Politics

The Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan was probably right last week when she wrote that “nobody loves Obama” anymore. In last week’s Gallup poll, the president’s approval rating dropped to a George W. Bush-like 40 percent. While Obama probably still has at least a 50-50 chance of winning re-election next fall, if he does, it’ll…

I, like many of you, probably spent more time than I really wanted watching political “leaders” in Washington free-fall to a decision on our nation’s debt. As I listened to the partisan excuses, whines and outright misrepresentation of what triggers a “default,” it occurred to me that all of the drama and general posturing by…

Barack Obama turns 50 on Thursday. Been there, done that, had the big birthday party. He was born in 1961, and like the president, I was also born in the slice of years between the very late 1950s and mid-1960s. We fall between the cracks of the baby boom generation and Gen X. We missed…

In the past few days, news of Rosa Parks’ “near-rape” has rippled through the media — in part because of a “newly found” six-page document in her own hand from the late 1950s, revealed by Guernsey’s Auctioneers. There are two problems with how the story is playing out, however: the casting of Parks as victim…

Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post warns that the debt clock ticks toward default as the nation’s leaders haggle over a deal. While it is good news that there is a framework for a debt deal, the dramatic events of Thursday night is a reminder that it ain’t over until it’s over. If the anger of progressives or…

The National Urban League wrapped up its annual conference in Boston this weekend, celebrating 101 years of existence. The news backdrop was hugely significant. President Obama and the Republicans wrestled with the debt limit on the cable networks and in the back rooms, with the likely outcome of further shrinking the already fragile social safety…

While some of the gridlock among policymakers today can be chalked up to principled differences in political philosophy, some political stalemates are the result of policies that defy common sense. This most often happens when politicians ignore basic realities in order to further their own ideologies. This behavior is frustrating in any instance but is…

CNN is reporting that President Obama and congressional leaders reached agreement on a measure that would extend the federal debt ceiling, cut spending and guarantee more reduction efforts. “There are still some very important votes to be taken by members of Congress, but I want to announce that the leaders of both parties in both…