October 2011

In two television interviews taped for Monday evening, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain denied any wrongdoing as he tried to clarify his story about the allegations he was accused of sexual harassment while serving as president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association in the late…

New York Daily News: "At Occupy Wall Street central, a rift is growing between east and west sides of the plaza"

For those looking for Republican presidential candidate Buddy Roemer, here he is:

Beacon Power Corporation, which filed for bankruptcy late last week, was the recipient of a $43 million loan guarantee from the Energy Department. Campaign contribution information from Open Secrets shows that Beacon Power's CEO F. William Capp donated to both Barack Obama and two Massachusetts…

Perhaps this is why Joe Lieberman--who said today on Laura Ingraham’s radio show that “The way this Occupy Wall Street is expressing itself is not reflective of the majority of people in our country”--is not embracing the protesters:

Politico reported Sunday night that Herman Cain, while serving as head of the National Restaurant Association, was accused of sexual harassment and that the NRA settled the claims in the "five figure range" is a perfectly legitimate story. Cain confirmed today that he was "falsely" accused, but…

Mother Jones has published a long article about one of the foreign policy advisers with the Romney campaign, Walid Phares. The Beirut-born Phares has written a number of books in Arabic as well as English-language efforts like the provocatively titled The Confrontation: Winning the War Against…

The latest Rasmussen poll shows Mitt Romney and Herman Cain running more or less even with President Obama among likely independent voters, while Rick Perry trails by double-digits. Among independents, Romney leads Obama by 2 percentage points (40 to 38 percent), Cain and Obama are tied (at 37…

Presidential candidate Herman Cain's campaign has been rocked by a Politico report that revealed Cain was accused of sexual harassment by two female employees during his stint at the National Restaurant Association. Cain told Fox News this morning that he has “never sexually harassed anyone” but…

Well, now we know the reason for the Friday night news dump. When the Obama administration finally announced that they would be launching an independent review of Department of Energy loan guarantees, they were likely trying to get out ahead of this:

Over the weekend, the White House held its Halloween festivities and, as the Associated Press reports,

Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson says today that "We shouldn't gut defense. A central question of our budget debates is how much we allow growing social spending to crowd out the military and, in effect, force the United States into a dangerous, slow-motion disarmament."

Rick Perry has a new ad out in Iowa today, reminding voters of his strengths:

On October 21, President Obama signed into law the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement (FTA), thereby giving American exporters greater access to one of South America’s fastest growing markets. The long, tiring debate over the FTA—which began five years ago, when the agreement was first…

Max Boot, writing in the Wall Street Journal: 

Politico: "Exclusive: Two women accused Herman Cain of inappropriate behavior"

Politics being what it is, I suppose it is no surprise that Herman Cain’s rivals for the Republican nomination should heap scorn on his 9-9-9 tax reform plan. I have no massive computer model that can tell me whether Cain’s proposal would generate enough revenue to be part of any plan to bring the…

As the debate on Obamacare reached a crescendo in late 2009 and 2010, no question was more hotly contested than whether the plan would narrow or widen future federal budget deficits. This issue was particularly sensitive among the handful of wavering Democrats from conservative-leaning districts…

Killing Muammar Qaddafi wasn’t easy. What President Obama said would take days wound up taking eight months. At first the administration did not seem to understand that NATO’s objective of protecting the civilians rising up against the Libyan tyrant’s 40-year rule would require capturing or killing…

Loretta Lynn famously sang  “You’re Lookin’ at Country.” But as three urban cowgirls arrive at a Washington, D.C., hipster haven, the 9:30 Club, to see Lynn’s first local show in two years, we’re looking at irony: opening act Southern Culture on the Skids, a longtime favorite in the campy genre…

On the issue of public debt, Washington is experiencing what psychologists call “learned helplessness.” The financial news is so relentlessly terrible that people have become numb to it and assume nothing can be done to regain control over our fate.

Africa has had its share of brutal regimes and rulers in the past half-century. The apartheid regime of the Afrikaners in South Africa was, for quite a long time, a model of well-planned and methodical dictatorship. The eight-year half-comical/half-nightmarish regime of Idi Amin in Uganda appeared,…

Moderation is too rarely a stance to gain impassioned support in policy debates, and even less so when the subject is the state of American criminal justice. The disproportionate number of young African-American men behind bars at any given time (approximately 11 percent of those between ages 20…

A doctor ignored by a smoker won’t celebrate if lung cancer strikes. Britain’s euroskeptics are generally too worried about the consequences of the Eurozone’s thoroughly predictable crisis to submit to the temptations of I told you so. Well, most of them are. The United Kingdom may be outside the…

If you wonder why American students rank poorly among industrialized nations on academic skills, here’s part of the explanation, from a seventh-grade classroom in the Los Angeles Unified School District: 

Susan Sarandon’s left-wing “activism” is too well known to be recounted here in much detail. The actress has embraced causes as various and predictable as the 2008 presidential campaign of John Edwards and the bona fides of author-murderer Jack Henry Abbott (1944-2002), for whom she named her son.…

A food versus fuel debate has raged for the past few years as ethanol consumes more and more of the U.S. corn supply. Ethanol will use about 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop this year, and for the first time ever, more corn will go into motor fuel production than into feed for livestock. As the…

"I don’t read fiction,” Billy Hunter proudly told sports reporters this month. “I only read stuff I can learn something from.” What a line, from the head of the NBA Players Association. It’s the kind of thing I used to treasure—except that I’ve begun to realize just how often I hear something…

The way I got to Martin Walser, Germany’s most German writer and, at age 84, one of its national treasures, was to scrawl three lines on an envelope: Martin Walser, writer, Nussdorf am Bodensee.

If, as most pundits now believe, Mitt Romney has the inside track for the Republican nomination, he is the first GOP candidate in more than a generation not to be syntactically challenged. Just look at the list of the party’s choices since Richard Nixon, whether elected (Ronald Reagan, George H. W.…

About 24 hours after he recited the oath of office, Barack Obama addressed senior executive branch officials and cabinet secretaries at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. The new president promised that his administration would bring a new openness to Washington, with strict ethics…

Among the cases the Supreme Court is being asked to take in its new term is one from Texas challenging racial preferences in college admissions. Alice Fisher was finishing her senior year at Stephen F. Austin High School in 2008 when she applied, unsuccessfully, for admission to the University of…

On October 12, Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, filed for bankruptcy. The move took most of America by surprise—​

New York

The Washington Post notices the stirrings of a Newt Gingrich comeback, as foretold last week by the boss: "So: The race seems to be more open and fluid than conventional wisdom has it. In particular, it strikes me that as everyone focuses (understandably) on Romney, Cain, and Perry, Gingrich is…

When Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu suffered concussion-like symptoms in a recent NFL game, he did what any decent husband might do: He walked to the sideline and called his wife Theodora to tell her he was fine. Polamalu, like so many football players, has a long history of concussions,…

Maria Bartiromo asks Nancy Pelosi a few pointed questions on the oppressive regulatory environment. The minority leader says she has no problem with the National Labor Relations Board's decision to tell Boeing it can't build a factory in South Carolina:

The October Kaiser Health Tracking poll shows that, by a margin of 17 percentage points, Americans have an “unfavorable” (51 percent), rather than “favorable” (34 percent) opinion of Obamacare. This margin of opposition is all the more remarkable because the poll by Kaiser, a strong supporter of…

The length of American political campaigns is a source of annoyance to those for whom there is a life other than sound bites, attack ads, and commercials extolling the virtues of their sponsors and the evils of opponents. And the cost of campaigns is a source of amazement to foreign observers. But…

Politico: "George Will column on Mitt Romney: 'Has conservatism come so far ... for THIS?'"

The White House is just now getting around to seriously addressing the Solyndra scandal:

On Martin Bashir's television program this afternoon, Democratic strategist and MSNBC analyst Karen Finney said that Republicans are supporting Herman Cain because of his race:

There comes a point when a spokesman is spinning so hard one wonders if his wheels will come off. That happened today to White House press flack Jay Carney when he was questioned by Fox News reporter Ed Henry at the press briefing about President Obama’s connections to lobbyists.

