Four years ago, conservatives mocked Joe Biden's suggestion that paying taxes is "patriotic." Now, some on the right are praising Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin as "an American hero" for renouncing his U.S. citizenship in order to avoid paying millions in future capital gains taxes. Leaving aside Saverin's dubious denial and the fact that he owes […]

"When the president told me yesterday that he wanted a clean increase in the debt limit," House Speaker John Boehner said this week, "It almost took my breath away." It shouldn't have. After all, Congress raised the debt ceiling 17 times under Ronald Reagan and seven more under George W. Bush, including a "clean" increase […]

A new Gallup poll released Monday offered both good news and bad for Mitt Romney. While his favorability jumped 11 points since February to reach a personal best of 50 percent, Romney still badly lags other recent nominees at the same stage in their campaigns. Despite the improvement, Mitt Romney is still plagued by an […]

In the wake of her state's vote to ban marriage equality last week, North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue caused quite a stir when she declared "We look like Mississippi." In response, Mississippi's Republican chief executive Phil Bryant call Perdue's remark "disappointing" and warned "I think she'll regret that after she's had some time to reflect […]

Just in case you had forgotten, the campaign web sites of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney want to remind you it's Mother's Day. The Obama site includes a card you can sign for the First Lady and a video of the President paying tribute to his mom and grandmother. Meanwhile, Team Romney is offering "Moms […]

Like the force of gravity or the sun rising in the east, Mitt Romney's pathological lying is now taken for granted. As Steve Benen among others can attest, documenting Romney's runaway mendacity may now be America's greatest growth industry. Explaining the causes of Mitt's daily dissembling may be another. Rick Perlstein looked to Shakespeare, seeing […]

For months, Mitt Romney, John Boehner and other Republican leaders have falsely claimed that "President Obama made the economy worse." The same crowd which for years cried that George W. Bush "inherited a recession" accused Obama of blaming his predecessor for the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. Now, the GOP has seized on […]

Two funny things happened this week on Mitt Romney's way to the White House. First, the man who cried "let Detroit go bankrupt" announced "I'll take a lot of credit" for President Obama's million-job saving rescue of the American auto industry. But just as telling was the Republican's claim that, despite Obama's "Forward" campaign slogan, […]

After this week's election results in France and Greece, press, pundits and politicians on both sides of the Atlantic are questioning the future of draconian austerity policies in Europe. As well they should. Euro-region unemployment has reached its highest levels in 15 years. Across the channel, David Cameron's Tories have led the UK back into […]

Mitt Romney is now claiming paternity for President Obama's auto industry rescue that saved over a million jobs nationwide. But while he most certainly isn't the father of a reborn Detroit, the successful 2006 health care reform law he signed in Boston has become Mitt Romney's bastard love child. Americans should give credit where credit […]