U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford told reporters on Thursday that he can imagine a day when the U.S. arms the Syrian opposition.
In the ArenaIn the Arena
In Praise of Earmarks
I have a new print column about Steven Spielberg’s splendid film Lincoln–which is an advertisement for a greasier, less puritanical form of politics.
How to Avoid the Fiscal Cliff
Just as Washington created the fiscal cliff, Washington can make it go away.
Can This Party Be Saved?
Why the GOP’s purists and pragmatists need to face the challenge of policy
In Defense of Grover Norquist, Idealistic Advocate of Bad Ideas
The new Grover-the-Terrible narrative is wrong in just about every way.
Why Grover Norquist and His Anti-Tax Pledge Will Survive the Fiscal Cliff
The diminutive ideologue says his no-new-taxes pledge is safe despite recent GOP defections. Voter support, and his own surprising ability to bounce back, suggest he’s right
In the ArenaIn the Arena
Lincoln Lessons
Seems everyone in the political world was talking about Spielberg’s splendid Lincoln this weekend. It turns out to be a movie about a living, breathing, horse-trading, occasionally mendacious genius of a politician. It resurrects the noble greasiness of politics at an incredibly appropriate moment: we’re in desperate need of some …
Fiscal Cliff Leaves Non-Profits on Edge
Charities are worried this may be the last season of giving.
In the ArenaTaxes
Rattner Refutes Laffer
In 1974, the economist Arthur Laffer drew a protuberance on a napkin at a White House meeting “demonstrating” that the higher the tax rates are, the lower the revenues they produce. Thus, the birth of supply side economics, a theory that has been disproved dispositively over the past 40 years. The reason why the Laffer Curve is nonsense …
In the ArenaControversies
TV Kerfuffles
I’ve gotten into some trouble on TV twice in the past 24 hours–yesterday on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, regarding raising the age for Medicare eligibility; just now on Morning Joe, about whether the Benghazi consulate attack was an Al Qaeda operation. I stand by what I said in both cases.
Obama’s Long Game on Middle East Peace
With their powers of persuasion fading in Congress, second-term U.S. Presidents often look abroad to cement their legacies.
In the ArenaUncategorized
Condi’s Middle East
Condoleezza Rice has a scarifying op-ed in the Washington Post today in which she argues correctly that the Middle East may be on the brink of a rejiggering of borders — and, incorrectly, that if we don’t become more active diplomatically, Iran will be the big winner.
Friended: How the Obama Campaign Connected with Young Voters
Social networks are transforming the way campaigns are conducted.