FPI is hosting a book event for Reuel Marc Gerecht's latest, "The Wave: Man, God, and the Ballot Box in the Middle East." Here are the details:

Rick Perry has a new ad showcasing the support of prominent conservatives like Steve Forbes and Rush Limbaugh for his economic plan. WEEKLY STANDARD senior writer Steve Hayes makes a (vocal) appearance:

In recent months, voices on the left have argued that the United States should abandon the strategic “triad” of nuclear weapons systems – intercontinental ballistic missiles, ballistic missile submarines, and heavy bombers. Some cite economic reasons, others say that the United States does not need…

Four-term Republican congressman Connie Mack will be running for the U.S. Senate in Florida, Politico's David Cantanese reported yesterday. Mack, who passed on a bid to challenge incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson earlier this year, will join a crowded field that includes former Republican senator…

President Obama announced Wednesday he will issue an executive order for the federal government to reduce student loan payments with measures that almost surely will have taxpayers picking up the tab. Americans owe $1 trillion in college debt, and some 1.6 million have subsidized student loans,…

Kiev – A close friend from the Republic of China (otherwise known as Taiwan) lived for several years in Foshan, in the southern province of Guangdong in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). One day, when feeling rather hopeless about Chinese society, she remarked, “what I hate about this place is…

The New York Times reports: 

Ryan Streeter, writing about Paul Ryan's virtue:

The last eloquent appeal for Paul Ryan to run for president before the New Hampshire filing deadline today comes from a reader in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Then again, Ryan could skip New Hampshire, let Mitt Romney win after Herman Cain wins Iowa, and then get in…)

The Hill: "Boehner: 'Great concerns' Obama is exceeding Constitution"

Fox News: "Muslims say crosses at Catholic University Violate 'Human Rights'"

Today is the third anniversary of the death of our friend and colleague Dean Barnett. We loved him, and we miss him. But we are inspired by his memory--by his strength of character, his extraordinary courage, his gift for friendship, and his zest for life.

While some of the Republican presidential candidates consistently suggest that the economy is the only first-tier issue in the upcoming election, the party is missing a tremendous opportunity to run against the Obama administration’s unprecedented amassing of power and money at the expense of…

Here's a glimpse of what's going in Syria since the government crackdown on protests started more than six months ago:

Congressman Steve Chabot told Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this morning that he is “very concerned with the president’s recent announcement of a complete withdrawal by the end of the year.”

This is starting to become a familiar refrain:

Last week, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate forged an unlikely alliance when they agreed in committee on a rewrite of the federal education authorization law. Both liberal Democrat Tom Harkin and conservative Republican Mike Enzi crafted the bill, which promises to limit the federal mandates…

Via Josh Trevino's twitter feed, I see that Michael Moore has another screed about Occupy Wall Street up at Daily Kos. These things are usually best ignored, but this bit where Moore defends his sizable personal wealth is priceless:

The Washington Post has a rather loaded story this morning on page A3 about Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla. -- "Marco Rubio on national ticket could be risky bet for Republican Party":

Reuel Marc Gerecht, who used to serve in the CIA, testified yesterday on the "Iranian Terror Operations on American Soil."

Fred Kagan and Kim Kagan write in the Los Angeles Times: 

“Concurrency” in defense programs – that is, overlapping development and production of weapons systems – has long been a controversial Pentagon practice. Not surprisingly, inventing something while beginning to build it, particularly something as complex as a modern warship, aircraft, or combat…

The latest Fox News poll, conducted earlier this week, shows that support for Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich has quadrupled over the past two months, while support for every other Republican presidential candidate except for Ron Paul has declined. Since late August, when Fox conducted its first poll…

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul sat down last night with Steve Hayes, Bret Baier, Charles Krauthammer, and Juan Williams for a roundtable interview:

CNN: "GOP rejects Dems offer in 'super committee,' negotiations 'deadlocked' over taxes"

The Hill: "Romney rushes to clarify his comments on union bargaining legislation"

There is something unusual about pro-Perry RedState blogger Erick Erickson's attack today on pro-Romney Washington Post blogger Jennifer Rubin.

The latest polls from CNN/Time show that Mitt Romney is leading or tied for the lead in all four of the first states to vote in the Republican primary next year.

Businessman Peter Schiff debates Occupy Wall Street: 

Rep. Patrick Meehan, chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterrorism and Intelligence, said at hearing this morning on Capitol Hill that the U.S. underestimates Iran at our own peril. "Since the Iranian sponsored assassination plot was revealed to the public two weeks ago,…

A reader from Garland, Texas sends us a copy of his letter to Paul Ryan—the fourth of its kind!—urging the House Budget Committee chair from Wisconsin to run for president:

Speaking in Virginia this morning, Mitt Romney tried to clarify what he called “confusion” over his comments yesterday in Ohio.

From a Roll Call report on Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman:

St. Petersburg Times:

First Read: 

President Obama’s announcement that U.S. military forces will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of the year has been accompanied by a renewed wave of terrorist attacks. In particular, Ansar al Islam (AAI), an al Qaeda-affiliated organization, has claimed responsibility for a series of recent deadly…

House Budget Committee chair Paul Ryan is delivering the following remarks at a speech today at the Heritage Foundation:  

Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman sat down last night with Steve Hayes, Bret Baier, Charles Krauthammer, and A. B. Stoddard for a roundtable interview:

New York Times: "New Poll Finds a Deep Distrust of Government"

The prospect of Mitt Romney winning the Republican nomination has many conservatives anxious. AWR Hawkins of BigGovernment sums up the sentiment well when he writes:

At a fundraiser today in San Francisco, President Obama said that "We have lost our ambition, our imagination, and our willingness to do the things that built the Golden Gate Bridge..."

Rick Perry responds to news that Mitt Romney declined to take a position on the upcoming referenda on unions in Ohio:

NJ.com reports:

The Washington Times's Jim McElhatton reports:

Have you heard about this? Obama's on Leno tonight.

Ynetnews.com reports on a bounty being put up for Israeli soldiers by a Saudi cleric: 

During an October 12 speech in Flint, Michigan, Vice President Joe Biden said that failing to pass the president's stimulus bill would lead to more rapes and murders. Biden repeated this claim during an October 18 event in Philadelphia. 

One of the core strategic beliefs of the Obama administration has been that their Bush predecessors overreacted to the attacks of 9/11 and became obsessively focused on the greater Middle East at the expense of East Asia or the “Asia-Pacific,” where the rise of China and India presages a new…

The latest Rasmussen poll of likely voters shows that, over the past week, the gap between President Obama and Herman Cain has swung 8 points in Obama’s favor. In a poll released shortly before the last Republican presidential debate, Rasmussen showed Cain leading Obama by 2 percentage points in a…

CNN's Peter Hamby reports: 

This morning, in reference to the Republican presidential primary, the boss commented: "The race seems to be more open and fluid than conventional wisdom has it." The boss also noted, according to the latest CBS/New York Times poll, "81 percent of GOP primary voters [are] in play." Considering that…

One year ago today, President Obama said the following:

Rick Perry is proposing an optional 20% flat income tax this week, but the Texas governor seems to be scuttling whatever opportunity he may have had to re-establish himself as a credible conservative challenger to Mitt Romney by toying with conspiracy theories about the president that were long ago…

Herman Cain's campaign released this web ad last night, featuring chief of staff Mark Block, a cigarette, a smiling presidential candidate, two pairs of glasses, a catchy patriotic song, and a strong dose of reality : 

Among the Washington Post's endorsements in the Virginia House of Delegates is an incumbent from Fairfax named Eileen Filler-Corn. It's quite a mouthful—and a bit distracting. Remember the New Hampshire Democratic Senate candidate who challenged Republican Bob Smith in 1996? His name was Dick Swett…

The radicals have won at Brown University. Even as other elite schools are welcoming ROTC back, the corporation, the University’s highest governing body, has affirmed President Ruth Simmons’s recommendation to maintain its campus ban on ROTC.

