In the Arena

Better Than Ezra

Ezra Klein–no relation, but good friend–was always Exhibit A against those people who say there’s nothing in the blogosphere but uninformed rant. He’s at the top of the list when it comes to journalists covering domestic policy issues, especially health care. And now he has a new home, at the Washington Post. I wish him [...]

Unpacking Obama’s Notre Dame Address

It would be judging Barack Obama by a pretty low standard to give him credit just for showing up to give the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame. But it’s also a mistake to dismiss Notre Dame President Fr. John Jenkins’ introductory comments about Obama as just so much puffery. ”President Obama has come [...]

Judgement Day For Donald Rumsfeld

I could, in blog writer style, try to begin to characterize the revelations in Robert Draper’s GQ blockbuster about former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. But there is a slim chance that any characterization of the article would make you, the reader, feel like you don’t have to read it. And that would be a [...]

In the Arena

Huntsman to China

This is smart and wicked clever: The President has appointed Jon Huntsman, the popular governor of Utah, as Ambassador to China. It’s smart because Huntsman knows China and is fluent in Mandarin, qualities that will be well received in China. He also has real stature, a co-chair of John McCain’s presidential campaign and a voice [...]

How The Senate Really Works

Or rather, how it really, really doesn’t. As she does with pretty much everything she writes about, Gail Collins nails it.

1,000 Words

(By White House photographer Pete Souza)

Re: This Is the Second Notice

On May 2 I blogged about the increasing number of annoying and illegal robo-calls that I, and thousands of others, have been getting. Well, thanks to Senator Chuck Schumer and the Federal Trade Commission (hat tip Daniel Lippman) I’m only getting one or two a week, down from more than a dozen. I hope everyone [...]

Re: Pelosi and Waterboarding

Rather than update my last post, I decided to start a new one so everyone has a fresh slate on which to vent through the weekend. C.I.A. Director Leon Panetta sent a letter Friday afternoon to C.I.A. employees telling them that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was “truthfully” briefed in 2002 but he also reiterated his [...]

This Week In Climate Change

I know what you’ve been telling yourself: What we really need right now is another aggregator of web-based content! But here’s a new one worth taking a peek at, which comes to us by way of our former TIME colleague Eric Roston and the Nicholas Institute.

Pelosi and Waterboarding

Here’s the latest from me on the Speaker’s accusation yesterday that the C.I.A. lied to her.