Overview for The Week Archive

How Shelby's Hold Exposes Obama's Failure

The White House broke GOP Sen. Richard Shelby's hold on appointees in hours. Why can't it break a GOP filibuster of healthcare legislation? It took Democrats 48 hours to break Sen. Richard Shelby’s hold on President Obama’s appointees. In that same short interval, Democrats also broke their own …

Written by David Frum on Thursday February 11, 2010

Obama Chickens Out on Energy

Obama promised to break our addiction to foreign oil. A carbon tax would do that. What Obama proposes in his budget doesn't come close. For a good example of how not to address America’s energy challenges, see President Obama’s new budget. The budget proposes to slam oil companies with new …

Written by David Frum on Thursday February 4, 2010

An Alternate History of Obamacare

With a little less partisan zeal and a little more humility, the president could have earned the popular support he needed to pursue the liberal Holy Grail. The speech is over, but the outlook is the same today as it was yesterday. And as bad as things look for the country, just imagine how …

Written by David Frum on Thursday January 28, 2010

Has the GOP Learned its Lesson Too?

Scott Brown won in Massachusetts with a big-tent Republican campaign. Perhaps the GOP is coming to recognize that victory doesn't wear an ideological straitjacket. Congratulations Scott Brown! Yah-boo to the defeated Democrats. But now the challenge returns to the GOP: Can we learn the right …

Written by David Frum on Thursday January 21, 2010

Playing the Odds on Airport Terrorism

A new book offers key insights on controlling crime. Can we apply its lessons to thwarting terrorists, too? Policy intellectuals are buzzing about a new book by UCLA public policy professor Mark Kleiman -- When Brute Force Fails . In it, Kleiman argues that the United States could reduce …

Written by David Frum on Thursday January 14, 2010

Playing the Odds on Airport Terrorism

A new book offers key insights on controlling crime. Can we apply its lessons to thwarting terrorists, too? Policy intellectuals are buzzing about a new book by UCLA public policy professor Mark Kleiman -- When Brute Force Fails . In it, Kleiman argues that the United States could reduce …

Written by David Frum on Thursday January 14, 2010

It's Time to Start Profiling

We can have sensible airport security without making "flying while Muslim" a federal offense. It’s inspiring really. As you stood in the long, long pre-Christmas lines at airport security, you might have thought that the transportation safety authorities had already achieved the very summit of …

Written by David Frum on Thursday January 7, 2010

It's Time to Start Profiling

We can have sensible airport security without making "flying while Muslim" a federal offense. It’s inspiring really. As you stood in the long, long pre-Christmas lines at airport security, you might have thought that the transportation safety authorities had already achieved the very summit of …

Written by David Frum on Thursday January 7, 2010

The Case for Inaction on Immigration

Democrats are preparing yet another comprehensive immigration reform. Just say No. On Tuesday, 80 House members unveiled a new immigration amnesty proposal. The bill, written by Illinois congressman Luis Gutierrez, would put illegals on the road to citizenship. The Gutierrez bill is too …

Written by David Frum on Thursday December 17, 2009

We Don't Need Another Churchill to Win in Afghanistan

Pundits have dismissed Obama's West Point speech as pedestrian and uninspiring. Is there something wrong with that? If there’s one thing that everybody seems agreed on, it is that Barack Obama’s speech at West Point did not sound like Winston Churchill. "It's not exactly the kind of speech that …

Written by David Frum on Thursday December 3, 2009

A False Lesson on Climate Change

The conduct of climate scientists at the U.K.'s Climate Research Institute was scandalous. But what does that tell us about the validity of climate change? On their way to discovering the double helix structure of DNA, James Watson and Francis Crick drew important inspiration from an unauthorize…

Written by David Frum on Wednesday November 25, 2009

Will Campaign Cash Influence Financial Reform?

The connection between campaign contributions and public policy is more subtle than most cynics acknowledge. But as the Senate considers reform of the financial system, the opportunities -- and motives -- for abuse are mounting. As the Senate opens a debate on financial reform, let’s consider …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday November 11, 2009

Immigration: A Hot-Button Issue on Ice

Less than two years ago, illegal immigration was roiling the Republican base and fueling a divisive national debate. What happened? Whatever happened to immigration? Republican House leader John Boehner says we are living through a political “rebellion” on the right. Yet the issue that most …

Written by David Frum on Thursday November 5, 2009

Prelude to Republican Fratricide

GOP candidates in New York and New Jersey should be cruising to victory this November. But angry conservatives would rather hand power to Democrats than help moderate Republicans win. At the beginning of the summer, most observers expected Republicans to win all three of the big elections on Nov. …

Written by David Frum on Thursday October 22, 2009

The Trillion-Dollar Tedium of Health Reform

Crucial decisions are being made on health reform, with vast amounts of money and power at stake. Too bad the public won't know what's been decided until after the fact. Medieval barons ruled by the edge of the sword; Chinese emperors by the mandate of heaven. In modern America, power goes to …

Written by David Frum on Thursday October 8, 2009

Obama's Cynical Afghan Ploy

As a candidate, Barack Obama demanded that we commit ourselves to the "real war" in Afghanistan. Now that he's in office, is he about to declare "mission accomplished?" Those hints we keep hearing from the Oval Office—could they be a warning of the most breathtakingly cynical about-face in recent …

Written by David Frum on Thursday October 1, 2009

Obama Heads for Foreign Policy Disaster

Despite the domestic focus of these early months of his presidency, Barack Obama thinks of himself as a foreign policy thinker above all, according to those who know him best. His confidence is undiminished by his lack of experience and credentials, and that confidence continues to flourish despite …

Written by David Frum on Thursday September 17, 2009

Qaddafi's Gift to Obama

My latest column in The Week tries to analyze what we know - and what we have yet to learn - about the release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber. Luckily for President Obama, nobody is asking many questions on this side of the Atlantic. Or more exactly: nobody is asking any of the questions that …

Written by David Frum on Thursday August 27, 2009

Biggest Stimulus, Slowest Recovery

The Obama administration has borrowed more money and then spent it later, with less economic benefit, and more political calculation, than the government of any other major economy. Country by country, America’s misery is losing company. The recession has ended in Germany and France. Japan too. …

Written by David Frum on Thursday August 20, 2009

The Reckless Right Courts Violence

Hysterical talk from TV and radio hosts may be a cynical marketing exercise. But it's getting too dangerous to ignore. A man bearing a sidearm appears outside President Obama's Aug. 11 town hall meeting in Portsmouth, N.H., under a sign proclaiming, "It is time to water the tree of liberty." …

Written by David Frum on Thursday August 13, 2009