First Jobs By John Stossel
What was your first job? I stuck pieces of plastic and metal together at an Evanston, Ill., assembly line. We produced photocopiers for a company called American Photocopy.
Political Commentary
Most Recent Releases
July 18, 2012
July 17, 2012
Are Some Republicans Ready to Deal on Taxes? by Froma Harrop
Nowadays, few politicians will stray from party orthodoxy without also taking unfair whacks at the opposition. Sen. Tom Coburn, Republican from Oklahoma, is braver and more principled than most. But even he felt obliged to take partisan cover in his most recent blast at activist Grover Norquist, enforcer of the absurd pledge never to let anyone's taxes rise ever.
July 16, 2012
Like Charter Schools, Britain's Academies Aim High by Michael Barone
1776 is a number with great resonance for Americans, but not one you expect to be featured on a British government website.
July 13, 2012
If We're Headed Toward Greece, Republicans Are Driving Us There By Joe Conason
When Sen. Lindsey Graham told reporters on Tuesday that Mitt Romney's foreign investment accounts don't trouble him because "it's really American to avoid paying taxes," he must not have realized that he was calling his party's nominee-to-be a liar.
July 13, 2012
An Over/Under on Democratic House Gains By Kyle Kondik
In sports betting parlance, an “over/under” is a bet on whether there will be more or less of a given statistic in a certain game. So, in a football game, say the over/under is 50; gamblers would bet whether the total points scored would be more or less than 50. We include this reference just to make sure readers know what we’re talking about here, and also to include a regular Crystal Ball disclaimer: It’s our policy to never bet money on elections because we do not want to compromise our ratings.
July 13, 2012
Why Obama's Still in the Race Despite the Bad Economy By Scott Rasmussen
There are plenty of reasons that the economy is the most important issue of Election 2012. Unemployment has remained high for a long time, and even 27 percent of those who have a job are worried about losing it.
July 12, 2012
The Worst Financial Scandal Yet? By Froma Harrop
If only one in four American adults can name his or her U.S. senators, we can assume that even fewer know what Libor is. Libor (pronounced lie-bor) is at the center of another major financial scandal, but that may not improve its name recognition much. This is summer, after all, and making sense of financial manipulation requires effort.
July 12, 2012
A Muddled Outlook for Olympics-ready London by Michael Barone
The best view of London's Olympic Park is from the picture windows at the top floor of the John Lewis department store in the vast Westfield Stratford mall five miles east of the Tower of London.
July 11, 2012
Budget Insanity By John Stossel
Last year, Congress agreed to $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts, unless politicians find other things to cut. They didn't, of course. So now, with so-called sequestration looming in January, panic has set in. Even the new "fiscally responsible" Republicans vote against cutting Energy Department handouts to companies like Solyndra and subsidies to sugar producers. Many claim that any cut in military spending will weaken America and increase unemployment.
July 10, 2012
Where They Play, Rich Conservatives Like Zoning by Froma Harrop
The weekend's memorable photo is of Mitt Romney driving his massive powerboat past a privately built castle, not unlike his own, on New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee. On Sunday, he moseyed across the Long Island Sound to the beachy pleasure dome of billionaire conservative David Koch, in Southampton, N.Y. -- for a $75,000-a-couple dinner to raise money from like-minded Republicans. Not far away, Koch's brother Bill, a fellow funder of conservative causes, holds court in the exclusive waterfront enclave of Osterville, on Cape Cod.
July 9, 2012
With Little to Say, Obama Eats Grits in Rust Belt by Michael Barone
"A step in the right direction." That's what Barack Obama said in Poland, Ohio, about Friday's Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment report, which showed only 80,000 net new jobs and unemployment remaining at 8.2 percent.
July 6, 2012
To Fix Health Care System, Put Consumers in Charge By Scott Rasmussen
Democrats were riding high in the polls in 2006 and 2008, and one of their big issues was health care. Then, after passing the president's health care law, the politics shifted, and the issue helped sweep the GOP to victory in the 2010 midterm elections. A few months later, Republicans had a 14-point advantage in terms of voter trust on the health care issue.
July 5, 2012
Executive Women Are Not That Special, Either by Froma Harrop
Two cultural events have caught our attention this season. One is the stern graduation speech at Wellesley (Mass.) High School in which teacher David McCullough Jr. told pampered students, "Do not get the idea you're anything special." The other was an article in The Atlantic magazine by Anne-Marie Slaughter titled, "Why Women Still Can't Have It All."
July 5, 2012
What If They Held an Election and Nobody Came? by Michael Barone
That's more or less what happened last Sunday in Mexico, at least as far as most American journalists (including me) are concerned.
July 3, 2012
Obamacare Survives, but Political Playing Field Has Changed by Michael Barone
The Supreme Court's 5-4 decision upholding the Obama administration's health care legislation was a victory for the president, his administration and his party. Their most ambitious legislative achievement has not been nullified, and they are not left in obvious disarray.
July 2, 2012
Obamacare Survives, but Political Playing Field Has Changed by Michael Barone
The Supreme Court's 5-4 decision upholding the Obama administration's health care legislation was a victory for the president, his administration and his party. Their most ambitious legislative achievement has not been nullified, and they are not left in obvious disarray.
June 29, 2012
2012 Gubernatorial Update: Republicans Aim For Their High-Water Mark By Geoffrey Skelley
A record-tying year could be in store for Republicans in 2012. No, we’re not talking about Mitt Romney -- even if he wins, Romney will not equal Richard Nixon’s 60.7% popular vote share in 1972 or Ronald Reagan’s 525 electoral votes in 1984. Rather, Republicans can tie a record in another category: the number of state governorships the party has held at one time.
June 29, 2012
Fox's Brazen Star: Karl Rove Rebukes Obama on Executive Privilege Claim By Joe Conason
Forever incapable of embarrassment, let alone sober reflection, Karl Rove is very well suited to his current roles as Fox News commentator and Crossroads Super PAC smear sponsor. But he achieved a moment of near-perfection last Thursday when, appearing on a Fox morning news broadcast, he spoke up about President Obama's invocation of executive privilege against a House committee subpoena of Justice Department documents.
June 29, 2012
Supreme Court Keeps Health Care Law on Life Support By Scott Rasmussen
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision that President Obama's health care law is constitutional keeps it alive for now. But it's important to remember that the law has already lost in the court of public opinion. The Supreme Court ruling is a temporary reprieve more than anything else.
June 28, 2012
Here's to the Yankee Doodle Liberal By Froma Harrop
In 1940, a Los Angeles jury released testimony linking James Cagney to the Communist Party, or at least to "communist members, sympathizers or heavy contributors." He had supported something called the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League, apparently not knowing that it was a Soviet front.
