Happy anniversary, Mr. President
01/12/2010
Next week marks the first anniversary of Barack Obama’s accession to the presidency. All Americans can remain proud of electing a president whose father was a Kenyan immigrant – a…
What those polls really mean
01/05/2010
One of the seemingly intractable problems in healthcare polling is deciphering exactly what voters are responding to when asked whether they favor or oppose “reform.” Most polls fail to divulge…
Revisiting the G-d gap
12/15/2009
In the euphoria following victories in ’06 and ’08, Democrats’ concern about the G-d gap receded. Unfortunately, the gap itself has not. Despite our current economic crisis, cultural politics remains…
Obama leads a surge – and the country
12/08/2009
In September I noted that while support for the war in Afghanistan was flagging, President Barack Obama still had significant ambit for action with the American public. The president’s room…
Democrats’ dilemmas on reform
12/01/2009
Moderate and conservative Democrats may feel trapped in a political vise by the healthcare debate. Whatever their own views, the Republicans and conservatives who populate their states and districts are…
Abortion and health reform debate
11/17/2009
Back in July, I warned that some folks were attempting to misuse healthcare reform to restrict access to abortion. They have come a long way since then, endangering the vital…
Lessons from Election ’09
11/10/2009
Last week, I asserted that Tuesday’s election would tell us precious little we did not already know. That prediction proved mostly, though not completely, correct. We already knew that if…
Tell me something I don’t know
11/03/2009
By the time you read this, thousands of words will have been written about what Tuesday’s elections portend – not for the people of New Jersey, Virginia and New York’s…
Ironies of healthcare reform
10/27/2009
In a republic such as ours, public policy is only loosely related to public opinion. Nonetheless, it is ironic that the most controversial element of healthcare reform with the public…
Thank heaven for Republicans
10/20/2009
With Democrats allegedly on the ropes and voters concerned about rising debt and reeling from growing unemployment, you might think Republicans would be sitting pretty. They aren’t – the Republican…