Politics

The Washington Post is reporting that two top Republican leaders clashed Wednesday over a plan that could allow the government to avoid a potentially catastrophic default but would not ensure the deep cuts in federal spending that party members seek. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) clashed over…

“This historic treasure, built in 1817, is a phenomenal estate that has very rich history. The historic mansion was designed by Henry Latrobe, designer of the U.S. Capitol building and the finest antebellum architecture. This historical landmark, on 70 acres, is complete with four bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths, a pool, cabana, tennis courts, chicken barns,…

David Swerdlick may think I am right about just one thing, but he’s right in his response about almost everything. He is wrong in only one: his reading of the intention of my piece from Monday, “Herman Cain and the Sadness of Black Folks.” I meant a single thing: Herman Cain’s popularity with a healthy segment…

Jeff Wilson of the Associated Press is reporting that Michelle Obama and three former first ladies are among dignitaries heading to Palm Desert, Calif., to pay tribute to Betty Ford at a funeral focusing on her twin passions: politics and her world famous Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and alcohol treatment. Mrs. Ford, who died at the age…

John McWhorter is right about one thing. Herman Cain “is evidence of, of all things, progress.” McWhorter — iconoclast, The Root columnist and widely regarded author of the best-sellers Losing the Race and Winning the Race — argued this week in “Herman Cain and the Sadness of Black Folks” that the failure of black observers…

Job growth came nearly to a halt in June, the federal government said Friday with surprisingly grim new data that challenge expectations that the economy is poised to bounce back from its spring lull. The disappointing report comes at a sensitive time, as President Obama and Congress engage in high-stakes negotiations over raising the legal…

Do progressives care about reducing the national debt? Of course they do, no matter what the White House might believe. “We think that obviously there are some Democrats who don’t feel as strongly about deficit reduction as [President Obama] does,” senior adviser David Plouffe said Wednesday at a breakfast with reporters and columnists. But that’s…

Most Americans, if they were aware of Haitian Americans at all, associated them with a long list of negative images — as poor refugees and non-English speakers, or simply as illegal immigrants — long before the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake put Haiti in the international spotlight. There are, of course, Haitian Americans who face many…