Overview for News

Journos 1, Obama 0

We wrote earlier about the likely effect that President Obama's decision not to attend the annual Gridiron Dinner (becoming the first President to skip it in his first year of office since Grover Cleveland) would have on the press' relationship with the President. In a word, we were right. …

Written by FF Washington Insider on Monday March 23, 2009

Thompson Endorses Tedisco

On Friday, Fred Thompson, through his FredPAC organization, seconded Newt Gingrich and others and publicly endorsed upstate New York congressional candidate Jim Tedisco, “ a solid conservative,” in his race against “wall street Democrat” Jim Murphy. “America …

Written by Tom Qualtere on Sunday March 22, 2009

Live Long Enough....

...and you see everything, goes the old saying. But did anyone ever imagine that we'd see Sweden take a more market-oriented approach to its auto industry than the United States?

Written by David Frum on Sunday March 22, 2009

Justice To President Bush

I came of age in the Midwest, but I have spent much of my adult life on the East Coast, residing in a very blue state. So as a general Bush supporter over the last eight years (though by no means an enthusiastic one) I am often in the presence of those whose views of politics are, to put it …

Written by Brad Schaeffer on Friday March 20, 2009

The Jews Of Venezuela

This past week four of us traveled on a solidarity mission to visit with the Jews of Caracas, Venezuela. I had the honor of traveling with Rabbi Avi Weiss, Gabe Ledeen of our congregation, and Rabbi Adam Scheier of Congregation Shaar Hashamayim in Montreal . For the past few years we …

Written by Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld on Friday March 20, 2009

Shabby Dem Tactics Yield Bad Enviro Results

For the party in power, it is always tempting to believe that the end justifies the means. So it is not surprising that the Democrats have quickly forgotten good government arguments that they made when they were in the minority. Four years ago, congressional Republicans tried to pry open the …

Written by Jim DiPeso on Friday March 20, 2009

Paulson's Bad Aig Deal

You can't really blame the AIG stuff on the Democrats. Paulson and Co. decided to be deliberately nontransparent, which led inexorably to where we are. No one in DC seemed to understand who exactly they were bailing out and why. It's overwhelmingly the counterparties and it's the debt-holders of …

Written by FF Street Scene on Thursday March 19, 2009

Lessons Of Aig

I’ve gotten a fairly big response to the following (quickly written) piece in the Washington Post on Thursday: The AIG debacle teaches us two things. First, it does not make sense to try to save any single financial institution. Failed enterprises should fail – and go away. …

Written by Douglas Holtz-Eakin on Thursday March 19, 2009

Will Massachusetts Health Plan Repeat Past Failures?

Trouble in Massachusetts ? For years, liberals have pointed to the Bay State and urged America to follow Boston ’s lead in health reform. But all is not well in the land of near-universal health care. Three years ago, Massachusetts enacted perhaps the boldest state …

Written by David Gratzer on Wednesday March 18, 2009

Deal Or War?

My column in the current issue of The Week : President Bush discovered in 2005 that he could not push through Social Security or immigration reform without persuading the country first. And he discovered in 2005 and 2006 the horrible political costs of having taken the country to war …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday March 18, 2009

Obama Misstates The Aig Facts

President Obama said today: "Tim Geithner didn't draft these contracts with AIG." (You can view the clip here .) Maybe not. But the NY Fed was the opposite party to them. NY Fed chief at the time? Tim Geithner. If Geithner didn't draft the contracts, he did approve them. Read for yourself on the …

Written by FF Washington Insider on Wednesday March 18, 2009

Tax Reform Must Be Part Of Health Reform

In the fall, the campaign of Barack Obama had harsh words for Senator John McCain’s health-care plan. Obama campaign ads charged that the McCain proposal would result in the “largest middle-class tax increase in history.” Senator Biden warned that “for the first time …

Written by David Gratzer on Wednesday March 18, 2009

While We're All Worrying About Bonuses . . .

Why is Lockheed Martin getting any bonus at all on its work for the new series of Presidential helicopters, which are seriously behind schedule and over-budget, as the Post reports today? It's good if true that they've "tightened the criteria" for bonus payments, but who in the government …

Written by FF Washington Insider on Wednesday March 18, 2009

Phoney Populism

I'm sure you've noticed the rampant populism oozing out of your favorite news anchor or your not-so-favorite politician; they're mad at this and they're mad at that. I have thought to tell these folks what my father used to tell me: there's no point in getting mad unless you plan on doing something …

Written by John S. Wilson on Tuesday March 17, 2009

The Pattern Continues

Jim VandeHei of Politico endorses what FF Insider said earlier this morning.

Written by Frum Forum Editors on Tuesday March 17, 2009

Steele Gets It

A friend once summed up the GOP’s minority and urban problem by saying that: while most people in the world like music, different songs have different meanings to different people. The GOP has become a one-hit wonder acting as if there is only one song and one tune. We need to be playing …

Written by Richard Ivory on Tuesday March 17, 2009

Gop Must Do More Than Talk

In a piece that appeared in the Orlando Sentinel , I spoke about Attorney General Holder's comments on race last month. The crux was that society should continue the dialogue on race because (1) the successes of blacks and minorities in the past 15 years - including increased college enrollment …

Written by John S. Wilson on Tuesday March 17, 2009

Remembering Obama's Race Speech

The National Constitution Center has announced plans to open an online exhibit honoring Barack Obama's "race speech," according to Politico . It is, per the headline, a speech "to be remembered." The speech came, of course, on the heels of the controversy surrounding Obama's long-time preacher …

Written by Alex Knepper on Tuesday March 17, 2009

Preventing An Obama Trade War

As FF warned last week , Mexico has now announced increased tariffs on 90 U.S. exports in retaliation for Congress’ decision to end a pilot program permitting certified Mexican trucks to operate across the United States. The actual list will be published later this week, but it’s …

Written by John S. Gardner on Tuesday March 17, 2009

Money Quote

From page A5 of the Washington Post , 3/17/09: At the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which has directly overseen AIG since its federal takeover in September. . . And who was running the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from September to January? Timothy Geithner.

Written by FF Washington Insider on Tuesday March 17, 2009