Ah, things are grim in Davos, where a contingent of our High Sheriffs has gone skiing is pondering the dire situation of the world economy. Lucky for us, they are blogging it. Among the insights we have gained thus far is this one, from Michael Elliott, the editor of TIME International: Anxious readers will want [...]

So, we’re trying something new. As most of our readers will know, the Senate Democratic caucus and Republican conference meet most Tuesdays for lunches just down the hall from one another on the second floor of the Capitol. During these lunches the plan for the week is often laid out and talking points on major [...]

The family planning funds were not the only monies Obama asked the House to strike from the stimulus bill on the heels of GOP carping; the $200 million National Mall revitalization fund was also removed. During the election the Obama campaign always prided itself on leaving every venue he visited better off than how they [...]

Looks like Dennis Ross is about to become the U.S. envoy in charge of Iran. But I’m not sure that sending Ross directly into the fray is the best way to launch negotiations. Here are four other things that should happen first: 1. The Obama Administration should send a U.S. Ambassador back to Syria. Pulling [...]

This, from Andrew Sullivan, is a very smart take on the early differences between Obama and his immediate predecessor: At times, Bush’s indifference to the system around him bordered on a kind of political autism. And so one of the oddest aspects of Bush’s presidency was his tendency to declare things as if merely saying [...]

As the mother of two kids who have now been home for five days straight (Mr. Swamp has hidden the PS3 controllers), I am happy to see the President addressing this crisis: The suburban schools systems and many private schools in the region were closed today and the District public schools opted for a delayed [...]

On a completely apolitical note, if Obama can really succeed in importing a little Midwestern hardiness to this city where people carry umbrellas–umbrellas!–in the snow and cancel school with one inch of snow on the ground, THAT will be change I can believe in.

There’s been a lot of debate about Michelle Obama’s decision to spend her time in the White House as mom-in-chief instead of returning to professional life or taking on a prominent portfolio in her husband’s administration. But I haven’t seen much mention of the fact that Jill Biden went back to work yesterday. The longtime [...]

After prevailing on House Democratic leaders to drop the family-planning provision from the House version of the economic stimulus bill, President Obama has convinced them to drop another provision that was proving to be an easy target for Republican criticism, ridicule and demagoguery: $200 million to spiff up the National Mall. But as Dan Gerstein [...]