Overview for CNN Archive

Will America Pay for Europe's Bailout?

In my column for CNN, I discuss what sort of bailout Europe will need when it finally confronts the full scale of its debt crisis: It's been obvious for some time now what has to be done to avert the bank run: a European Super TARP, a version of the Troubled Asset Relief Program that was used …

Written by David Frum on Monday October 3, 2011

9/11 Plus 10: The Country We Lost

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Written by David Frum on Monday September 5, 2011

More Jobs, Better Pay: What the GOP Can Do

In my column for CNN, I explain why Rick Perry's record on job is both his greatest strength and weakness: Gov. Rick Perry enters the presidential race with one big advantage and one big impediment. The advantage: his record of job creation in Texas. His impediment? His record of job creation …

Written by David Frum on Monday August 15, 2011

Why Companies Won't Hire

In my column for CNN, I discuss some of the reasons why very few companies are currently hiring: Even if we avoid a second recessionary dip, we're stuck on a very, very disappointing path. Call it the 1936 parallel. From 1933 to 1936, the U.S. economy grew strongly, almost 10% a year. When …

Written by David Frum on Monday August 8, 2011

GOP Demands Unconditional Surrender

The GOP is demanding unconditional surrender on the debt ceiling, just like it did on healthcare In my CNN column , I write about how the GOP is seeking unconditional surrender on the debt ceiling, and that this can lead to the same disaster that happened to the healthcare bill: In this …

Written by David Frum on Monday July 18, 2011

The Candid and Frank Betty Ford

Betty Ford will be remembered for being a very candid first lady with a much more modest political profile. In my latest CNN column , I write about Betty Ford's candid and frank speaking style: The role of first lady is one of the most difficult in American public life. Few women have …

Written by David Frum on Monday July 11, 2011

Qaddafi's Choice: Power or Prison?

Before Libya, the White House was warming to the idea of an international criminal court. But now Qaddafi's fears of a war crime trial are hampering efforts to find an exit plan. "The Elba option is impossible in the modern world," sighed an unhappy German diplomat. Elba is a small, scenic …

Written by David Frum on Monday April 18, 2011

Big Banks Want a Favor -- At Your Expense

Banks are again asking Congress for another special favor. This time, they want to prevent a limit on the fees you pay every time you swipe a debit or credit card. You might think the big banks would be too embarrassed to ask Congress for more special favors. You think wrong. The big banks …

Written by David Frum on Monday April 11, 2011

It's Time for a Florida-First Primary

A primary system that started in Florida would press presidential candidates to talk more about the issues most Americans care about. At the end of World War II, a new secretary of state faced a tough management decision. The State Department's old quarters had become desperately cramped and …

Written by David Frum on Monday April 4, 2011

Does Obama Prefer a Qaddafi Victory?

The White House has moved slowly on Libya. Does Obama genuinely want to see Qaddafi toppled or has he decided that America is better off with his regime in place? The Obama administration has moved slowly on Libya. My latest CNN column asks: has the White House decided America will be better off …

Written by David Frum on Monday March 14, 2011

Why Obama Must Intervene in Libya

Obama is wrestling with whether or not to intervene in Libya. One consideration should top his thinking: What message will it send if Qaddafi survives? President Barack Obama is wrestling with a decision whether or not to intervene in Libya. Here is a consideration that should top the president…

Written by David Frum on Monday March 7, 2011

Mexico's Drug War: A Nightmare Scenario

The lesson of the past few years: Watch out for things that can go massively wrong. What could go massively wrong in 2011? Let's start next door, with Mexico. The lesson of the past few years: Watch out for things that can go massively wrong. What could go massively wrong in 2011? Let's start …

Written by David Frum on Monday January 3, 2011

Why Obesity is a National Security Threat

A new emerging cultural divide is tearing at military efficiency: obesity and the overweight. "An army travels on its stomach," said Napoleon Bonaparte. But what happens if the stomach gets too big to drag? Congress is passionately debating whether open homosexuality is compatible with …

Written by David Frum on Monday December 6, 2010

The Right Way to Honor Ronald Reagan

We're approaching the 100th anniversary of the birthday of Ronald Reagan: February 6, 2011. It's time to begin thinking seriously about an appropriate national commemoration of this good man and great president. We're approaching the 100th anniversary of the birthday of Ronald Reagan: February 6, …

Written by David Frum on Monday November 22, 2010

If GOP Won't Deal, Health Law Won't Change

Without compromise, Obama's health care law will still be in effect in two years. I'm going to get personal here. On the day that health care reform passed its final vote in the House, I posted on my blog a comment titled "Waterloo." I said that the intransigence of Republican leaders had …

Written by David Frum on Monday November 8, 2010

We're Not on a 'Road to Serfdom'

"Be not afraid" was the message of Pope John Paul II's Inaugural Mass. It's a message American conservatives need to take to heart again in the era of Barack Obama. "Be not afraid" was the message of Pope John Paul II's Inaugural Mass. It's a message American conservatives need to take to heart …

Written by David Frum on Monday October 4, 2010

Get Ready for a Tax Hike

Everybody seems to believe that the GOP and Democrats will reach an agreement to extend the Bush tax cuts. Just about everybody may be wrong. The Bush tax cuts are scheduled to lapse in January 2011. Congress is debating some kind of renewal, and most people assume that some kind of renewal …

Written by David Frum on Monday September 20, 2010

A GOP Contract with America for 2010

Republicans need a platform this year modeled on Newt Gingrich's 1994 plan, emphasizing jobs, cutting debt and repairing the president's health care law. Eight weeks to Election Day, and still no sign of an updated "Contract with America," the famous Republican campaign manifesto of 1994. Party …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday September 7, 2010

Reading the Worried Mind of Tim Geithner

If you could read Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's mind, you might find that he's praying for more time. William Safire used to write a column in which he'd try to read the mind of some world leader and imagine what Mikhail Gorbachev or Anwar Sadat really thought, as opposed to the diplomatic …

Written by David Frum on Monday August 30, 2010

U.S. Role in Poland Shrinking

Although inevitable and gradual, the dwindling of American importance, not only in Poland but in other liberated countries in central Europe as well, is a real and large fact of life. I first visited Poland in 1990, just after the end of communist rule. Back then, the United States meant …

Written by David Frum on Monday August 16, 2010