The latest CBS/New York Times GOP presidential preference poll has Herman Cain at 25 percent, Mitt Romney 21, Newt Gingrich 10, Ron Paul 8, Rick Perry 6, Michele Bachmann 2, Jon Huntsman 1, and Rick Santorum 1. A quarter of respondents failed to choose any of the announced candidates. And most of…

Herman Cain is coming off perhaps his worst week as a presidential candidate. Last Tuesday, he said that he could see himself potentially negotiating with terrorists and releasing several hundred prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in exchange for the release of one American soldier. That same night, in…

Rick Perry:  "My Tax and Spending Reform Plan"

The president has announced a new program to let people refinance their mortgages.

An illuminating slide show from Martin Kramer called, "October 1973: Panorama and Myopia."

ABC News reports:

Andrea Peyser's column in today's New York Post exposes the anti-Semitism problem at Occupy Wall Street:

Consumer experts advise us not to store perishable items like milk in the refrigerator door because of the fluctuation in temperature that occurs every time we open and close it. This explains why our milk occasionally goes bad before the expiration date. As it turns out, something similar is…

As President Obama travels around the country at taxpayer expense to peddle his newest stimulus proposal, his Council of Economic Advisors has yet to release its 8th Quarterly Report on Obama’s first stimulus — you know, the one that cost a cool $787,000,000,000.00. Perhaps this is just a…

A new poll from Magellan Strategies, a Republican-affiliated firm, shows Mitt Romney with a large lead in Nevada. According to the survey of 673 likely Republican caucus goers in Nevada, Romney leads with 38 percent, Herman Cain comes in second with 26 percent, and Newt Gingrich is in third with 16…

Former Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman blasted President Obama’s Iraq drawdown over the weekend, saying that the president’s “statement [was] of failure, not success.”

Rick Perry's campaign has announced that it has secured the endorsement of Steve Forbes, the former Republican presidential candidate, economist, editor, and publisher:

Mitt Romney welcomes President Obama to Nevada with this ad, highlighting the poor economy in the Silver State:  

Former general Jack Keane seems to agree with Senator Lindsey Graham's assessment of President Obama's Iraq policy. The Washington Times reports: "President Obama’s decision to pull all U.S. forces out of Iraq by Dec. 31 is an 'absolute disaster' that puts the burgeoning Arab democracy at risk of…

Is America's war policy being made in order to further the national interest, or is it purely political? According to South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, it's the latter. "I would argue Iraq and Afghanistan is being run out of Chicago, not Washington, in terms of decisions," Graham said, the…

Financial Times: "Europe is now leveraging for a catastrophe"

A movement is growing among atheists to demand honesty about their own intellectual convictions. Sooner or later, one by one, some face the fact that the deepest secular ideals are rooted in the soil of Jewish and Christian conceptions, nowhere else. Honesty commands some of them to state openly…

It’s never good when the New York Times covers comic books. 

It’s not just the Occupy Wall Street rabble who are promoting unorthodox ideas (to put it kindly) about our economic plight and how to create jobs. They have friends in Washington. A few examples:

In the encounter between writer and city, there is a certain distance of perspective—neither blurringly close nor loftily Olympian—at which the urban subject comes into sharpest focus. In this well-proportioned narrative history of Jerusalem, Simon Sebag Montefiore pulls in close and trains a…

In late February, New Jersey governor Chris Christie visited Washington to deliver a highly anticipated speech on entitlement reform at the American Enterprise Institute. The lecture was titled “It’s Time to Do the Big Things,” and it was full of the blunt, confrontational talk that has made the…

Three Republican presidential candidates​—​Herman Cain, Ron Paul, and Newt Gingrich​—​have at least hinted about the desirability of a return to the gold standard. The four top Republican congressional leaders recently called on the Federal Reserve to curb its interventions in the U.S. economy. In…

As recently as a century ago, Sir Walter Scott was known all over Europe and America. In life he had been the original literary celebrity, called “the Great Unknown” because his novels were published anonymously, although everybody knew their author’s identity. By the time of his death in 1832 his…

This is a brief but vigorous defense of museums in the grand manner. Begun as the 2009 Campbell Lectures at Rice University, Museums Matter emerged as an opportunity for Cuno, president and CEO of the Getty Trust, to explore the origins and future of the modern museum: Where does the encyclopedic…

The foiled Iranian plot to blow up the Saudi ambassador to the United States has met with a tough U.S. response. Tough talk. And lots of it. If words were dollars, the federal budget deficit would have disappeared, as U.S. officials from President Obama to Vice President Biden to Secretary of State…

Hong Kong

Just a few weeks ago, former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain was stuck in single -digits in the Republican presidential primary polls. Then, on September 22, Texas governor Rick Perry turned in a disastrous debate performance. He said opponents of his immigration policy don’t “have a heart,” and…

The Ides of March is just about the last movie I expected to like.

Last week, federal authorities arrested Mansoor 

During his four-year tenure as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen embodied the quiet professionalism of the American officer corps. He had been chief of naval operations, yet became the steward of two difficult and draining counter-insurgency campaigns, freeing generals in…

The presidential campaign was heating up, and the progressives in office were nervous about their chances of holding the White House. It was unclear at first which contender for the Republican nomination would get the nod, but when the candidate eventually was chosen they denounced him as “a…

Incumbent Republican governor Bobby Jindal was reelected yesterday in Louisiana's blanket primary election. Jindal, who received 65 percent of the vote against 9 other opponents, won a clear majority and therefore will not face a runoff. Jindal carried all 64 parishes and made big gains in Cajun…

The New Hampshire Union Leader reports:

Max Boot writes: 

Of all the many contributions for which to thank Apple founder Steve Jobs—user-friendly PCs (easy drag and drops, visual trashcans for old files, just one disk drive), iPods and iTunes (though record stores and CD jewel case factories may disagree), and the iPhone—we would be remiss if we didn't…

Barack Obama might be on to something. He has brought class warfare to American politics. Well, revived it anyway, after Al Gore rode it to a loss in the 2000 presidential election. In fact, America has seen such outbreaks from time to time, most notably when William Jennings Bryan represented the…

Foreign Policy: "How the Obama administration bungled the Iraq withdrawal negotiations"

Today, President Obama declared the successful completion of his strategy to remove all American military forces from Iraq by the end of the year. He said: “[E]nsuring the success of this strategy has been one of my highest national security priorities” since taking office. “Over the next two…

Phil Klein notes that Cain keeps digging himself a deeper hole:

Senator John McCain responds to President Obama's announcement that all U.S. troops will leave Iraq by January:

Andy S. Gomez, an Assistant Provost and Senior Fellow at the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban & Cuban-American Studies, writes in an email in response to the Washington Post's story on Marco Rubio: 

The Washington Post has taken a beating for publishing a report claiming that Florida senator Marco Rubio "embellished" the story of how his parents left Cuba. The story is ridiculously hyped and based on the false premise that Rubio's parents don't count as "exiles" because they first came to the…

Navy captain Phil Keith (Ret.), a fighter pilot commissioned through NROTC at Harvard, has just published a history, Crimson Valor, profiling the 17 graduates of Harvard who have been awarded the Medal of Honor. Harvard has more alumni Medal of Honor recipients than any other institution of higher…

Every day, President Obama reads ten letters from real Americans, hand selected by members of his staff. Some days, apparently when he is moved, the president even responds with a hand written note. And on even rarer occasions, ABC News reports, President Obama sends the constituent a personal…

James Pindell reports: 

Charles Krauthammer, writing in the Washington Post:

In a 50-50 vote last night, the Senate voted down the first piece of a promised series of bills designed to pass President Barack Obama's jobs bill piecemeal. This first measure was a $35 billion state aid package for education and first responders. A separate Republican-sponsored jobs bill was…

According to Gallup, Barack Obama's quarterly approval hit an all-time low in the president's eleventh quarter in office at 41 percent.

The Associated Press reports: 

Huffington Post: "Steve Jobs Biography Reveals He Told Obama, 'You're Headed For A One-Term Presidency'"

Harry Reid said something colossally stupid this week: “The massive layoffs we’ve had in America today—of course, they’re rooted in the last administration—and it’s very clear that private sector jobs are doing just fine. It's the public sector jobs where we’ve lost huge numbers, and that's what…

ThinkProgress, the blog of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, is out with a new report tonight from a Paul Ryan town hall event in Wisconsin: "Paul Ryan Tells Student He Should Work Three Jobs To Pay For College, Not Use Pell Grants." 

