Entries

It's Official: The Reagan Revolution Is Over

Question: How can a candidate for president raise US$23-million in three months--only slightly less than John McCain and Rudy Giuliani combined--and still register barely above zero in polls of members of his own party? That is the sad story of Mitt Romney, the movie-star handsome former …

Written by David Frum on Saturday April 14, 2007

In Politics, The Web Changes Everything

Hillary Clinton had everything lined up to reprise the mighty George W. Bush nomination campaign of 1998-99. She would use the vast donor network inherited from her husband to raise a $100-million campaign fund. This vast treasury would deter potential rivals from entering the race. And should …

Written by David Frum on Saturday April 7, 2007

A Miraculous Project--derailed By Statism

The European Union is one of the most successful organizations in the history of the human race. And that of course is exactly its problem. The EU traces its origins to the Treaty of Rome, signed March 25, 1957. The second World War had ended barely a dozen years before. A dozen years …

Written by David Frum on Saturday March 24, 2007

Free Speech--but Only For Our Enemies

You can criticize Hezbollah even in Saudi Arabia. You can attack Hamas even in Kuwait. But don't think of doing either at San Francisco State University (SFSU). On Oct. 17, 2006, the tiny beleaguered local band of College Republicans organized an anti-terrorism rally. The students had made …

Written by David Frum on Saturday March 17, 2007

Free Speech In Name Only

Here's a tale of two Canadian liberties. The first involves the right to own property. Over the past quarter century, this right has become steadily more firm and secure. Stocks, bonds, houses: Canadian capital assets of all kinds have soared in value. The stock of foreign investment in Canada …

Written by David Frum on Saturday February 10, 2007

That's What We Get For Trusting Syria

The Harper government announced Friday that Maher Arar will receive an official apology and compensation. That agreement settles the case--but it does not resolve it. Canadian security services suspected Arar of connections to terrorism. They monitored his movements. When he travelled to …

Written by David Frum on Saturday January 27, 2007

"even More Of A Hodgepodge Than Usual"

On State of the Union night, Americans witnessed two President Bushes. The first President Bush delivered a firm foreign policy message in tones of passion and commitment. The second President Bush dragged his way wearily through a domestic agenda that seemed to interest him as little as it excited …

Written by David Frum on Thursday January 25, 2007

Could This Man Be The Next U.s. President?

The Republican presidential field for 2008 is led by one of the nation's greatest military heroes, a seasoned senator, one of the most famous and best-liked men in America. Running hard alongside him is the most successful mayor in American history, the man who saved New York City from crime and …

Written by David Frum on Saturday January 6, 2007

Putin's Enemies Have A Nasty Habit: Dying

Alexander Litvinenko, who died horribly in a London hospital on Thursday, is only the latest critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet a brutal death. On October 7, another critic, the journalist Anna Politkovskaya was gunned down in the lobby of her Moscow apartment building. Two …

Written by David Frum on Saturday November 25, 2006

Eva's Got It Wrong

You'll never know who will turn up in Washington to talk politics. On Wednesday, the city was graced by actress Eva Longoria, the sultry star of ABC's Desperate Housewives. Addressing an audience of Latino business leaders, she explained the wide appeal of her show: "Everyone on Wisteria Lane has …

Written by David Frum on Saturday November 18, 2006

Last Chance

The Bush administration woke up yesterday morning to a deeply ugly political situation. Those polls that show the president below 40% approval? They would look even worse if they surveyed only Republican members of Congress. As for the president's opponents: They are slavering for a nice two-year-l…

Written by David Frum on Thursday November 9, 2006

America Is Still A Conservative Country

Tuesday's mid-term result contains two great lessons, one for liberals and Democrats and one for conservatives and Republicans. For liberals: America remains a very, very, conservative country. In a year that many called "the worst Republican environment since Watergate'', the GOP lost fewer than …

Written by David Frum on Thursday November 9, 2006

Battle For White House Gets Serious

Last night's vote represents only the first great move in the great game for control of the White House in 2009. For the first four years after 9/11, Republicans enjoyed a huge advantage over Democrats on the only issue that mattered: national security. In the first post-9/11 shock, Americans …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday November 8, 2006

Some Democrats Are Worse Than Others

Most observers agree that the Democratic party will win the midterm Congressional elections. But which Democratic party? For there are two. There is the Democratic party of MoveOn.org and the Daily Kos, the Democratic party whose supporters calls for the immediate withdrawal of troops from …

Written by David Frum on Saturday November 4, 2006

Mutually Assured Disruption

The North Korean nuclear test--if that indeed is what it was--signals the catastrophic collapse of a dozen years of American policy. Over that period, two of the world's most dangerous regimes, Pakistan and North Korea, have developed nuclear weapons and the missiles to launch them. Iran, arguably …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday October 10, 2006

Britain's Empty Conservatism

Guess whose political platform this is: - Tax cuts? No. - More public money for government-monopoly health care? Yes. - Same-sex marriage? Enthusiastically yes. - Big supermarkets? Offenders against the environment. - Kyoto Accord. Absolutely. - Terrorism? Close …

Written by David Frum on Saturday October 7, 2006

Containment?

Do you think that the U.S. is on the verge of striking the Iranian nuclear program? Think again. President Bush's speech to the United Nations this week did not even refer to Iranian defiance of the Security Council's Aug. 31 deadline for ceasing and desisting from uranium enrichment. Instead the …

Written by David Frum on Saturday September 23, 2006

The End Of The Affair

The Valerie Plame affair is one of those mysteries that lose most of their interest as soon as you learn the solution. For three years, investigators have hunted for the leaker who disclosed Ms. Plame's name to the Washington press corps. In "Hubris," their minutely detailed study of the …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday September 12, 2006

The Clash Of Eras

Five years on -- and how little we have learned! In the first shock of 9/11, opinion leaders hastened to offer their publics comfort and reassurance. The terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, they said, were the work of a tiny extremist fringe, condemned by the whole world. The terrorists …

Written by David Frum on Monday September 11, 2006

President John Mccain? Not Likely

This was a week of clever manoeuvres. First, George Bush announced that he would at last bring the captured 9/11 plotters to trial by military commission--if Congress would give him the authority to do so. That puts Democrats in Congress in a very awkward spot. The voters will want justice …

Written by David Frum on Saturday September 9, 2006