Michael Scherer’s story in our new issue offers a great window into the Obama White House’s plans for taking back the initiative this fall after a fairly dismal summer. Michael shared part of his reporting online with this item on the solace the Obama team is taking from the historical examples of Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, …
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Ben Bernanke Embraces Obama’s Reality-Based Presidency
Texas governor and GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry still knows about as much about monetary policy as Sarah Palin knows about American history—or, for that matter, about monetary policy—but maybe there was a glimmer of …
Stop Whining About What Obama Hasn’t Said. Look at What He’s Actually Done.
I know President Obama is supposed to be an awful disappointment to environmentalists because he doesn’t talk enough about climate change, just like he’s an awful disappointment to progressives because he doesn’t say enough nasty things about bankers. But people who actually care about what Presidents do, as opposed to how they …
Here Comes a Campaign Issue: The U.N. and Palestinian Statehood
The consuming debate about our debt and the economy has obscured a major foreign policy event that’s right around the corner: Next month, the United Nations general assembly is likely to approve a resolution recognizing a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The Obama administration strongly opposes this move, and is …
Operation “Kill Romney”
Mitt Romney’s camp is up in arms today about a Politico report that team Obama plans to “kill Romney” with a barrage of personal attacks that make him out to be a weirdo who flunks the have-a-beer-with-him test. (“Disgraceful,” Romney’s campaign manager told Fox News this morning.) Never mind that the metaphor quoted above is exceedingly …
What Washington Can — and Won’t — Do About Market Fears
The 6% stock-market sell-off on Monday elicited hopes from Wall Street that Washington would do something to reassure the world that it is serious about its mounting debt and determined to reinvigorate the stalled recovery. …
Is the Debt-Ceiling Hostage Scenario Really Bound to Repeat Itself?
The conventional wisdom now dictates that every time a debt-ceiling hike comes up for a vote, Republicans will threaten to torch Uncle Sam’s credit rating unless their demands are met. Just take Senator Mitch McConnell, …
How the Debt Deal Sets Up Washington for a Bitter Tax Fight
Now that a compromise has been reached to raise the debt limit, there is a good chance that the political climate in Washington is going to get worse. And the reason can be found on Page 49 of the bill that President Obama signed into law on Tuesday: “On January 2, 2013, for fiscal year 2013, OMB shall calculate and the President shall …
The Debt Limit Compromise: A Likely Short-Term Drag on Jobs
Exit polls from last November’s midterms left little ambiguity about the issue that motivated most voters: 63% listed “the economy” as the most important issue. When asked the top priority for Congress in 2011, only 40% said “reducing the budget deficit,” while 55% said “cutting taxes” or “spending money to create …
With Debt Deal Reached, Can Congress Swallow Its Own Bitter Medicine?
If the definition of a compromise is something that most folks don’t like, then the $2.4 trillion debt-ceiling deal worked out over the weekend by President Barack Obama and GOP leaders in Congress is a resounding …
Prospects for a Debt Deal Darken as Republicans Point the Finger at Obama
House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell attempted to lay Washington’s debt-ceiling debacle squarely at President Obama’s feet in a press conference on Saturday, making public their effort to drag …
The Real American Crisis: Housing
While everyone focuses on the pathetic, dangerous political theater of the fabricated debt ceiling crisis, here’s a crisis that is actually responsible for the stunted recovery. Bank of America has joined Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase and others in bulldozing homes to reduce the housing supply. It is the latest indication of how desperate …
Harry Reid’s Canny Waiting Game
The House on Thursday is expected to vote on its latest iteration of a debt ceiling increase matched with spending cuts. With less than a week left before the government starts suspending services to avoid default, the Senate has …