The Boston Globe this weekend offered a fascinating analysis of why Mitt Romney lost the 2012 presidential election. But for all the impact of ground games, turnout models and campaign strategies, Mitt Romney lost not because he failed to define himself to the American people, but because he succeeded. At the end of the day, […]

If you have lingering doubts that economic growth--and not deficit reduction--should be the highest priority during the debate over the so-called "fiscal cliff," the Congressional Budget Office should put them to rest. The CBO forecast that the triple witching hour of expiring Bush tax cuts, the ending payroll tax holiday and the falling axe of […]

As President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised in September, the State Department Accountability Review Board on Wednesday delivered its report on the Benghazi consulate assault which killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. The findings are sharply critical of the State Department, calling security at the Libyan outpost "grossly inadequate," a […]

Much to the delight of President Obama's conservative naysayers, Politico this morning reported that "the Treasury Department on Wednesday announced plans to sell, almost certainly at a loss, the government's remaining shares of Detroit-based automaker General Motors." Predictably, the right-wing Washington Free Beacon darkly warned "Treasury prepares to lose big on GM bailout" while gloating […]

As the Obama administration and Congress ponder their responses to the slaughter in Newtown, Connecticut, one of the central tensions in the American system of government is once again coming to the fore. That is, the freedoms enshrined in our Constitution's Bill of Rights are neither absolute nor in harmony with each other. For example, […]

Last week, UN Ambassador Susan Rice took herself out of the running to become the next Secretary of State, apparently clearing the way for Senator John Kerry. But whether or not Rice was the best choice--or even President Obama's first choice--for the position is largely beside the point. History will mark this episode as just […]

When a federal judge ruled in August that Texas can withhold millions of dollars from Planned Parenthood and other family planning clinics, Governor Rick Perry proclaimed it a "win for Texas women." As it turns out, Perry's crusade against Planned Parenthood isn't a win for either the women of Texas or the budget of the […]

It's bad enough that obstructionist Republicans in Congress have shattered the record for filibusters, blocked President Obama's judicial at an unprecedented rate and stonewalled economy-boosting legislation like the American Jobs Act. Now for the second time in as many years, extortionist GOP leaders like South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham are again refusing to raise the […]

Among the very worst practices of American broadcast news is the "focus group of one." That is, reporters casually substitute the tale of a single person, company or community for actual analysis of a complex issue. And so it was Sunday, when CBS Evening News profiled Rod Hudson of Quicksilver Analytics to warn that small […]

For Democrats, the 2012 presidential campaign has produced some delicious ironies. For starters, Mitt Romney's share of the final vote will come in at a memorable 47 percent, the same figure he used to disparage half the electorate as self-described "victims" bought off by "free stuff" and "gifts" from President Obama. But for pure schadenfreude, […]