A Mother's Job By Susan Estrich
"You have so much responsibility. It's just hard work all the time," said Bristol Palin, the new spokeswoman for the Candie's Foundation to prevent teen pregnancy, at an "Event to Prevent" town hall on Wednesday.
Political Commentary
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May 9, 2009
May 8, 2009
Health Care: Will Democrats Ride Camel or Horse? By Froma Harrop
A camel, the old saying goes, is a horse made by committee. We don't want camel health reform. We don't want Washington lawmakers debating whether it should have one hump or two. We want a horse -- a sleek machine that performs with efficiency.
May 8, 2009
Huge Crack in System of Drug Prosecution By Debra J. Saunders
When Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act in 1986, proponents boasted that stiff mandatory minimum sentences would be bad news for major drug traffickers. Ha. Over time, drug kingpins learned that they had little to fear from the law -- especially if they were dealing crack cocaine.
May 8, 2009
Presidency 2012: The Invisible Primary Begins By Larry J. Sabato
We at the Crystal Ball must beg your forgiveness. With fewer than 1,300 days left until the next general election for President, we have failed to offer a single analysis of this historic upcoming battle. With humility, and hoping for mercy, we submit this first update on 2012.
May 7, 2009
Jack Kemp's Big Ideas By Lawrence Kudlow
When I first visited with Jack Kemp in his congressional office in Washington, D.C., in the late 1970s, I couldn't help but notice the row of books on his desk. There was Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Benjamin Anderson and Milton Friedman. And of course there was Jude Wanniski's "The Way the World Works."
May 7, 2009
Those Brand-New Humble Republicans By Joe Conason
Hoping to re-brand their declining party, a group of prominent Republicans recently launched a national "listening tour," presumably as an exercise in market research. They would like to know why voters -- and especially younger voters -- increasingly reject the GOP.
May 7, 2009
White House Puts UAW Ahead of Property Rights By Michael Barone
Last Friday, the day after Chrysler filed for bankruptcy, I drove past the company's headquarters on I-75 in Auburn Hills, Mich. As I glanced at the pentagram logo, I felt myself tearing up a little bit. Anyone who grew up in the Detroit area, as I did, can't help but be sad to see a once great company fail.
May 6, 2009
A Different Life By Susan Estrich
You expect some people to write a book. You see their name when you're scrolling titles or actually looking at books, and you say, of course he or she would write a book.
May 6, 2009
Without Preparation, Explanation or Response By Tony Blankley
Does anyone take serious words seriously anymore here in Washington?
May 5, 2009
Better Service in Bad Times? By Froma Harrop
As tornadoes, thunder and lightning rampaged across the Heartland last week, the crowds piled up at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Every bar stool had someone on it, and restaurant lines stretched down the corridors.
May 5, 2009
News Biz: Unbiased and Out of Business By Debra J. Saunders
Why are most newspaper reporters and editors liberal? I've been working in the business for more than 20 years, and I can't give a quick, definitive answer to the question. But I do think a contributing factor is that editors, like other managers, tend to hire and reward staffers who think as they do. They see their positions as neutral, which is human nature -- and is reinforced by the fact that the folks in the desks around them vote the same way they do.
May 4, 2009
Beware of Mandatory Arbitration in Card Check By Michael Barone
In his statement explaining his decision to switch from the Republican to the Democratic Party, Sen. Arlen Specter assured his listeners that "my position on Employees Free Choice (card check) will not change."
May 2, 2009
New Jersey Governor Showdown By Joseph Figueroa
Before we dive into New Jersey's surprisingly intriguing 2009 race for governor, let us premise everything that follows on the fact that any Republican running in New Jersey enters the batter's box with two strikes, two outs, nobody on, and down two runs. Let us not kid ourselves, here.
May 2, 2009
Wash Your Hands By Susan Estrich
Now it's not just your mother telling you or the school nurse, but your president. Wash your hands. Cover your mouth. Don't go to school if you're sick -- that'll be tough to enforce!
May 1, 2009
The Obama Generation By Alan Abramowitz
Americans under the age of 30 played a major role in the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. According to the 2008 national exit poll, 18-29 year-olds made up 18 percent of the electorate and they cast 66 percent of their votes for Obama vs. 32 percent for his Republican rival, John McCain.
May 1, 2009
Man and His Self-Interest By Froma Harrop
In a Q&A last year with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, former Pennsylvania Rep. Pat Toomey was asked what book he wanted Barack Obama to read. The Republican quickly recommended the work of Adam Smith, the 18th century economist and philosopher who held that individuals promote the good of society when they pursue their self-interest.
May 1, 2009
Pelosi's Tortured Explanation By Debra J. Saunders
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had been pushing for a "truth commission" to investigate the CIA's use of "enhanced interrogation" techniques like waterboarding -- until Republicans started shining the spotlight on Pelosi herself. Now she is not so adamant.
April 30, 2009
Combating Epidemic Ignorance By Joe Conason
In the turbulent imagination of the hard-core conservative, American foreign policy should be about telling off the rest of the planet. According to the right-wing mind-set, a manly foreign policy would curtail any effort at seeking influence abroad, cut off assistance to developing countries, forget about improving our global image and, above all, withdraw from the existing international organizations, especially the United Nations, which is nothing more than a gargantuan waste of money and a hive of parasitic bureaucrats.
April 30, 2009
Specter's Party Switch Is All About Winning By Michael Barone
Only his most sycophantic admirers might compare Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter with Winston Churchill, but the two do have something in common. Both had long and turbulent political careers, and both switched parties twice.
April 30, 2009
100-Day Lurch to the Left By Lawrence Kudlow
In the early 1980s, Ronald Reagan's popularity and policies moved American politics firmly to the right. In only 100 days, Barack Obama's politics and policies have shifted America way to the left.
