Will Obama Cross the 'Reefer Rubicon'? By Froma Harrop
The War on Drugs is ridiculous, behold the storm over Michael Phelps' partaking of marijuana, an illegal substance that at least two presidents have used.
Political Commentary
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February 17, 2009
February 14, 2009
The Real Lessons of the Great Depression By Michael Barone
"Not since the Great Depression." "Not since the 1930s." You hear those phrases a lot these days, and with some reason. As Congress prepares to pass the Democratic stimulus package, it may be worthwhile to look back at Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and consider how well it worked as policy -- and politically.
February 13, 2009
Mr. Credibility By Debra J. Saunders
Quoth President Obama: "It's a little hard for me to take criticism from folks about this recovery package, after they've presided over a doubling of the national debt. I'm not sure they have a lot of credibility when it comes to fiscal responsibility."
February 13, 2009
Live to Risk By Susan Estrich
Why would someone risk his life by, as the LA Times described, "extending his body away from a motorcycle and grabbing the seat as the motorcycle is upside down, then pulling back aboard as the motorcycle is righted before landing"? Or not. In which case, as it was with 24-year-old Jeremy Lusk, he ends up dead.
February 13, 2009
The False Hope of Bipartisanship By Alan Abramowitz
It's not a matter of "if." It's a matter of "when." As in, when will all of the feel-good rhetoric about Democrats and Republicans joining hands to solve the nation's problems come to an end and open partisan warfare resume in Washington?
February 13, 2009
Senate 2010 By Larry J. Sabato
It's never too early for the Crystal Ball to look ahead to the next election. But unlike the Wizard of Oz's phony orb (when he's still the Kansas medicine man who peeks into Dorothy's purse for photos of Auntie Em), we try to run an honest Ball.
February 12, 2009
The Harder They Fall By Debra J. Saunders
I ran into a friend in Sacramento Tuesday -- one of the many disappointed Republicans who inhabit the capital -- who told me that he will never again vote for a candidate for governor who has not lost an election. He had soured on the lack of humility invasive in state politics.
February 12, 2009
Is Tim Geithner Ready for Prime Time? By Lawrence Kudlow
The day after President Obama's big news conference, and on the day Treasury man Tim Geithner unveiled his Bank Bailout Nation TARP III Plan, stock markets plunged in a vote of no-confidence, with the Dow dropping nearly 400 points.
February 12, 2009
The Old Folks Are Doing OK By Froma Harrop
"Round up everybody that can ride a horse or pull a trigger," John Wayne says in "Chisum." "Let's break out some Winchesters."
February 12, 2009
Stronger, Please, Mr. President By Joe Conason
Having allowed his Republican opponents to dominate the economic debate for two weeks as his stimulus proposal languished, President Obama used his first news conference to rebut them -- coolly and civilly, yet without leaving any doubt that he can strike back harder if necessary.
February 11, 2009
Doctor Obama By Susan Estrich
The patient is in trouble. That much we know. About that everyone is certain. There are mounting job losses, record deficits, banks failing, mortgages underwater, layoffs looming.
February 11, 2009
Our Clever President By Tony Blankley
President Barack Obama's first presidential news conference was performed feebly by the once-ferocious White House press corps and shrewdly -- if deceptively -- by the president.
February 10, 2009
Harry Beats Goliath By Debra J. Saunders
Back in May 2000, Harry Markopolos, a Massachusetts fraud investigator, provided detailed evidence to the Securities and Exchange Commission that financier Bernard Madoff was a fraud. Eight years later, the SEC figured that out -- albeit after Madoff told federal authorities he had defrauded investors of up to $50 billion.
February 10, 2009
GOP on Stimulus: First, Do Harm By Froma Harrop
Barack Obama never guaranteed he would end partisan rancor in Washington. He said he'd try.
February 8, 2009
The Tug-of-War Driving the Stimulus Debate: Analysis by Scott Rasmussen
The popularity of newly elected President Barack Obama combined with the willingness of most voters to give him the benefit of the doubt is a powerful political force working in favor of the economic rescue plan now being debated on Capitol Hill.
February 8, 2009
Dysfunctional Family Making By Debra J. Saunders
This is not going to be a column that dumps on the misguided and clearly troubled Nadya Suleman -- the 33-year-old unemployed single Whittier mother of six who gave birth to octuplets last month. Of course, a single mother of six has absolutely no business having more children.
February 7, 2009
Jobs Down, Stocks Up? By Lawrence Kudlow
How do you explain it when jobs plunge and stocks surge? That's what happened Friday, as the January employment report revealed a disastrous 598,000 drop in payrolls. Actually, the job loss was 664,000, if you count downward revisions to the prior two months. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate moved up from 7.2 percent to 7.6 percent. So there's no sugar coating it: It was a terrible report.
February 7, 2009
Calm and Cool on a No Good, Very Bad Day By Michael Barone
Tuesday, Feb. 3, was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day for Barack Obama.
February 6, 2009
On Her Shoulders, In Her Shoes By Susan Estrich
Ruth Bader Ginsburg is small in stature, but she has very big shoulders. Alongside a generation of women lawyers, I stand on them, with gratitude and pride. The news that the only woman on the United States Supreme Court has been hospitalized for surgery for pancreatic cancer brings an opportune moment to say thank you.
February 5, 2009
Stimulus in Spend City By Debra J. Saunders
Back in October, after the Obama economic stimulus plan had grown from $60 billion to $175 billion and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had doubled the amount she wanted to spend to $300 billion, I asked, "Do I hear $450 billion?"
