What Polls Don't Tell Us
Democrats shouldn't get too excited about a new Wall Street Journal poll finding that Obama has met voters' expectations. Another day, another poll... The Hill reports on a new Wall Street Journal poll: Fifty-eight percent of Americans say Obama has performed as they thought he would, …Are We Losing the Fight Against Obesity?
Last week, a new study reported that obesity rates were rising in the U.S. Yet despite the scale of the problem, both left and right have failed to produce real solutions. Last week, news of rising obesity rates made big headlines. “Obesity Rates Keep Rising, Troubling Health Officials, ” …Why Warren Isn't Ready to be the New Consumer Watchdog
If Obama wants to improve things for consumers he can start by dropping plans to nominate Elizabeth Warren to head the new consumer protection agency. If President Obama wants to improve things for American financial consumers and realize the promises of the financial reform bill, he should drop …Throw the Book at WikiLeaks
Civil libertarians will be outraged that the White House is asking other nations to consider prosecuting WikiLeaks' Julian Assange. But, in truth, the U.S. has no other choice. Word comes from The Daily Beast that the Obama administration is attempting to make the West uncongenial to WikiLeaks …Gingrich Gets Religion
Why does Newt Gingrich keep pushing the increasingly emphatic religious messaging? Why does he imagine that it will work? John Richardson extracts some damning quotes from Newt Gingrich's ex-wife for an Esquire profile. You can read them here , if you haven't seen them already. The story …Dem Candidate's Past: Bar Fights & Suspended Licenses
F F has obtained files revealing that Dem House candidate Cedric Richmond was involved in a bar fight in 2007 and once had his law license suspended. Frum Forum can exclusively reveal details about New Orleans Democratic congressional candidate Cedric Richmond, who got into a bar fight in …Minnesota Gov Race Wide Open
Historically, Minnesota's governor's mansion has tended to be occupied by moderates. This year's race though features a sharply partisan field. The Minnesota gubernatorial primaries have concluded with a somewhat unusual result, a sharply partisan field. The Governor’s mansion has in the past …What I Learned from Tony Judt
When I first met Tony Judt, I knew nothing of his world renown as a historian, nor his criticisms of Israel and U.S. foreign policy. Tony Judt sort of stumbled into the room upon our first encounter, a sort of baffled expression contorting his face. “What class is this?” he asked, clutching a …Recovering Europe's Past
My latest column for The Week looks at Eastern Europe's recovery from the destruction of World War II and the deformation of the Cold War. My latest column for The Week looks at Europe's recovery from World War II and the Cold War. I last visited Berlin 20 years ago, in the summer of 1990. …Obama's Bailout Trap
Obama's latest bailout -- a bill directing $26 billion in aid to the states -- could put some GOP politicians in a tricky spot. Despite what the President may say, bailouts are never apolitical. Regardless of whether you think TARP was justified (I did and still do) it was hard to miss the obvious …Tea Party Scores Another Primary Upset
In Colorado's GOP senate primary, the Tea Party scored another win when Ken Buck defeated former state Lt. Gov. Jane Norton. But can Buck carry his momentum to a November win? Ken Buck’s win in yesterday’s Colorado GOP primary is inspiring a lot of activists on the right who believe in the power …Why We're In Afghanistan
If anything indicates the need for a civilized presence in Afghanistan, it’s the recent slaughter of 10 aid workers by the Taliban. If anything indicates the need for a civilized presence in Afghanistan, it’s the recent slaughter of 10 aid workers by the Taliban. Of course, there will be …Leaving End of Life Care to Docs and Patients
Moves to reform the provision of end of life care won't save much money but could fundamentally remove those medical decisions from doctors and patients. The television show 60 Minutes and Atul Gawande, writing in The New Yorker , have recently weighed in on the topic of end of life care. …Should the GOP Fear the Lame Duck Session?
Republicans are considering a resolution to halt passage of controversial bills during the coming lame-duck session. But is the resolution needed? A privileged resolution attempting to prevent congressional Democrats from passing “controversial” legislation during the lame-duck session of Congress …Getting America Back to the Moon
In recent months, the Obama administration has scrapped plans to return NASA to exploring the moon. In recent months, the Obama administration has scrapped the Bush administration’s plan to get NASA back into manned exploration of the moon, and instead has focused on helping the private sector …Team Obama Blames Washington
A new Vanity Fair article, describing how Rahm Emanuel hopes to transcend partisan politics, should score high on the unintentional comedy scale. Bill Simmons, "The Sports Guy," made a major contribution to American culture when he established the Unintentional Comedy Rating scale to rank "those …