A Troubling Indicator for Both Parties? By Rhodes Cook
Virtually every leading political indicator points to a midterm election this November that could range anywhere from difficult to disastrous for Democrats.
Political Commentary
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September 9, 2010
September 8, 2010
"Dissension in the Ranks?" by Tony Blankley
With the end of combat in Operation Enduring Freedom presidentially certified, all eyes rivet toward Afghanistan.
September 8, 2010
Book Burning by Susan Estrich
Here's a really bad idea: Burn the Koran to send a message.
September 7, 2010
Obama Gets Write-Offs Right by Lawrence Kudlow
It’s all midterm-election politics, but Obama’s last-minute idea for 100 percent tax write-offs for corporate investment is, in fact, a good idea.
September 7, 2010
Parties Mean Little in Governors' Races by Froma Harrop
Professional partisans see every race as a mark on their team's scoreboard.
September 6, 2010
The Higher Education Bubble: Ready to Burst? By Michael Barone
Imagine that you have a product whose price tag for decades rises faster than inflation. But people keep buying it because they're told that it will make them wealthier in the long run. Then, suddenly, they find it doesn't. Prices fall sharply, bankruptcies ensue, great institutions disappear.
September 5, 2010
Boxer, Fiorina and the Endless Recovery By Debra J. Saunders
At the end of Obamaland's Recovery Summer, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer is betting that Californians want the federal government to keep growing.
September 3, 2010
"Ladies Slug it Out" by Susan Estrich
That was the headline on Thursday's Drudge Report. And it is as good a summary as any of what happened Wednesday night when incumbent California Sen. Barbara Boxer met her challenger, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, in their first debate.
September 3, 2010
Government Protects the Little Guy by Froma Harrop
Over a century ago, William Jennings Bryan presided over mass rallies of mostly middle-class Americans angry about economic inequities.
September 3, 2010
The Business of America Is Business By Lawrence Kudlow
Corporate profits are at all-time highs, and bond rates in the Treasury market are virtually at record lows. That's a good combination for stocks, and it helped trigger a 255 point rally in Wednesday's trading. What's more, a surprisingly positive read on the ISM August manufacturing report delivered a strong blow to the double-dip recession pessimism that has plagued investors for many months.
September 2, 2010
Down With Big Government, Big Business, Big Labor by Michael Barone
Some of the most important things in history are things that didn't happen -- even though just about everyone thought they would.
September 2, 2010
Obama Delivers on His Iraq Promises by Debra Saunders
When then-Sen. Barack Obama visited the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board in 2008, I had one question for him: Which Democratic candidate for president would be best at keeping Iraq from imploding?
September 2, 2010
Sixty Days To Go: The Crystal Ball's Labor Day Predictions By Larry J. Sabato
For decades I’ve advised students to let the facts speak for themselves, while avoiding the indulgence of shouting at the facts. In other words, we should take in all the available, reliable information; process it; and let the emerging mosaic tell its story—whether the picture pleases or not. The human (and partisan) tendency to twist facts into pretzels in order to produce a desired result must be avoided at all costs.
September 1, 2010
The Generic Race by Susan Estrich
Gallup is out this week with a new poll showing the generic Republican beating the generic Democrat in House contests by 10 points.
August 31, 2010
Mad Men in a Saner Time By Froma Harrop
"Mad Men" just won its third Emmy for "outstanding drama." If there were a gold statue for "best nostalgic portrayal," the AMC series would have walked off with that one, too. The allure and success of "Mad Men" is its stylish evocation of a lost era that many older Americans miss and younger ones envy.
August 31, 2010
Obama Isn't Being Smart About Arizona By Debra J. Saunders
The latest CBS poll found that 59 percent of Americans view Arizona's SB1070, the immigration bill that allows Arizona to prosecute immigration violations, as "just right," while another 14 percent think the bill doesn't go far enough. So why does President Obama continue to hammer Arizona's law? And why did the State Department include a reference to the Arizona law in a report for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights on America's human rights record?
August 30, 2010
Boehner's Pro-Growth Message by Lawrence Kudlow
It's a bit too early for House Republican leader John Boehner to measure the drapes and pick out new wallpaper.
August 27, 2010
Ready, Fire, Aim by Susan Estrich
House Minority Leader John Boehner has a brilliant idea.
August 26, 2010
Incumbent Defeats By The Numbers By Larry J. Sabato
At the Crystal Ball we receive many requests for information about the history of congressional elections, and there are many ways to look at this topic. In the two simple bar graphs below, we present one way to conceptualize a key part of the contests for Congress. How many incumbents lose for the House and the Senate?
August 26, 2010
The Mosque and the 'American Street' by Froma Harrop
The circus around the mosque should start to lose audience. New York officials have the authority to decide whether an Islamic center may be built near the tragic site of the attacks on the Twin Towers.
