedictory speech by the incumbent president, followed by celebration of the new nominee and ending with a rousing acceptance speech.
July 29, 2016
Philadelphia Vs. Cleveland: Divided We Stand By Patrick J. Buchanan
Wednesday was the best night of Hillary Clinton's campaign.
July 28, 2016
Clinton Cash By John Stossel
This week, as Democrats fawn over Hillary Clinton, I'm struck by how both Clintons continue to thrive despite their remarkable record of sleazy dealings.
July 27, 2016
#BlueLightFriday: From the White House to Your House By Michelle Malkin
When you need something done, call a retired cop.
July 27, 2016
Clinton Over the Hump, and Trump Gets a Bump by Kyle Kondik and Geoffrey Skelley
After Donald Trump picked Mike Pence to be his running mate two weeks ago -- that feels like two months ago, right? -- we suggested that Trump could end up taking at least a temporary lead because of the convention bounce that presidential candidates typically get after their conventions.
July 26, 2016
Clinton carnival hits Philly; blame the Russians by Charles Hurt
Turns out Donald J. Trump is right. The system really is rigged! At least the Democratic Party’s system is.
July 26, 2016
Black Votes Matter By Thomas Sowell
Black votes matter. If Republicans could get 20 percent of black votes, the Democrats would be ruined. This is highly unlikely, given the approach used by Republicans. However, the point is that Democrats must not only continue to get nine-tenths of black votes, they also need to get a high turnout of black voters on election day.
July 26, 2016
What's 'Making America One Again' About? By Michael Barone
"Make America One Again." That was the stated theme of the last night of the Republican National Convention. In the welter of analysis of Donald Trump's acceptance speech, few have commented on it, but it's worth taking it seriously.
July 25, 2016
Clinton-Kaine: A Not-So Surprising Ticket by Kyle Kondik, Geoffrey Skelley, and Larry J. Sabato
If someone had told us at the start of this election cycle that the Democratic presidential nominee would be Hillary Clinton, and that she would choose Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia as her running mate, we would have said that would be… very, very plausible.
July 22, 2016
Cops Shouldn't Write Tickets By Ted Rall
After years of no one -- at least not the white people who control the media -- giving a damn about what happens to black people at the hands of white cops, suddenly the terrible relationship between people and the police is a huge problem.
July 22, 2016
Is America Ready for a Disruptive President? by Michael Barone
Disruptive. That's a good word to describe Donald Trump's presidential candidacy, and to describe the sometimes-ramshackle Republican National Convention his campaign more or less superintended in Cleveland this past week.
July 22, 2016
Ted Cruz and the Trump Takeover By Patrick J. Buchanan
The self-righteousness and smugness of Ted Cruz in refusing to endorse Donald Trump, then walking off stage in Cleveland, smirking amidst the boos, takes the mind back in time.
July 22, 2016
Donald Trump: #LoveWins By Charles Hurt
CLEVELAND — Say whatever you want about real estate developer Donald J. Trump, he is the candidate of “love.”
July 21, 2016
What to Expect When You’re Expecting a Bounce by Geoffrey Skelley
The convention bounce is a long-established pattern in presidential election cycles. Much has been written about it, so we won’t rehash it too much. The main point is that conventions almost always generate an increase in a nominee’s polling numbers during and after his or her convention, but often times the bounce is short-lived. Still, some of that jump in the polls can be maintained; in this environment, a poll bounce will probably signal increased party unity. This is what is important for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton: The former needs to get his support among Republicans up to and beyond 90% in the polls (he’s currently in the 80%-85% range) and the latter needs Sanders supporters, many of whom self-identify as independents, to more firmly back her (most surveys have shown a sizable chunk of Sanders voters still outside Clinton’s camp).
July 20, 2016
Ignoring Politicians by John Stossel
My Fox colleagues are in Cleveland, diligently interviewing Republicans. Next week, they'll interview Democrats. I'm glad they do it -- because I despise most politicians.
July 20, 2016
Not So Hot in Cleveland By Larry J. Sabato, Kyle Kondik and Geoffrey Skelley
With two nights down at the Republican National Convention and two nights to go, here are five quick observations on Trump TV:
