As a quick glance online shows, President Obama's sagging popularity is producing a cottage industry for political diagnosticians. In the Washington Post, former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson proclaims "the lost promise of Barack Obama" even as his colleague Eugene Robinson touts "President Obama's winning streak." Elsewhere, an incredulous Kevin Drum mauls Aaron David Miller's claim […]

In the span of just a few days, Sarah Palin has demonstrated that her ignorance of the First Amendment is total. One day after repeating her earlier call for Muslim Americans to "refudiate" their freedom of religion, Palin defended the disgraced Dr. Laura Schlessinger. But in tweeting that Dr. Laura's "1st Amend.rights ceased 2exist," Palin […]

With the first wave of its new provisions set to begin in September, Americans' support for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is gradually growing. And with good reason. A Commonwealth Fund study released last month concluded that the health care reform law will be especially beneficial to women. And now, a new analysis confirms that […]

From the same people who sold you the American calamity in Iraq comes a new offer. At no cost to you, Israel will bomb Iranian nuclear facilities. But the special promotion ends this week, after which a regional war with Tehran and its proxies returns to its suggested retail price of an American military quagmire […]

Addressing Congress on September 20, 2001, President George W. Bush reminded the American people that in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, "We're in a fight for our principles, and our first responsibility is to live by them," adding, "No one should be singled out for unfair treatment or unkind words because of their ethnic […]

On Sunday, Republican Senator John Cornyn promised to make opposition to the so-called Ground Zero mosque a campaign issue, proclaiming, "This is not about freedom of religion." No, it's about much more than that. It is, as President Obama explained Friday, "essential to who we are." Because Ground Zero does not just belong to the […]

The 2000 presidential campaign witnessed a fierce battle over the future of Social Security, pitting the private, personal accounts of George W. Bush versus Al Gore's "lockbox." Ten years later, Nevada Republican Senate hopeful Sharron Angle has taken both sides in a single day. In her just-released ad titled, "Social Security," Sharron Angle did a […]

No doubt, Wisconsin Republican Congressman Paul Ryan's dashing good looks make the Washington chattering classes weak at the knees. But his policy proposals make most Americans - including most of his party leadership - sick to their stomachs. After all, the past week highlighted how Ryan's supposedly budget-balancing Roadmap for America's Future would instead produce […]

Back in February, 42 governors signed a letter pleading with Congressional leaders to extend the federal matching assistance program for Medicaid. And with good reason. 30 cash-strapped states, including Republican bastions Georgia and Alabama, had already assumed new federal Medicaid funds in their budgets. Worse still, drastic downturns in revenues combined with the recession's escalating […]

Last year, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann summed up what would become the de facto Republican platform for the 2010 midterm elections when she fretted, "We're running out of rich people in this country." Now, as the GOP demands a $700 billion Treasury-draining tax cut for the wealthiest Americans even as it calls for a balanced […]