Politics

By the time U.S. policymakers in Haiti are finished playing with Haiti, they will have hung President René Préval out to dry; ignored an election process that was not inclusive, not fair and not free, even before one ballot was cast; and ignored the fact that most of the candidates asked for the (s)election to…

The Associated Press is reporting that a federal judge declared the foundation of President Barack Obama’s health care law unconstitutional Monday, ruling that the government cannot require Americans to purchase insurance. The case is expected to end up at the Supreme Court. In his order, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson said that he will…

Today President Obama signed into law the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. The president and first lady Michelle Obama delivered remarks at Harriet Tubman Elementary School located in Washington, D.C. President and Mrs. Obama were joined by administration officials and members of Congress, as well as teachers, students and parents from Harriet Tubman Elementary…

At 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, before a crowd of about 150 lawmakers from both parties, African-American activists and Native American leaders, President Barack Obama brought to a close decades of government-sponsored racial injustice — or at least two chapters in a lengthy book. Standing in the White House’s South Court auditorium, the president signed into…

If you need proof that President Barack Obama got what he absolutely had to out of the tax-cut deal he made with congressional Republicans, listen to the sound of silence coming out of Sarah Palin’s Twitter feed. That she and Republicans couldn’t find anything to immediately blast Obama for explains why he took the ass…

When you have lived long enough, you realize your mama’s wisdom: that you truly have only one life to live. The question then is, how will you live your life? I ask myself some version of this question out loud at the start of every year. I find myself asking it early this go-round, urged…

The Washington Post is reporting that Democrats are hopping mad with President Obama over the temporary extension of Bush-era tax credits to the wealthy. President Obama defended the deal his administration has struck with Republicans, including extending tax cuts for all income levels, saying the concessions are necessary to avoid a tax increase for nearly…

Nowadays it’s popular to apply the “bad poker player” analogy to President Barack Obama and Democrats when it comes to their failure to match wits with Republicans on expiring tax cuts. The New York Times’ David Leonhardt has a “Kenny Rogers Theory“: Democrats can’t figure out when it’s time to hold ’em or fold ’em.…

Ron Christie’s new book on black poindexters getting called out for “acting white” is welcome in many ways. What a year, for one, when we get two books putting paid to the myth that people calling attention to the “acting white” charge are just fantasizing. Not to mention that it’s always good to see smart…

Who is President Barack Obama? The question gives you pause, doesn’t it? That’s because there is no quick or obvious answer. This circumstance, more than any other, is a critical problem for Obama as he prepares for the 112th Congress to assume office. We still don’t know who Obama is, what he is committed to…