The Washington Post released a story this afternoon titled "Marco Rubio’s compelling family story embellishes facts, documents show."

"Libya will travel a long and winding road to democracy."

In its fight with the state over immigration, President Obama’s Justice Department is treating Alabama as if it hasn’t changed since the ugly segregationist days of the 1960s.

On October 16, 100,000 Indian Muslims gathered for a “mahapanchayat”—a mass assembly of local council leaders—in Moradabad, a city in Uttar Pradesh, the country’s leading state in population, with about 200 million people, a majority of them Muslim. At a press conference announcing the convocation,…

It wasn't pretty. In the end, Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi, soaked in blood, was jostled around by rebel forces and either succumbed to his wounds or was finished off. Thanks to digital technology, the entire world can now see the dictator in his final moments and later his lifeless corpse…

Herman Cain's confusing remarks on abortion during an appearance last night on CNN are getting a lot of attention today in the media and conservative blogosphere. Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum blasted Cain for taking a "pro-choice position" that is "similar to those held by John…

On Sunday, October 16, the Algerian writer Boualem Sansal was awarded the prestigious Peace Prize of the German Book Trade at Frankfurt’s historic St. Paul’s Church. Sansal is the author of six novels, including the widely praised The German Mujahid (Europa Editions, 2009), the first of his novels…

 UK prime minister David Cameron:

ROTC will not be returning to Brown University if the corporation, the university’s highest governing body, follows the recommendation just released by President Ruth J. Simmons.

Public Policy Polling (PPP) has a new survey showing Barack Obama may be in real trouble in Ohio, the perennial swing state that he won by just over 260,000 votes in 2008. According to PPP, Obama's approval rating in Ohio is at 43 percent, with only 39 percent of independents approving of his job.

The latest Rasmussen poll shows Herman Cain leading Mitt Romney by 7 points among likely Iowa caucusgoers. Recent polls by PPP and Insider Advantage have shown Cain leading Romney by a similar margin. 

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann sat down last night with Steve Hayes, Bret Baier, Charles Krauthammer, and A. B. Stoddard for a roundtable interview on Fox News: 

In her remarks to the 41st Washington Conference on the Americas this past May, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared the Western Hemisphere “vital” to U.S. interests, adding that Latin America and the United States “will rise or fall together in the 21st century.” Unfortunately, the Obama…

The New York Times reports: 

Matt Labash reviews Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone: The Essential Writing of Hunter S. Thompson in the Wall Street Journal:

The Hill reports that the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), an AFL-CIO affiliated union, is out with a new ad campaign urging Congress to pass a provision of the president's jobs bill being brought to the Senate floor this week. The provision allots $35 billion to the states to…

Financial Times: "Greece approves austerity bill on first reading"

USA Today: World Series game one is tonight -- play ball!

Vice President Joe Biden refused to answer questions about whether opposition to the president's jobs bill would lead to more rapes and murders. 

Fresh off of last night's debate on CNN, the Romney campaign has a new video with a mash-up of GOP rival Rick Perry's worst performances at all of the recent debates. The question the video asks is if Perry is "ready to lead." Watch below:

It’s hard to imagine that an error-free presidency could produce such devastating results, but apparently that’s exactly what has happened. In an interview with ABC’s Jake Tapper, President Obama said,

Former two-term Republican governor of Hawaii Linda Lingle entered the 2012 Senate race last week to replace retiring Democrat Daniel Akaka. A new poll from Public Policy Polling (PPP) shows she may make a competitive showing in a state that has only elected one Republican to the U.S. Senate in its…

NJ.com reports: 

We all suspected this was the case, but you're always surprised when one of the most powerful Democrats in the country just comes out and demonstrates the extent to which his party is beholden to public sector union campaign cash:

Las Vegas

In yet another classic Obama administration Friday night news dump, the administration abandoned the CLASS Act last week. The progam was a major component of the Obamacare law, intended to address long-term care issues. While long-term care costs are a significant problem, the CLASS Act was a…

During last night's GOP presidential debate in Las Vegas, moderator Anderson Cooper asked former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney if foreign aid should be eliminated. Romney indicated that he supported foreign aid for defense but not humanitarian purposes.

In today’s Wall Street Journal, Arthur Laffer provides a high-profile endorsement of Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan. Laffer writes, “Mr. Cain's 9-9-9 plan was designed to be what economists call ‘static revenue neutral,’ which means that if people didn’t change what they do under his plan, total tax…

A new pair of polls from NBC News and Marist College shows Herman Cain with a slight lead over Mitt Romney in South Carolina and Florida, two key early primary states. MSNBC reports:

From the New York Times write up of last night's debate:

The Congressional Budget Office’s recently released scorecard for fiscal year 2011 begs a simple question: Why is the federal government spending nearly one-third more money now than it did just five years ago? The CBO says that the federal government spent $2,729,000,000,000.00 in 2007 and…

The latest Rasmussen poll of likely voters shows that, by a margin of 16 percentage points (54 to 38 percent), Americans support the repeal of Obamacare. Among independents, the margin is 30 points — 61 to 31 percent.

The Hill: "Immigration sparks war of words between Romney, Perry at debate"

The Obama administration’s abandonment of its efforts to implement the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act underscores something that conservatives have been arguing for two years: Regardless of what you think about more or less government regulation of health care,…

At Tuesday night’s debate in Las Vegas, Mitt Romney faced attacks on his record on health care, particularly the close relationship between his health care reform in Massachusetts and Obamacare. But Texas governor Rick Perry was particularly forceful when criticizing Romney, primarily for his…

During tonight’s Republican presidential debate, Mitt Romney’s Massachusetts health care legislation was a hot topic of discussion, as he was challenged on it more strongly than in any previous debate. Rick Santorum was the first to advance the topic, saying, “Governor Romney, you just don't have…

Herman Cain's advice for Occupy Wall Street in tonight's Republican presidential debate: protest President Obama and his policies, instead of the banks.

Herman Cain knew he had a big bullseye on his back going into tonight's debate, but that foreknowledge didn't help him dodge many of the arrows shot his way.

Las Vegas

Mitt Romney, responding to an assertion from Rick Perry that the Massachusetts governor hired illegals to do his lawn work:

Last week, Vice President Joe Biden warned that more people would likely be raped and murdered if President Obama's jobs bill is not passed. "In 2008, when Flint had 265 sworn officers on their police force, there were 35 murders and 91 rapes in this city," Biden said at an event in Flint,…

Townhall.com has the video of Cain's CNN appearance:

New York Times: "Massachusetts Tries to Rein In Its Health Cost"

Las Vegas

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will be moving forward this week on a piece of President Obama's failed jobs bill--a $35 billion provision of state aid for education and first responders. But Reid told reporters today that some of the education money may not go to actually saving the…

Last week, Senator Jon Tester, D-Mont., forcefully condemned business that have dealings with Iran. Not surprisingly, Tester used the issue to zero in on Koch Industries. Since the Koch brothers are patrons of many conservative and libertarian causes (at least when the DSCC isn't begging Koch for…

At an event in Tennessee over the weekend, Herman Cain told a crowd that he might put up an electrified fence on the Southern border to stop illegal immigration. The line seemed to be a variation of his joke that he would put an alligator-filled moat on the border. And on Sunday, during a Meet the…

In an interview that will be aired tonight on ABC News, President Obama continues to express his commitment to the Occupy Wall Street protesters. 

Americans were stunned on October 11 when the Justice Department unsealed its complaint against Mansour Arbabsiar, a 56-year-old used-car dealer from Corpus Christi now in federal custody, and Ali Gholam Shakuri, a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force. Shakuri remains inside…

Senator John McCain called President Barack Obama’s 3-day bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia “a campaign trip” and said it was “unfortunate” that U.S. taxpayers are footing the bill. 

Last week, the Obama administration essentially admitted that the CLASS Act, Obamacare's long-term care program, was actuarially unsustainable and announced they would cease implementing it. The CLASS Act was said to be responsible for more than half of the deficit savings that the health care bill…

Unless you were unconscious last week – or perhaps a Yankees, Phillies or Red Sox fan in October isolation – you’ve likely seen the extraordinary online video of a horned beast attacking a mountain biker in South Africa. It’s captivating because of the random violence and the fact that the biker…

My before-dinner drink almost inevitably is a martini or a whiskey on ice. Despite running an online booze review site for over a decade and tasting nearly every alcoholic beverage known to man (and liking many of them), I reflexively return to these stand-bys. 

