Politics - Op/Ed

WASHINGTON -- Living in Indonesia with her second husband, Ann Dunham Obama Soetoro couldn't afford a fancy private school for her son, Barack, but she made up for her lack of funds with discipline and dedication. Obama was only 9 years old when she supplemented his education with a U.S. correspondence course. Full Story »

With the economy still in tatters, with White House officials speaking openly about the possibility of a Republican takeover of one or both houses of Congress, with the administration frustrated by the stalling of campaign-finance legislation in the Senate, and with the president's poll numbers at alarmingly low levels, the last thing Barack Obama needs is fresh doubts about the American role in Afghanistan nourished by mischievous and misleading analogies to the war in Vietnam. Full Story »

Last week, I argued that a reported “jump” for Democrats in Gallup’s weekly tracking of the national generic U.S. Full Story »

The inability of the Obama administration to follow through on its promise to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay has largely been attributed to successful Republican (and Democratic) efforts to block funds for an alternate domestic facility. Full Story »

In a revealing and somewhat endearing short interview with a local blogger, Rand Paul's former campaign manager defended the Kentucky Senate candidate's decision to give that controversial, post-primary interview to Rachel Maddow in which he questioned the reach of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Full Story »

WASHINGTON, DC - President Obama swooped into Detroit on Friday to promote his administration's auto bailout a year after the carmaker bankruptcies. Speaking at a Chrysler plant, he criticized the Republicans' opposition to propping up the beleaguered industry. "If some folks had their way, none of this would be happening," he said. "Just want to point that out. Right? This plant and your jobs might not exist." In retrospect, did Obama's policies help the Detroit automakers?The Auto Bailout Saved the Industry, writes Steven Pearlstein in The Washington Post: "A year later, the auto bailout is an unqualified success. The government used its leverage to force the companies to make the painful changes they should have made years before, and then backed off and let the companies run themselves without any noticeable interference... For the first time since 2004, GM and Chrysler, along with Ford, all reported operating profits in their U.S. businesses last quarter. The domestic auto industry added 55,000 jobs last year, ending a decade-long string of declines. Auto sector exports are up 57 percent so far this year and, thanks largely to new government regulations, the industry is moving quickly to introduce more fuel-efficient vehicles. Most surprising of all, GM and Chrysler have already repaid more than $8 billion in government loans, while GM is preparing for an initial stock offering later this year that would allow the government to recoup most, if not all, of its investment" The Jury's Out on Obama's Auto Policies, writes the Detroit News editorial board: "The people here instinctively understand that the vehicles Washington is forcing Detroit to invest its resources in -- teeny, electric-powered sedans -- will not wow the market or produce big profits for Detroit. They get that if Washington maintains its heavy hand in auto manufacturing, the automakers will be on their backs again before long. And they also know how sensitive auto sales are to the bounces of the economy. If Obama's spending addiction, radical environmental intentions and expansion of government's control of the private marketplace lead the country back to economic ruin, the heroic bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler will mean nothing."The President Prevailed, writes Steve Benen in the Washington Monthly: "After Obama intervened to rescue auto manufacturers a year ago, the right insisted it was an example of his purported desire to be a communist dictator. A year later, his efforts look pretty smart, and his detractors' apoplexy looks pretty foolish."Don't Get Cocky, Obama, writes Manny Lopez at the Detroit News: "President Obama did what had to be done to ensure that America's economy didn't spiral into oblivion. But it is neither proof that government intervion works or is worthy. It only proves that he was smart enough to know that GM and Chrysler failing on his watch would be disastrous for hundreds of thousands of families and his future. He ought to temper his self-promotional spin today." Full Story »

WASHINGTON, DC - New York Democrat Anthony Weiner delivered a blistering speech yesterday when the House killed a $7.4 billion aid bill for 9/11 first responders. But how did Weiner's "The gentleman will sit!" compare to say, the climactic scene from "There Will Be Blood"? (Favorably, says one Twitter user.) Watch below and judge for yourself. Full Story »

WASHINGTON, DC - Effective but Polarizing Politico's Ben Smith writes that while Orszag might be the first cabinet member to depart, "he left as deep a mark as almost anyone in it." His time wasn't always smooth, though. "Orszag made enemies in the House leadership for his emphasis on controlling costs," writes Smith, "and his independent profile at times rankled the white House as much as any disagreements over budgets." Full Story »

House Republicans late Thursday were able to corral enough votes to defeat a bill that would have provided up to $7.4 billion in aid to those sickened by toxins resulting from the 9/11 attacks. Full Story »

