Four years ago, Republicans led by then -new House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) began taking credit for the economic progress made since the Bush recession began in December 2007. Just 19 days after the GOP had assumed control of the House, Cantor issued a statement declaring, "THERE ARE THE JOBS: Republicans Prevent Massive Tax […]

As 2015 opens, the American economy seems poised for robust economic expansion. Strong GDP growth and job creation, falling first-time jobless claims, surging stocks and (finally) rising wages show the Obama recovery from the Bush recession which began in late 2007 is starting to hit on all cylinders. And to be sure, it is the […]

As 2014 comes to a close, the American economy is finally starting to take off. U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) surged by 5 percent in the third quarter, the best performance since 2003. Employers hired 321,000 more workers in November, marking the 57th consecutive month of private sector job gains. With unemployment down to 5.8 […]

There's an old saying that the United States is always fighting the last war. If so, then the apoplectic assortment of Cuban-American irredentists, aging anti-Communist crackpots and knee-jerk, Cro-Magnon conservatives opposing the normalization of relations with Havana are several conflicts behind. Simply put, the exigencies of the Cold War and the Monroe Doctrine no longer […]

As the year draws to a close, the only question in Washington appears to be how--and not whether--Republicans will seek payback against President Obama for his executive action deferring the deportations of four million undocumented immigrants. While House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and soon-to-be Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) want to defer retribution until […]

Two weeks ago, the House Intelligence Committee released its report on the 2012 Benghazi tragedy. Like the previous six probes by the State Department, internal watchdogs and other Congressional panels, the GOP-controlled House Intelligence Committee concluded there had been no stand-down order, no CIA intelligence failure and no cover-up in the killings of Ambassador Chris […]

For Democrats, the discovery that Romneycare and Obamacare consultant Jonathan Gruber is, well, a schmuck represents a triple whammy. For starters, the arrogance of anyone calling American voters "stupid" (or even just 47 percent of them) helps perpetuate every conservative stereotype of pointy-headed Northeastern elites. Worse still, Gruber is simply wrong that key aspects of […]

After months of delays, President Obama is poised to finally take executive action to address the crisis of America's 11 million undocumented immigrants, 85 percent of whom are estimated to have lived in the United States for at least five years. Relying on the same authority presidents of both parties have used for over 70 […]

A growing number of Republican senators are suggesting they will block the nomination of Loretta Lynch over the issue of "executive amnesty." If so, then no choice President Obama might make for attorney general could possibly be confirmed by the new GOP-controlled Senate. After all, the next head of the Justice Department will obviously agree […]

Among the many unintended--and disastrous--consequences of President Bush's war in Iraq was to replace the Sunni dictator in Baghdad with a sectarian Shiite government whose closest ally was naturally Iran. So, it was only common sense that President Obama would send a letter to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran regarding the ISIS […]