Wonderful photos of a liberated Gilad Shalit:

During Herman Cain’s generally strong performance on Meet the Press on Sunday, David Gregory asked him, “Would you seek a constitutional ban for same sex marriage?” Cain replied, “I wouldn’t seek a constitutional ban for same sex marriage, but I am pro-traditional marriage.” Gregory followed up:…

On Friday, the Obama administration announced that it was abandoning the CLASS (Community Living Assistance Services and Supports) Act, because it was impossible to certify (as was required by law) that this aspect of Obamacare is financially sound. Now, in a surprise turn, the Hill reports,…

Rupert Murdoch: "The Steve Jobs Model for Education Reform"

The New York Times reports: 

Matt Strawn, the chairman of the Iowa Republican party, announced the 2012 Iowa caucuses will be held on January 3, moving up from the planned February 6 date. From the press release:

John Merline: "The Austerity Myth: Federal Spending Up 5% This Year"

There is no way around the contradictions and dangers inherent in Israel's decision to free over 1,000 prisoners in order to liberate Gilad Shalit. The only effect of a hard try to square the circle and make every contradiction disappear is a bad headache.

After the Senate blocked a vote on President Obama's jobs bill last week, Democratic leaders vowed to push for votes on the separate parts of the $447 billion package. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced today he will start by holding a vote "as soon as possible" on a proposal to…

WEEKLY STANDARD contributing editor Charles Krauthammer seeks a research assistant for a one- or two-year term. Send résumé to job@charleskrauthammer.com.

RealClearPolitics captured video of President Barack Obama's speech in North Carolina today, where he said that the Republican plan for the economy is to have "dirtier air, dirtier water, less [sic] people with health insurance." Watch the video here.

Last week, the Emergency Committee for Israel released this ad, calling attention to the anti-Semitism present at the Occupy Wall Street protests and asking Democratic politicians who have embraced the movement to denounce these individuals:

This afternoon, Congressman Ron Paul released his “Plan to Restore America,” which would cut $1 trillion in spending during the first year of the Paul administration.

The Washington Post claimed (on Twitter) that it had an "EXCLUSIVE" scoop on Friday: 

Yesterday, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence chair Diane Feinstein, appeared on Fox News Sunday to explain that the Obama administration has solid proof Iran was plotting to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States in Washington. The case, said Feinstein, is “dead bang” and the signals…

Rasmussen:

The Romney campaign announced today that three North Carolina Republican congressmen have endorsed MItt Romney for president. Howard Coble, Virginia Foxx, and Patrick McHenry praised Romney for his business experience and economic know-how in prepared statements.

Recent Republican presidential candidate debates have featured a 30-second ad sponsored by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation in support of more cuts to defense spending. The commercial, however, is misleading.

A new poll by Rasmussen shows only 44 percent of Americans think cameras at traffic intersections are a good idea, while another 44 percent don't think they are a good idea. But those surveyed are much more supportive of surveillance cameras in police cars and in public spaces:

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain performed quite well on Meet the Press Sunday morning. It's worth watching the entire segment posted below. (You can find a transcript here.)

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) now estimates that the federal deficit for the recently completed fiscal year (2011) was $1.3 trillion, or 8.6 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). This is historic stuff: Prior to the year that President Obama was inaugurated, the only deficits in…

On the heels of a Rasmussen poll showing that Newt Gingrich has moved up into 3rd place in the Republican presidential race, a subsequent Rasmussen polls offers Gingrich less encouraging news. The poll of likely voters shows President Obama leading Gingrich by a tally of 2-to-1 among women (56 to…

The Hill: "Obama wants $35 billion for teachers, first-responders first"

Russia and China’s October 4 veto of a U.N. -Security Council resolution on Syria elicited a strong response from U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice. “The United States is outraged,” said Rice, “that this Council has utterly failed to address an urgent moral challenge and a growing threat to…

At the start of every economic downturn in memory there has been a chorus of voices saying that recovery is just a matter of “confidence.” Supposedly all we have to do is pick ourselves up and “not talk ourselves into a recession.” Politicians, particularly those in power, are the ones who adhere…

The Dickens bicentenary is nearly upon us (he was born in February 1812), and he will not lack for biographical attention. Over the past decade there has been much scholarly activity on his behalf: the completion of 12 volumes of letters; a four-volume edition of his journalism; continuing…

New York 

What if Hannibal had won? What if Carthage rather than Rome had become the dominant power in the Mediterranean?

Perhaps the best commentary on the news that Vladimir Putin will return as president of Russia next year, with placeholder-in-chief Dmitry Medvedev stepping aside for his longtime mentor, was offered in a caustic satirical poem in the three-times-a-week independent paper Novaya Gazeta by maverick…

Recent reports, no less than their accompanying photos, suggest that Hugo Chávez may be dying. But if he hangs on, he is on his way to being reelected president again in Venezuela’s December 2012 national elections. The Western hemisphere’s second-greatest political survivor (after Fidel Castro) is…

‘Many saw me as an unlikely urban champion,” admits Rick Baker, who served two terms as mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida’s fourth-largest city, and was named Governing magazine’s top mayor in 2008. Baker isn’t just being humble: He’s a social and economic conservative, and conservatives generally…

The most striking thing about Patricia Bosworth’s new biography of Jane Fonda (Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 608 pp., $30), which took her a decade to write but is only slightly better than those straight-to-paperback junk books Fawcett Crest used to…

I was surprised the other day at lunch when someone asked me a question that, I suppose, must come with age: Had I any regrets in life? 

About halfway through his 1984 State of the Union address, Ronald Reagan laid out the need for major tax reform. “There’s a better way,” he said. “Let us go forward with a historic reform for fairness, simplicity, and incentives for growth.” Reagan then proceeded to lay out an ambitious agenda:…

Mark Twain once said that it was more interesting to talk to Civil War veterans about battles than to chat with poets about the moon as the versifiers had not ordinarily been to the moon.

London

President Obama spent 75 excruciating minutes at a White House press conference last week touting his “jobs” bill and accusing Republicans in Congress of blocking an economic resurgence. He took questions from nine reporters and delivered long and tedious answers. Two days earlier, by the way, New…

Judging by the incoherence of their agenda and the relatively small number of participants, you could say the Occupy Wall Street protesters aren’t serious. Their spirit is captured in this anecdote from New York’s Zuccotti Park, reported in the New York Times: “One woman gave a pep talk to what…

Last week, the Rick Perry campaign announced with great fanfare that the Texas governor had raised $17 million for his presidential campaign in the July-September quarter. That’s more than any other GOP hopeful, and since Perry was a recent entrant to the presidential race, he raised that sum in…

The American people want Obamacare to be repealed. Republicans in particular consider the fate of Obamacare to be the most important thing at stake in the upcoming presidential election. Most independents share the Republicans’ view that Obamacare must go, and even some Democrats concur. In light…

NBC's David Gregory "If you don't pay taxes now, and you now have income taxes and a sales tax, you pay more in taxes." "The people who spend more money on new goods." Cain responded in part by http://www.therightscoop.com/

The front page of Saturday's Washington Post featured a story titled "Obama looks to harness anti-Wall St. angst" directly below a picture of a wild-looking protester strangling a police officer with this caption: "A man affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street protests tackles a police officer…

During the 2011 fiscal year, the U.S. federal government spent $1.3 trillion more than it collected in revenues. Eliminating the deficit is not an easy thing to do. President Obama has never proposed a path to a balanced budget. Republican House budget committee chairman Paul Ryan's bold yet…

Following a rally in Tennessee this afternoon, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain criticized what he called some "dumb" foreign policy moves that President Obama has made in recent months. 