WASHINGTON, DC - Paul Krugman on Obama's Tentative Centrism While the current President rode into office on a "wave of progressive enthusiasm," the New York Times columnist writes he has since been far "more centrist and conventional than his fervent supporters imagined." This isn't necessarily a good thing, argues The New York Times opinion columnist, and Obama's choices can't always be blamed on Republican obstructionism. He concludes: "The point is that Mr. Obama’s attempts to avoid confrontation have been counterproductive. His opponents remain filled with a passionate intensity, while his supporters, having received no respect, lack all conviction. And in a midterm election...[that] could spell catastrophe."Peggy Noonan on the Competent Chris Christie In what has recently become a trend among conservative pundits, the Wall Street Journal columnist gives a ringing endorsement for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie saying that, "He's going to break through in a big way." While the Democrats are campaigning against the GOP's "populist spirit" (the Tea Party) in the lead up to the November midterms, their biggest worry should be worried about Christie's courageous and, more importantly, competent style of governance. She enthuses, "But Mr. Christie's way is also closer than most national Republicans have come—or Democrats will come—to satisfying the public desire that someone step forward, define the problem, apply common sense, devise a way through, do what's needed."David Brooks on the Long Slow Decade The New York Times columnist fears the impact of the recession will be felt for years to come. "What we have is not just a cycle but a condition," writes Brooks. "We could look back on the period between 1980 and 2006 as the long boom and the period between 2007 and 2014 or so as the nasty crawl." So, how to the spur economic growth? Brooks sees good plans on both sides of the aisle. For Democrats, it's what Brooks calls the "Moon Shot Approach"--an economy buoyed by a strong infrastructure and tax breaks for key sectors. Republicans see hope in the "Unleash America" school of thinking--it's defined by "a free-market and entrepreneurial vision of their country." Both approaches, Brooks says, are better than the inevitable "nativist and antiglobalist visions that will be arising" in coming years.Patrick Kennedy on a Brain Disorders Battle Writing in the Boston Globe, the Rhode Island congressman says the recent 20th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act should inspire politicians to demand the same protections for those with brain disorders. "Approximately 100 million Americans have some form of traumatic brain injury," writes Kennedy. "Millions more suffer from Alzheimer’s, autism, Parkinson’s, and epilepsy." Yet only 5 percent of the NIH budget is spent researching neuroscience. Kennedy argues America must respond to the rise in brain disorders with "the same kind of urgency...as we did with AIDS."Steven Pearlstein on the New Division of Labor "The only surprise is that anyone is surprised by the lack of private-sector hiring," concludes the Washington Post columnist. "It is only in the world of Chamber of Commerce propaganda that businesses exist to create jobs." Writing in response to the recent news that corporate profits have soared while little new job opportunities have been created, Pearlstein isn't optimistic that most employers will soon be adding full-time employees. "There are lots of theories why this is happening," he writes. "With consumers cutting back on debt-financed spending, cutting expenses has been the most obvious way for businesses to increase their profits." In effect, the profits are addition by subtraction. Full Story »

Creators Syndicate - Come in. Make yourself comfortable. What's that? Full Story »

With Reporting By Julian Hattem Full Story »

While engaging in astonishing viciousness, vulgarity and violence toward Republicans, liberals accuse cheerful, law-abiding Tea Party activists of being violent racists. Full Story »

Boston - In 1947, when excusing Soviet totalitarianism had become quite the rage in fashionable progressive circles, George Orwell eviscerated a British politician who consistently defended totalitarians but nevertheless denied that he was a defender of totalitarianism. “But of course he does,” Orwell wrote. “What else could he say? Full Story »

Democrats have just found out what happens when they join a good idea – more disclosure in campaign financing – with flawed legislation and partisan politics. They fail. Full Story »

For several days now, Senate Republicans have ridiculed their Democratic counterparts for prioritizing campaign finance legislation over a bill that would benefit small businesses, arguing that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was putting electoral advantages over jobs for everyday people. Full Story »

The Nation -- Eight months after President Obama announced his decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan and to expand the counterinsurgency war there, we have seen enough—enough to know that the strategy cannot work, and enough to understand that the costs of continuing the war far outstrip any conceivable benefits. Full Story »

New York - The White House denies that the enormous cache of leaked military documents published by online whistle-blower site WikiLeaks has threatened national security. For the hundreds of Afghan informants (including civilians) whose names are reportedly revealed in the data dump, it may be a different story. Are those Afghans who've been aiding the U.S. military's efforts at risk of being targeted by the Taliban? (Watch Sen. Kit Bond criticize WikiLeaks) Full Story »