The Politics of Disaster By Susan Estrich
When BP CEO Tony Hayward went to Capitol Hill this week, he got beat up on by all sides.
Political Commentary
Most Recent Releases
June 19, 2010
June 18, 2010
Barack Obama’s Bogus Budget Cuts By Howard Rich
In its latest attempt to mitigate public outrage over out-of-control government growth, the administration of President Barack Obama has instructed a handful of federal agencies to cut their budgets by five percent.
June 18, 2010
A Green New Deal Now by Joe Conason
If the right-wing chorus insists that the Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico is "Obama's Katrina," then let us hope the president will make the most of that slogan. The comparison between the utter failure of the Bush administration and the missteps and errors of the Obama White House is fundamentally false. Yet there is nevertheless a crucial parallel to be drawn as the fifth anniversary of the hurricane approaches.
June 18, 2010
Obama's Inaction in the Name of Action By Debra J. Saunders
Note to President Obama: The catastrophic Deepwater Horizon oil spill did not happen because Americans -- actually, the industrialized world -- have an "addiction to fossil fuels," as you suggested in Tuesday's Oval Office address.
June 17, 2010
Voters in Big States Prefer Skinflint Candidates By Michael Barone
"Government in New York is too big, ineffective and expensive," the candidate's website proclaims. "We must get our state's fiscal house in order by immediately imposing a cap on state spending and freezing salaries of state public employees as part of a one-year emergency financial plan, committing to no increase in personal or corporate income taxes of sales taxes and imposing a local property tax cap."
June 17, 2010
Make Louisiana a U.S. Protectorate By Froma Harrop
A modest proposal: The federal government should take over Louisiana. Might as well, at this point.
June 17, 2010
Weak Speech from an Indecisive Obama By Lawrence Kudlow
One problem with President Obama’s Oval Office speech was his declaration that 90 percent of the oil spill would be captured in “coming days and weeks.” Ah, if only government were that strong and powerful. Trouble is, the spill rate late yesterday afternoon was again revised upward toward 60,000 barrels per day from the prior estimate of 25,000.
June 16, 2010
Afghan War Becoming a Bloody Farce By Tony Blankley
Since last summer, President Obama has publicly doubted whether Afghan President Hamid Karzai's corruption and incompetence make him a fit partner for our policy goals in Afghanistan.
June 16, 2010
The Second Time Around By Susan Estrich
"I'm definitely going to sail around the world again, or at least give it another try," teen sailor Abby Sunderland told the Australian press after her rescue last week.
June 15, 2010
Is Being Half There OK? By Froma Harrop
You've seen the zombie parents on the streets and at the mall. Off in some cell-phone cloud, they pay no attention to what's in the stroller.
It could be a sack of potatoes. It could be a cocker spaniel. More often than not, it's a baby staring blankly ahead or crying to no avail.
June 14, 2010
Big Labor Is Humbled by Blanche Lincoln's Win by Michael Barone
How bad a defeat did labor unions suffer when Sen. Blanche Lincoln defeated their candidate and won the Arkansas Democratic runoff last week?
June 13, 2010
Jerry Brown, California's Prince of Self-Transformation By Debra J. Saunders
As part of a union-backed "independent" expenditure campaign in support of Attorney General Jerry Brown's gubernatorial effort, the California Nurses Association has formed a retinue that trails GOP gubernatorial hopeful Meg Whitman with a cartoonish figure named "Queen Meg." Have these true believers never noticed that the attorney general is the real thing when it comes to political royalty?
June 12, 2010
Politicians Cause Downsizing By Howard Rich
Of all the myths helping to sustain the unsustainable status quo in Washington, D.C., among the most widely accepted is the belief that a politician’s seniority translates into tangible economic benefits for his or her district. In fact, this perception works hand-in-glove with another central government myth – the one about politicians being able to create private sector jobs with your tax dollars in the first place.
June 11, 2010
The Value of Experience By Susan Estrich
Some years ago, the late New York Times and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist William Safire wrote a great column comparing politicians to plumbers. It was during one of those periods when (like now) experience had become a dirty word in politics and incumbency was a veritable curse. There was nothing worse you could say about someone than to call him a "career politician" -- just what California Republican gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman called her rival for the office only yesterday.
June 10, 2010
Carly Fiorina, Woman for the Future by Lawrence Kudlow
Revolution in California and political regime change come November has been a theme of mine for weeks. Tuesday night's big victories for Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina moved that agenda nicely down the field.
June 10, 2010
Governor and Senate Primary Updates By Larry J. Sabato
With the biggest primary night of 2010 now over, more and more of the midterm picture is coming into focus. The Crystal Ball brings you the following quick takes from the hottest Senate and Governor primary races that were decided this week:
June 10, 2010
Old White Guy vs. GOP Woman By Debra J. Saunders
So much for the undeserved stereotype of California Republicans voting lemming-like for the most conservative, unelectable contenders. Tuesday, GOP voters rejected the most conservative candidates in favor of moderate hopefuls generally deemed to be more likely to win in November.
June 8, 2010
Hotel California's $36,000 Price Tag by Debra J. Saunders
In the United Kingdom, Tory Prime Minister David Cameron has warned that his new coalition government will have to invoke austerity cuts that could affect Brits for years, even decades. New Jersey GOP Gov. Chris Christie has turned into a conservative hero for telling an irate teacher who complained about her pay at a town hall meeting that she doesn't have to teach. Illinois Gov.
June 8, 2010
Blaming Obama for Not Being a God By Froma Harrop
Gulf Coast residents are supposedly mad at President Obama for not keeping the oil from threatening their beaches and marshes. We hear this in stereo -- from political opposition on the right and liberal pundits bored by the president's cerebral approach to problem-solving.
June 7, 2010
Oil Slick, Joblessness May Stymie Dems' Rebound By Michael Barone
Republicans are encountering some speed bumps on what they hope is the road to victory in the November elections. Their candidates for Republican open Senate seats in Ohio and Missouri are running no better than even in recent polls. The independent candidacy of Gov. Charlie Crist is threatening Marco Rubio's bid to hold the Republican Senate seat in Florida.
