Political Commentary

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September 26, 2012Strangulation by Union By John Stossel
The Chicago teachers strike is over, but the public didn't win. Schools will still transfer bad teachers to other schools because it's nearly impossible to fire them. When bad teachers go from school to school, principals call it "the dance of the lemons." It would be funny if those teachers didn't slowly wreck children's lives.
The basic issue is: Who decides how to manage a workplace? Unions say it's good that they protect American workers from arbitrary dismissal and make sure everyone is treated equally.
September 25, 2012Swing-state Florida's Up-for-grabs Region By Froma Harrop
LADY LAKE, Fla. -- Lunching at Applebee's in this hyper-groomed shopping center, I'm tempted to buttonhole some of the retirees enjoying their leisure as Fox News jabbers down from the bar. This, after all, is a gathering place near the storied retirement community known as The Villages, a huge conservative enclave smack in the middle of Florida's I-4 corridor.
September 24, 2012Obama's Unfulfilled Promise Change By Michael Barone
"The most important lesson I've learned is that you can't change Washington from the inside," Barack Obama said in an interview Thursday on the Spanish-language Univision network. "You can only change it from the outside."
A better way to put it is that Barack Obama has proved he can't change Washington from the inside.
One case in point is the comprehensive immigration legislation Obama promised to steer to passage in his first term. The Univision interviewers, who asked tougher questions than the president has been getting from David Letterman or various rappers, zeroed in on this issue.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                
                
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                            September 21, 2012Romney May Be the End of the Line for the Republican Establishment By Scott Rasmussen
Mitt Romney's comments about 47 percent of Americans being dependent on government and locked in to vote for President Obama highlight a fundamental reality in American politics today...
September 20, 2012Obama's First Term Is Like Roosevelt's Dismal Second By Michael Barone
People, not least himself, have often compared Barack Obama to Franklin D. Roosevelt. You know the narrative. He came to office in a financial crisis and proceeded to take government action to revive the economy and expand government to help the little guy.
September 20, 2012When Blue-collar Whites Turned Republican By Froma Harrop
Liberals strain to understand why so many blue-collar whites have made their home in the Republican Party. Yes, the GOP better connects with this group on social and lifestyle levels. Still, with working people under so much economic strain these days, it seems odd that they'd let a culture war centered on emotion trump their bread-and-butter concerns.
September 19, 2012I Like Gary Johnson By John Stossel
All political candidates call themselves freedom-lovers, but they are not. Neither major party really opposes government control of the economy or of our personal lives. I'm a libertarian because I see the false choice offered by political left and right: Democrats talk about personal liberty; Republicans talk about economic freedom. But what they do once in power belies their words.   
September 18, 2012Buckle up for the Robot Revolution By Froma Harrop
Robots don't take bathroom breaks, and that's one reason why, all else being equal, they may make better factory workers than the human version. But all else is getting less equal. New generations of super "smart" robots are doing more and more complex tasks, their needle arms going into tiny spaces the most delicate human hand can't reach. And just as the machines leap forward in sophistication, their price is coming down.
September 17, 2012The Consequences of Obama's Bungled Mideast Policy By Michael Barone
In Libya, U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three colleagues were murdered Tuesday. Earlier that day, protesters in Egypt stormed the U.S. embassy and tore down the American flag.
September 14, 2012'He Kept Us Safe': Bush Ignored Repeated Warnings of Terrorist Attack By Joe Conason
During the festival of falsehood held by Republicans in Tampa, Fla., two weeks ago, perhaps the very biggest lie emanated from the mouth of Jeb Bush, the Florida politician, entrepreneur and potential heir to the GOP presidential dynasty.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                
                
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                            September 14, 2012Let Individuals, Not Politicians, Make Health Care Decisions By Scott Rasmussen
The health care debate is a great example of why Americans hate politics. Both Republicans and Democrats pursue their plans with ideological zeal and reckless disregard for the truth....
September 13, 2012Close the Mortgage-deduction Loophole By Froma Harrop
Letting homeowners deduct interest paid on their mortgages from taxable income makes no sense. It encourages taking on more debt, discriminates against renters, subsidizes one kind of spending over others and favors the upper incomes. It advances the questionable public goal of making more Americans into homeowners. And it costs the Treasury about $100 billion a year.
September 13, 2012Obama Could Be the Odd Man out on Tax Reform By Michael Barone
One of the services of the Simpson-Bowles Commission was to set out a path for tax reform, with lower income tax rates and removal of many tax preferences -- or, to use the commission's term, tax expenditures.
September 12, 2012Clinton Myths By John Stossel
Bill Clinton got rave reviews for his speech at the Democratic National Convention. My wife said: "Clinton was great. He made Republicans look like liars and losers." Clinton, now a sainted elder statesman, also gets credit for the booming economy of the '90s.
September 11, 2012Romney Suffers From Pre-existing Positions By Froma Harrop
What Mitt Romney truly believes is anybody's guess. Whether Romney as president would act on those beliefs is also a guess. And we can't rule out the possibility that he doesn't have any beliefs outside of religion and investment strategies. Why he's running for president remains unclear, though commander in chief looks impressive on a nametag.
September 10, 2012Magic of 2008 Eludes Obama After Flat Convention By Michael Barone
The consensus on Barack Obama's acceptance speech Thursday night, and in effect on the Democratic National Convention as a whole, is that it was a bust.
One reason may be optics. Obama was scheduled to deliver the speech in a stadium seating 64,000 people. But on Wednesday, after Charlotte, N.C., had been pummeled by periodic rainstorms all week, organizers moved the event to the convention hall.
September 9, 2012Obama’s Same Old, Same Old By Lawrence Kudlow
Perhaps the reason for President Obama’s flat and energy-less speech Thursday night -- TV cameras panning the convention floor actually showed delegates falling asleep -- was that he already knew Friday’s jobs numbers were going to be a disaster. The August unemployment report completely punctured his argument that if you just give him four more years, his policies will solve the economy.
September 8, 2012Goodbye Charlotte and 60 Days To Go By Kyle Kondik, Larry J. Sabato and Geoffrey Skelley
Whenever the Library of America -- the publisher that releases those elegant volumes with white, cursive writing on black covers -- comes up with its next book of classic political oratory, we’ve got a pretty good idea of two speeches that won’t be included.
September 8, 2012Called out by Republicans, Clinton Answers in Masterful Convention Speech By Joe Conason
Bill killed. Nominating Barack Obama for a second term, the former president brought to bear the full weight of his political experience and forensic skill Wednesday night, on behalf of a man who was once his adversary.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                
                
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                            September 7, 2012Despite Convention Distractions, It's Still All About the Economy By Scott Rasmussen
Mercifully, the political conventions have ended. The political press will keep buzzing over whether Clint Eastwood's unconventional speech helped or hurt Mitt Romney and whether the snafu over Israel and God...