During the 2008 presidential campaign, John McCain's chief economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin took more positions on the federal budget deficit than Newt Gingrich has had wives. Within a matter of weeks last year, Holtz-Eakin alternately claimed John McCain would balance the budget by either 2013 or 2017, all before announcing in April, "I would like […]

During the height of the battle over judicial nominees in 2005, the Republican Party debuted its short-lived "up or down vote" talking point. Of course, after being reduced to minority status in the 2006 midterms, the GOP was quick to abandon that gambit, instead easily shattering the record for filibusters in the Senate. But in […]

The recession is good for you. At least, according to former Bush speechwriter turned Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson. Praising the "recession's hidden virtues," Gerson on Sunday reassured Americans that their financial hardships may be a boon to their physical health and personal morality, all while helping foster cultural renewal. As it turns out, Gerson […]

To the displeasure of many on both sides of aisle, President Obama on Monday will host the so-called Fiscal Responsibility Summit at the White House. While some Democrats question the timing of Obama's expenditure of political capital on Social Security, Medicare and other entitlement reform, obstructionist Republicans are ridiculing the event even as they hype […]

In his first budget, President Obama apparently plans to keep his campaign promise to let the Bush tax cuts expire for Americans making over $250,000 a year. And just as during the election, Republican leaders are falsely claiming that Obama's proposal constitutes a tax hike on small business owners. This time, it is Senate Majority […]

As word of President Obama's proposed first budget leaked this weekend, his pledge to halve the federal budget deficit by 2013 quickly became the headline. Even after ending President Bush's practice of cooking the books to understate the red ink, Obama is targeting to slash the $1.3 trillion deficit he inherited to $533 billion by […]

As the New York Times detailed this week, the Obama administration will end George W. Bush's fuzzy math when it comes to the federal budget and budget deficit. But by accurately reflecting the true costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Medicare reimbursements, disaster responses and the AMT, the Obama White House is now […]

News that the Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Swiss banking giant UBS is just the latest chapter in the curious case of Phil Gramm. Just one day after UBS agreed to pay a $780 million criminal fine and admitted to conspiring to defraud the IRS, the DOJ demanded access to 52,000 accounts as […]

Canadians on Thursday gave Barack Obama a warm welcome in his foreign trip as President. But while real issues concerning trade and the future Canadian combat role in Afghanistan remain, the most difficult discussions between President Obama and Prime Minister Harper will likely wait for another time. But in one area – whether the United […]

The blogosphere reacted with a sense of amusement Wednesday to news that former Federal Reserve Chairman and free market stalwart Alan Greenspan was urging the nationalization of American banks. While Paul Krugman laughed that "Comrade Greenspan" had called for the government to "seize the economy's commanding heights," Atrios snickered "I guess he's capable of being […]