One day after New York Times columnist and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman described Republican brinksmanship on the debt ceiling as "hostage-taking," President Obama used his Monday press conference declared, "They will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the American economy." But you don't have to take their word for it that […]

As President Obama and Congressional leaders negotiate in Washington, the American people need to keep a couple of things in mind about the looming "fiscal cliff." For starters, the issue is not that the national debt will go up (which roughly half of those in one poll believe to be the case), but that it […]

In the aftermath of Barack Obama's reelection victory, voices across the political spectrum were quick to deny that the President had earned a mandate from voters. In the Washington Post, Ruth Marcus warned that a Democratic claim to a mandate was a "delusion." The National Journal's Ron Fournier agreed, adding that the absence of a […]

As voters prepare to go to the polls in tightly contested manufacturing states including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, a new study is stark reminder about which party built and is committed to sustaining America's industrial heartland. The new analysis shows Democratic presidents far outperform their Republican counterparts in producing manufacturing jobs. Of course, that […]

For most liberals, the Constitution's aspirational goal for "We the people" to "form a more perfect Union" is a guiding statement of American national purpose. Nevertheless, these days many blue staters are growing exasperated with their red state brothers and sisters. After all, the "Southernization" of American politics has helped give conservative policies and politicians […]

Bill Clinton's address to the Democratic National Convention accomplished a good many things for his party. Among them was shining a spotlight on one of the least reported but potentially most far-reaching proposals Mitt Romney and his Republican Party have promised to pursue. While all eyes have been on the Romney-Ryan plan to voucherize Medicare, […]

As Bill Clinton prepares to take center stage at the 2012 Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night, Republicans have mounted a blistering attack on the President's economic plan. His proposal, the GOP warned, was "class warfare" and a "job killer" which will "kill the current recovery and put us back in a recession" and still […]

On the eve of Barack Obama's address at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, a media cottage industry has emerged examining why the President "failed to change the tone in Washington." Writing in the Washington Post, Dan Balz asked, "Was there a way around united Republican opposition?" and reported that "to the partisans on both sides, […]

If for nothing else, you have to give Republican leaders and their conservative echo chamber credit for staying on message. After Paul Ryan famously declared the America was becoming a nation of "makers versus takers," Jeb Bush praised Ryan's defense of "the right to rise" supposedly now under assault. Last week, supply-side propagandist George Gilder, […]

As Mitt Romney begins his excellent adventure in Israel, it's worth noting the many advantages he enjoys over his former Republican rivals when it comes to courting Jewish voters. For starters, Romney considers Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "my friend," one with whom he shares "common experiences" and "can speak in shorthand." (Whether or not […]