With the Obama administration’s abandonment of its CLASS (Community Living Assistance Services and Supports) Act yesterday, the cost of Obamacare for its real first six years alone (2014 to 2019) just went up $53.6 billion, according to Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates. The  AP reports,…

In light of the rioting in Egypt and attacks against Coptic Christians, President Obama earlier this week urged restraint and calm. The White House statement read, in part,

President Barack Obama has a ten year $447 billion jobs plan, but the Senate isn’t buying it. The Republicans have a jobs plan, but the Democrats aren’t buying it. Keynesian economists have a jobs plan, but economists who don’t believe in borrow-and-spend to stimulate demand aren’t buying it. Obama…

Politico: "Geithner: Action against Wall St. coming"

The Associated Press reports:

Occupybostonglobe.com has photos of "A flash mob, calling for the release of Tarek Mehanna, Downtown Boston, MA, on Sunday, Oct. 09, 2011. Mehanna is a prisoner, held with out bail, awaiting trial since 2008." Here's a screen grab of the mob:

Criticizing a company for doing business with Iran is perfectly valid. However, it appears that the objections of Senator Jon Tester, D-Mont., regarding this issue aren't quite as principled as they might appear. Tester recently put up this press release on his website:

Ben Smith reports:  

A new poll from a Republican polling firm shows Herman Cain could be gaining strength in New Hampshire, even though the state's long-time front-runner Mitt Romney maintains a comfortable lead among the state's Republican primary voters.

At a House Armed Services Committee yesterday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey warned against making further reductions to future defense spending, telling lawmakers that further cuts will “truly devastate our national defense.”

More good news for Republican Tom Cotton in his race for the open 4th Congressional District seat in Arkansas. 

Mitt Romney's campaign announced this morning that it raised "more than $14 million for the third quarter."

From FPI's latest fact sheet, "The Dangers of Deep Defense Cuts: What America’s Civilian and Military Leaders are Saying:"

ABC News: "President Obama Phones Speaker Boehner; Gets an Earful"

Over the last 50 years, we have seen a remarkable transformation of the American electorate. The percentage of people identifying as Democrats has been cut nearly in half – from 51 percent in 1961 to 30 percent in 2011. Republicans have seen some gains from this, but the biggest jump has been in…

Conn Carroll: "Will Friday clean-up end Occupy Wall Street?"

Iran experts continue to express surprise and confusion that Iran’s Quds Force could be a part of such an amateurish and bungled operation.

The Eugene Register-Guard reports:

The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows Herman Cain leading the Republican presidential race, while the latest Rasmussen poll shows Cain tied for first with Mitt Romney. The NBC/WSJ poll shows Cain leading Romney by 4 percentage points, 27 to 23 percent. Two months ago, Cain was at 5…

Democratic leaders have been quick to embrace Occupy Wall Street. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has been fundraising off the protesters. Nancy Pelosi believes that God should bless the movement. And many other Democrats seem to have simply embraced Occupy Wall Street by expressing…

A new Emergency Committee for Israel ad asks Democratic leaders who have embraced Occupy Wall Street to condemn the anti-Semitism elements of the protest. "Why are our leaders turning a blind eye to anti-Semitic, anti-Israel attacks?" the ad asks. "Tell president Obama and Leader Pelosi to stand up…

Last night was the Spirit of Mount Vernon dinner held on the grounds of George Washington's estate, an annual gala sponsored by the Distilled Spirits Council and other associations to benefit the new George Washington National Library (some $200,000 was raised). The crowd included distillers large…

This morning, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the protests on Wall Street are "justified" and that the status quo in Washington is "unacceptable."

Here is what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had to say during an interview with NBC’s Today Show about the Iranian plot to kill Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.S.

Reuel Marc Gerecht writes in the Wall Street Journal: 

During Tuesday night’s debate, Michele Bachmann twice said that the federal government is spending about “40 percent more” than what it takes in. If only we were in that good of shape. The federal government has actually been spending about 75 percent more than what it takes in. For every $4 that…

New York Times: "U.S. Challenged to Explain Accusations of Iran Plot in the Face of Skepticism"

The New Republic: "Protests and Power: Should liberals support Occupy Wall Street?"

This past Sunday night, the Egyptian revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak took another wrong turn when the same army once believed to be “hand in hand” with the people killed 27 Coptic Christians in Cairo and wounded hundreds of others. The Copts were marching toward Egyptian state television in…

The revelation that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps and its Quds Force had plotted to kill Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States – by blowing him up as he dined at a Washington restaurant – is a stark reminder of the nature of the Tehran regime and its ambitions. But perhaps the…

A new web video from the Massachusetts Republican Party says Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren is "too divisive" and "too radical." Watch below:

Last night, two Democratic senators helped block a motion to debate and vote on the president's jobs bill. That hasn't stopped Barack Obama from arguing that it was Republicans in the Senate who are solely responsible for holding up his bill's movement.

During last night’s debate, when Herman Cain had the opportunity to ask another candidate one question, he said, “The 9-9-9 plan that I have proposed is simple, transparent, efficient, fair, and neutral. My question is to Governor Romney. Can you name all 59 points in your 160-page plan, and does…

The Democratic but pretty reliable firm Public Policy Polling shows Herman Cain surging to first place: 

With regard to the Iranian plot to kill the Saudi ambassador at a restaurant, the Washington Post's Reliable Source reports, "Justice officials did not ID an eatery—and said there never was a specific restaurant. But they describe the suspect Mansour Arbabsiar allegedly talking with a DEA informant…

In Flint, Michigan, Vice President Joe Biden suggested that more rapes and murders could occur if President Barack Obama's jobs bill is not passed.

During Tuesday night’s debate in New Hampshire, moderator Karen Tumulty challenged Mitt Romney on his recent tough talk on China. Romney says China is a “currency manipulator” and argues that, by setting unfair prices and allowing the theft of American intellectual property, the Chinese government…

Will it turn out worse than Solyndra?:

Fox News reports: 

When Barack Obama campaigned for president in 2008, he promised to “cut investments in unproven missile defense systems.” The word “unproven,” folks worried, could be used against every defense system that hasn’t intercepted a missile in combat. And, indeed, Obama did cut missile defense programs. 

Yesterday, I noted that the criminal complaint filed in the case of an Iranian plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.S. includes references to what appear to be senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) commanders. These IRGC-QF personalities were unnamed in the…

In endorsing Mitt Romney for President, Chris Christie alleged that, when it comes to health care, “Any attempt to try to compare what happened in Massachusetts and what the president has done to the United States of America with his plan is completely intellectually dishonest.” The problem with…

Steve Hayes, with Juan Williams and Charles Krauthammer, last night on Fox News: 

James Taranto: "The Left's Nervous Breakdown"

The United States is just over a year from choosing the next leader of the free world. So why was one side of the battle totally hung up on whether Rick Perry would make any gaffes in last night’s debate? Isn’t that more than a little ridiculous? Is this what the framers of the Constitution had in…

Hanover, N.H.

In Tuesday's debate, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney once again made clear that he thinks cutting defense spending is a bad idea, even at a time when he supports reducing the size of government. The former Massachusetts governor was answering a question about the debt deal…

During tonight’s GOP presidential debate, Mitt Romney vowed — for the first time — to advance legislation to repeal Obamacare “on day-2,” pledging to use the reconciliation process (the same process by which Obamacare was ultimately passed) to do so. This is a welcome step forward for Romney, who…

At the beginning of the second hour of Tuesday night's debate in Hanover, New Hampshire, moderator Charlie Rose prompted each candidate to ask another candidate a question. More than half the candidates used the opportunity to take on Romney.

Another Republican presidential debate, another forceful performance by Mitt Romney. The subject was the economy, jobs, and finance—Romney’s strong suits—and he made the most of it, having more to say on those subjects and saying it more cogently than the other seven candidates.

Michael Barone --  " Mitt Romney sounding presidential at Dartmouth":

The Hill reports:

The AP reports: 

Hanover, N.H.

The Obama administration has accused members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of plotting to kill Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.S. And, according to press reports, the putative assassination plot was just one of multiple planned attacks, including possible attacks on Saudi and…

The Hill: "Dems scramble to save face on jobs bill"

Yesterday’s New York Times published an A-section article actually highlighting that, about 50 years before Rick Perry’s birth, his alma mater, Texas A&M, had Klansmen on campus: “In 1968, Mr. Perry left home for Texas A&M, a deeply conservative university whose yearbooks early in the century…

The Omaha World-Herald has a profile of presidential candidate Herman Cain's time at the helm of Godfather's Pizza:

Those of you who live outside the Beltway probably aren't terribly familiar with Federal Times. It's a weekly newspaper that covers the happenings at federal agencies directed mostly at an audience of federal employees and federal managers.

