Overview for David Frum in Print

France's Nuclear Solution

Nuclear energy carries one great big negative: the problem of nuclear waste, the radioactive residue from enriched uranium. Now, suppose there were a solution to this problem? America gets one-fifth of its power from nuclear power plants. Nuclear is far and away the cheapest and most reliable …

Written by David Frum on Thursday July 2, 2009

How to Kill an Economy

In an effort to make finance "boring" again, Obama's new regulations will prop up the biggest institutions and put roadblocks in the way of newcomers. They may also provide an opening for conservatives. There was a saying in Silicon Valley in the 1990s: "The thing that makes America the greatest …

Written by David Frum on Thursday June 25, 2009

The Urgent Case to Reform Conservatism

For the past four years, Republican reformers have been warning of political disaster ahead. Our party's ideas have fallen behind the times, we are losing key demographic groups, and we have suffered disappointment and defeat in four of the six national elections since 1998. You'd think that …

Written by David Frum on Thursday June 18, 2009

Not Quite Splitting The Difference On Jerusalem

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will give a speech this weekend accepting President Obama’s call for a sovereign Palestinian state. Netanyahu will set some conditions for that acceptance, practical steps to safeguard Israeli security. Those conditions will get a sympathetic hearing …

Written by David Frum on Saturday June 13, 2009

The Immigration Problem Gets Bigger

The Center for American Progress, headed by former Clinton White House chief of staff John Podesta, has become the hottest Democratic think tank in a Democratic town. Consider it an early warning signal of liberal assaults to come: While President Obama is directing the current battle, CAP is …

Written by David Frum on Thursday June 11, 2009

What You Hear From Obama May Not Be What You Get

Critics mock Obama for so often speaking from a teleprompter. Obama does so because he parses his words so very exactly. It is never wise to listen to an Obama speech without the text in hand. June 4 must have some special place in the Barack Obama political calendar. On June 4, 2009, the …

Written by David Frum on Saturday June 6, 2009

The Moral Math Of Glowing Green Monkeys

Genetically engineer monkeys to make them glow green? It’s always cool when actual scientists do what 11-year-old boys think scientists do. Next thing, the marmoset monkey team will produce a working starship for Starfleet Command. The Japanese team got their results by encoding a fluorescen…

Written by David Frum on Saturday May 30, 2009

Obama Pledge Lends Validity To Extremist Islam

Candidate Obama promised to deliver a major speech to the Muslim world from a Muslim capital. On June 4, President Obama will make good on that promise in Cairo. What could go wrong with this heartwarming outreach? Barack Obama made an unwise commitment during his campaign. Actually he made …

Written by David Frum on Saturday May 16, 2009

The Cap-and-Trade-Racket

Tens of billions of dollars, possibly hundreds of billions, will be shifted from American consumers of electricity to shareholders of favored utility companies in primarily blue states. Who says Democrats wish to take from the poor to give to the rich? In practice, they much prefer to take …

Written by David Frum on Thursday May 14, 2009

The Earth, The Moon And The Stars All For A Mere $6.5-Trillion

Since his inauguration on January 20, 2009, President Obama has proposed new spending programs that will add, over the next 10 years, $6.5-trillion to the American national debt. Hey — anybody remember the origin of the phrase, “the hundred days”? If you guessed Franklin Roosevelt’s burst of …

Written by David Frum on Saturday April 25, 2009

The Real Jane Harman Scandal

Sometimes in Washington, what is most scandalous is the attempt to create a scandal where none exists. Sometimes in Washington, what is most scandalous is the attempt to create a scandal where none exists. Let me give you a current example. Maybe you’ve heard about an allegation of …

Written by David Frum on Thursday April 23, 2009

Obama Flunks His Education Test

Education Secretary Arne Duncan came to Washington with claims to be a reformer. The destruction of the voucher program by Congress was his first test. He flunked. My youngest child attends a District of Columbia public school. It is a magical place, led by an inspired principal and taught by …

Written by David Frum on Thursday April 16, 2009

If Nukes Are Outlawed...

...Only outlaw states will have nukes; This month, Barack Obama announced his desire to eliminate nuclear weapons from the face of the Earth. The bold gesture was widely applauded. But is such a dream possible -- or even desirable? The National Post has asked leading pundits and experts to weigh …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday April 15, 2009

The Long Road Back

British Conservatives may be reaching the end of their term in the wilderness. American Republicans look to be just beginning theirs. In November 2008, Barack Obama won the presidency by a larger margin than any Democrat since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. He carried three normally solid Republican …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday April 15, 2009

When Are You Too Old To Become A Ski Bum?

American friends express amazement that I could have grown up in Canada without learning to parallel ski or slalom. I answered: "Growing up in Canada, I learned to minimize my exposure to snow and frost." "Life is difficult enough without throwing yourself off the side of a mountain." That was my …

Written by David Frum on Saturday April 4, 2009

Obama's Formula For Disaster

President Obama is building an economy for the 21st century of accreting waste and inefficiency, massive bureaucracy, slower productivity growth, and lagging prosperity. President Obama got a heaping serving of good news in Monday’s Washington Post poll. He remains strongly personally popular, …

Written by David Frum on Thursday April 2, 2009

Green Power's Hidden Agenda

Environmentalists invoke a “climate crisis,” yet they are often committed to using that crisis to advance other, undeclared priorities. You must know the TV game show, “Jeopardy.” In this game, the host provides an answer. Contestants compete to guess the question. Let’s play the public …

Written by David Frum on Thursday March 26, 2009

A War You Can Stop

Mexico's violence has reached deeper and deeper into the United States and Canada. Guess which city leads the world in kidnappings? No, not Beirut. Not Baghdad. Mexico City. And guess who comes second? Ready? It's Phoenix, Ariz.: 370 recorded cases in 2008 alone, and who knows how many …

Written by David Frum on Saturday March 14, 2009

Living Large In D. C.

Back during the boom years, people who worked in government used to joke about the comparatively low pay. Now a government salary suddenly has all the appeal of a stack of cash money. "I'm heading down to Washington," said the sad-faced New York economist. "You know: the financial capital of the …

Written by David Frum on Saturday March 7, 2009

The Limbaugh Schism

As ardently as his fans adore him, Rush Limbaugh is one of the less popular figures in American public life. For conservatives, the news of the week was Rush Limbaugh’s speech to the annual CPAC conference in Washington DC. The speech achieved all and more that Rush could have hoped: It …

Written by David Frum on Thursday March 5, 2009