blogging the beltway

(The Root) — Though political pundits, economic experts and others increasingly discuss the nation’s fiscal cliff in apocalyptic terms, referring to its potentially disastrous consequences for the majority of Americans, there is one person for whom going over the fiscal cliff might not be such a bad thing: President Barack Obama.  In a new Washington…

(The Root) — On Nov. 30, President Obama issued a proclamation to mark the 30th anniversary of Minority Enterprise Development Week. The proclamation reads in part: The belief in tomorrow’s promise is guiding minority entrepreneurs across our country to start the kinds of businesses that make up the backbone of our economy. The proclamation goes on…

(The Root) — Just before the election, I wrote a column for The Root: “The 9 Debate Questions We Want to Hear.” The eighth question on the list was this: If, on election night, your opponent offered to meet with you on a regular basis in a spirit of bipartisanship to discuss ideas for moving…

(The Root) — Updated Friday, November 30: This afternoon it was announced via Huffington Post’s Politics Twitter account that Rep. John Boehner, would appoint a woman, Rep. Candice Miller, chair of the congressional Committee on House Administration. That means the likely Republican congressional committee chairs will be filled by eighteen men, one white woman and…

(The Root) — What a difference some Thanksgiving turkey and time off can make. Apparently the downtime worked wonders on the moods of certain members of Congress, namely Sen. John McCain. Just weeks ago the man said of United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice, “I will do everything in my power to block her from being…

(The Root) — Once the presidential election ended, the sex scandal involving former CIA Director David Petraeus soon emerged as the most heavily covered political story in America. But coming in a close second is the fiscal cliff, a story that will likely have much more direct impact on all of us than whom the…

(The Root) — Despite all of the promises of “bipartisanship” that politicians love to throw around on the campaign trail, many act like small children if their chosen candidate loses and they face the prospect of working with someone from another party. Not all political figures and voters react that way. For instance, former first…

(The Root) — Throughout much of his first term, President Obama faced criticism from a variety of corners for his seeming lack of passion, more specifically his unwillingness to get angry. There were columns devoted to how his lack of ire actually enraged pundits and voters. There were also those who commented that his lack…

(The Root) — Amid all of the celebration that took place in progressive circles following the president’s re-election, there was a less jubilant reaction in some corners of the nation. There were so many racist messages tweeted after the president’s win that analysts started treating it as a competition. Want to know which states had…

(The Root) — After nearly two years of campaigning, billions of dollar spent and thousands of hours of TV ads, the 2012 presidential election came down to just one night and nine swing states. But what, ultimately, made the difference between who won and who lost? Below is a look at the eight people and…