The latest PPP survey of “probable Iowa caucusgoers” shows dramatic changes over the past two months in the Republican race in Iowa. Since August, Herman Cain is up 23 percentage points (to 30 percent), Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are up 3 points apiece (to 22 and 8 percent, respectively), Rick…

Steve Jobs, as everyone knows, died last week at 56.

One of the six ways the Supreme Court could rule on Obamacare is to strike down its individual mandate while keeping the rest of the health care overhaul intact.  Politico reports that liberal legislators, anticipating this prospect, are looking for alternatives to the federal mandate, especially…

Fox News reports:

The current economic downturn (or is it the postrecession recovery?) has claimed yet another victim: Friendly's Ice Cream. The company has filed for Chapter 11 and will close 63 underperforming locations (mostly in Massachusetts) with roughly 420 restaurants remaining. Aside from the $300 million…

Former Hawaii governor Linda Lingle is expected to announce a 2012 run for the U.S. Senate today. A Republican who served two terms in Honolulu, Lingle would be running to replace retiring Democrat Daniel Akaka, who is not seeking reelection.

The soft-Islamist Turkish government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development party (known by its Turkish initials as the AKP) has expansive foreign-policy ambitions. In addition to its embrace of the Hamas regime in Gaza and accompanying criticism of Israel, Ankara…

CNN reports that a new anti-Assad coalition is forming: 

The RNC this morning is blasting out these devastating Obama era numbers:

Two new polls of Republicans and those who lean Republican show a sizable number of likely voters remain undecided on the 2012 presidential race.

NBC reports: 

Fred Barnes, with Mort Kondracke and Charles Krauthammer, last night on Fox News:

New York Post: "Aimless Obama walks alone"

On Sunday, the grand mufti of Syria warned the West that the Assad regime is prepared to play hardball in the event of foreign intervention.  “I say to all of Europe, I say to America, we will set up suicide bombers who are now in your countries, if you bomb Syria or Lebanon,” Ahmad Badreddine…

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has released a martyrdom statement for Anwar al Awlaki, the al Qaeda cleric who was killed in a U.S. drone strike last month. AQAP claims – like many critics of the strike – that slaying Awlaki violated American law because the U.S. government “did not prove…

Charles Krauthammer seeks a research assistant for one or two year term. Email resume to job[at]charleskrauthammer.com.

Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts reported raising $3.15 million in her first quarter as a candidate. Warren is challenging incumbent Republican senator Scott Brown. The Boston Globe reports:

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The latest Rasmussen poll of likely voters shows President Obama beating Herman Cain by just 3 percentage points (42 to 39 percent). Among independent voters, Obama leads by only 1 point: 38 to 37 percent. Rasmussen shows Cain faring better against Obama than any other GOP candidate except for Mitt…

"In lapidary inscriptions," said Dr. Johnson, "a man is not under oath." Still, I have been a little startled by the Princess Diana-style reaction to the death of Steve Jobs. The Internet has been weighted down with lachrymose tributes; even the mainstream press is given over to extended…

Opponents of state ballot initiatives that outlaw race and gender based affirmative action programs have vowed to take their fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Ward Connerly, the former University of California Regent who was the galvanizing influence behind Proposition 209, which amended…

A new poll from Harvard University and Saint Anselm College shows Herman Cain moving into a solid second place behind front-runner Mitt Romney among New Hampshire primary voters.

Vlad’s at it again. Floating plans for a new ‘Eurasian Union’, Putin has given the West a telling new glimpse at the kind of foreign policy it ought to expect when, as expected, Dmitri Medvedev returns the presidency in March.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney made clear, in a foreign policy speech on Friday, that he believes “American strength rises from a strong economy, a strong defense, and the enduring strength of our values.” Romney then pledged to “reverse President Obama’s massive defense cuts” and to…

From an email sent by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC):

Mitt Romney has announced the endosements of former Republican senators Judd Gregg and Mel Martinez. Gregg, a three-term senator and former governor of New Hampshire, is a popular player in Granite State politics. A senator from Florida for four and a half years, Martinez was also chairman of the…

Fred Barnes writes in the Wall Street Journal:  

Rick Perry has a new, high-quality web ad that renews the charge that Mitt Romney has flip-flopped on health care reform. Watch below:

Life is, undoubtedly, bittersweet. But not America. According to President Obama, America is bittersoft.

Hamlet without one of the principal players. That is the way that accounts of European culture between the two World Wars now begin to look after René Blum & The Ballets Russes: In Search of a Lost Life. For Blum was a distinguished playwright, editor, critic, impresario, and curator, but above all…

Rick Perry is not always his best defender. For the last two weeks, Mitt Romney has hammered Perry over a Texas law the governor signed which allows children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state college tuition. At the Orlando debate, for instance, Romney said sardonically, “To go to the…

Harry Butcher, an aide to General Eisenhower throughout his time as supreme commander in Europe, and gossipy diarist par excellence, reports the following remarks made by the mild-mannered Kansan on July 10, 1944:

In the mid-19th century, the Scottish man of letters Thomas Carlyle coined the term “Hero-worship,” by which he meant the high regard, entirely proper in his view, that ordinary people have for the great figures of their history. His project in Lectures on Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in…

If there’s no crying in baseball, as Tom Hanks explained in A League of Their Own, there is plenty of weeping in baseball movies—from Bang the Drum Slowly and The Natural to the newest offering, Moneyball. I’d extend a spoiler alert at this point, but the tears that Brad Pitt, playing Oakland A’s…

We are either in the third or fourth year of the great economic crisis, and Hollywood’s response has been, quite simply, to act as if there isn’t one. To date, there has been one movie—let me repeat that, one movie—that has made the effect of the crisis its central subject. And that film, The…

The Scrapbook is not superstitious, but there was a curious, and slightly disconcerting, convergence of Deep Think last week that caught our attention. It began with a front-page story in the New York Times—“As Scorn for Vote Grows, Protests Surge Around the Globe” by Nicholas Kulish (Sept.…

The scene was one of jubilation, as British prime minister David Cameron and French president Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Libya’s capital on September 15 to cheering throngs waving British and French flags. The two men basked in the glow of victory, as well they should. Both had advocated armed…

Among the many shortcomings of the Budget Control Act and its spawn, the “Super Committee,” is that the threat of a sequestration “nuclear option”—in which some $600 billion would be cut automatically from national security accounts if congressmen do not find savings elsewhere—diverts attention…

The Obama administration’s 2010 Nuclear Posture Review adopted the goals of reduced reliance on nuclear weapons, continued nuclear weapons reductions, and the ultimate, if controversial, goal of “nuclear zero”—the elimination of those weapons altogether. At the same time, it pledged to maintain a…

For a success, Barack Obama is a very bad politician, the worst politician to win the presidency by an electoral landslide, to never lose a major election, or to rise to the presidency from a state legislature in little more than four years. He has gone from sterling campaigner to put-upon leader;…

I said a lot of things, but Cissy did them. —Alice Roosevelt Longworth  

In 1941, a decade after the death of Kahlil Gibran, his good friend Witter Bynner responded to a query from a student asking about the Lebanese-born poet, artist, and philosopher. “Perhaps the best illustration I can give you of the man’s personal quality,” replied Bynner, “is an episode which took…

Both President Obama and Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain went to graduate school. Obama got a degree at Harvard Law School. Cain did his graduate work at Purdue and Burger King University. That doesn’t tell you all you need to know about the difference between Obama and Cain, but it…

In happier times, the firm had been celebrated as a harbinger of the future. The political connections it enjoyed were the fruit not only of well-placed contributions but of a self-imposed ideological mission: It was going to deliver cheap energy in amazing ways. Top executives had dismissed…

A calmer, more subdued Michele Bachmann took to the stage Friday night at the Values Voter Summit in Washington. Her voice was noticeably less passionate than in stump speeches past.

Better to war-war than to jaw-jaw, to stand Winston Churchill’s remark on its head. The United States Senate and the trade unions are not alone in believing that we have been jaw-jawing with China for too many years, while it continues to take jobs from America by manipulating its currency,…

It was hard to keep track of how many times Herman Cain brought the crowd at the Values Voters Summit to their feet during his speech Friday afternoon. You really have to watch Cain's speech to appreciate his success. With a good sense of humor, the cadence and inspirational tone of a preacher, and…

The Congressional Budget Office reports that the "American Jobs Act" would make the federal deficit jump $288 billion in 2012. In other words, the 2012 deficit would rise by about twenty-five percent--from $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion. The most recent budget fight between Republicans and…

Noah Shachtman reports for Wired that "A computer virus has infected the cockpits of America’s Predator and Reaper drones, logging pilots’ every keystroke as they remotely fly missions over Afghanistan and other warzones."

Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Mark Kirk, and Marco Rubio write:

In his foreign policy address at the Citadel this morning, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney provided a fuzzy outline of his position on the war in Afghanistan.

This morning, Mitt Romney used his foreign policy address at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina to criticize what he called the Obama administration's "feckless policies of the last three years."

Some China-Taiwan specialists and other foreign policy experts have been caught up lately in a declinist narrative that has China overtaking the United States not only economically but also in terms of military supremacy in the Asia-Pacific. They see that power shift as putting democratic Taiwan at…

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivered the following foreign policy remarks this morning in Charleston, South Carolina:

CBS New York reports: 

Congressman Paul Ryan is the latest guest on Uncommon Knowledge, the long-running interview program hosted by former Reagan speechwriter, Ricochet.com founder, and Hoover Institution research fellow Peter Robinson. The topic is how to fix the American health care system, and the two happen to get…

If you type “Obamacare” into Google and then click on the first link that usually comes up, you’ll learn all about Obamacare from the most unbiased source imaginable—the Obama administration. The link will take you to healthcare.gov, where you’ll learn that Obamacare is all about “bringing down…

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann sat down last night with Steve Hayes, Bret Baier, Charles Krauthammer, and Dan Balz for a roundtable interview:

Philip Klein: "Reid rewrites Senate rules with shocking move"

What to make of these anti-Wall Street protests? The Democrats seem to think they can tap into the anti-banking sentiment these protesters embody … to attack the Republicans:

Nancy Pelosi refuses to use the word "stimulus" to describe the president's "American Jobs Act." But when asked today to name significant differences between the Jobs Act and the 2009 stimulus package, Pelosi didn't identify any, except the amount of money each bill costs. "This is a much smaller…

Department of Energy loan program director resigns.

Via NRO, Marco Rubio expressed outrage on the Senate floor today over the death sentence for Iranian Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani:

Afghan president Hamid Karzai’s rejection of talks with the Taliban has, it seems, tossed water on the prospects of a “political solution” between Kabul and the insurgents. Karzai’s decision, coupled with the recent statement of Admiral Mike Mullen about the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence’s…

During a press conference Thursday afternoon, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi praised those participating in the "Occupy Wall Street" protests. "God bless them," Pelosi said, "for their spontaneity. It's independent ... it's young, it's spontaneous, and it's focused. And it's going to be…

“What do we want?” “Jobs!” “When do we want them?” “Now!”

The passing of Steve Jobs has sparked an immense amount of reflection and appreciation—just as his retirement did months ago, and the publication of Walter Isaacson's biography of Jobs will do later this month. But for all the talk of Steve Jobs and the world that he created, attention must be paid…

Army veteran Tom Cotton has raised $343,000 in his first quarter of fundraising, according to the Associated Press. Cotton, a Republican candidate for Congress in Arkansas's Fourth Congressional District, more than doubled the haul of his closest rival for the GOP nomination, former Miss Arkansas…

Joe Biden, speaking at a conference earlier today, said what a lot of Americans have on their minds. "A significant majority of the American people believe that the country is not moving in the right direction," Biden said. "That is never a good place to be going into reelection whether it’s your…

Following my report yesterday about CBS News Investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson being unavailable for interviews after angering the White House and Justice Department, Tommy Christopher at Mediaite reports that Attkisson has responded on Twitter:

While new evidence indicates that Attorney General Eric Holder was aware of the U.S. government's "Fast and Furious" program--which let guns fall into the hands of Mexican criminals--President Obama said today that he has "complete confidence" in Holder.

Ben Smith has video of White House chief of staff William Daley dumping on his predecessor, Rahm Emanuel:

At Forbes, Avik Roy writes about a recent exchange he had with a Mitt Romney adviser. Roy characterizes the exchange as follows, “I asked: Why isn’t a repeal bill one of the five bills for Day One of a Romney presidency? The advisor responded that Romney is advocating the [50-state] waiver approach…

Rasmussen’s poll of likely voters now shows President Obama trailing “a generic Republican” presidential candidate by 6 percentage points (47 to 41 percent). Among independents, the generic Republican is winning by 11 points (45 to 34 percent). Unfortunately, no one in the current Republican field…

Kevin Williamson:  A (Steve) Jobs Agenda

Sarah Palin just issued the following letter, stating that she won't run for president this year:

Republican presidential candidate Buddy Roemer has issued a statement of support for the Occupy Wall Street movement: 

It has been a decade since U.S. armed forces—with the United Kingdom and the Afghan Northern Alliance—launched what has become America’s longest war, Operation Enduring Freedom, in Afghanistan. And, in addition to recognizing the heroism of those who work to keep America safe, it is worth praising…

Yesterday, CBS News investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson told radio show host Laura Ingraham that the White House yelled and swore at her over her reporting on the Fast and Furious gunrunning scandal tied to the deaths of two U.S. law enforcement agents. Attkisson also revealed that she'd also…

Congressman Randy Forbes is starting an initiative called, "Strong Defense, Strong America." "Some argue that another $600 billion of defense cuts will not hurt America," Forbes writes in his introductory letter. "We can do more with less, they say. Or, we can just do less. They are wrong."

According to the pool report from last night's fundraiser in St. Louis, "The Obamacare line is getting big applause at the fundraisers today." The new line? "They call it Obamacare? I do care! You should care, too," Obama reportedly said.

Kosovo’s top Islamic cleric, Naim Ternava, last month purged the two most outspoken anti-radical preachers from the local Sunni religious apparatus. The dismissal of Mullah Osman Musliu of the Drenas region and Imam Idriz Bilalli of the Podujeva municipality—both proven moderates—from the official…

Elizabeth Warren, the consumer advocate running for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, made her debut in a Democratic primary debate last night in Lowell by directly going after Republican incumbent Scott Brown.

Rick Perry's campaign reports that "it raised more than $17 million for the GOP primary race between Aug. 13 and Sept. 30 from more than 22,000 unique contributors. Because of his August 13th entry into the race, Gov. Perry raised funds for just 49 of the 92 days in the quarter."

When Honduran leader Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo visits the White House today, it will be a watershed moment in the Central American country’s diplomatic rehabilitation. More than two years have passed since Honduran authorities removed Manuel Zelaya from the presidency to block his unconstitutional,…

For those wondering where the Republican presidential field might be headed in the aftermath of Chris Christie’s decision to stay on the sidelines, Gallup has released its new net favorability ratings — and they bode well for Herman Cain. The poll was taken over the 2-week period from September 19…

David Brooks: "In Defense of Romney"

Acting governor Earl Ray Tomblin has won Tuesday's special election for governor in West Virginia, according to the Associated Press. Tomblin, the Democratic state senate president since 1995, defeated Republican businessman and first-time candidate Bill Maloney.

The latest CBS poll shows Herman Cain surging 12 points and Rick Perry dropping 11 points while Mitt Romney holds steady: 

Herman Cain continues to surge in the Republican presidential primary. A new national Washington Post/ABC poll shows Cain tied for second place with Texas governor Rick Perry, and Public Policy Polling finds Cain leading in North Carolina, Nebraska, and West Virginia. 

Troy Davis is dead, but not forgotten. This past weekend, over 1,000 mourners attended the funeral of the convicted murderer recently executed by the state of Georgia. Elsewhere, the frantic round of point-counterpoint surrounding his execution suggests our long-running national argument over…

Michael Novak delivered the following remarks last night at a dinner sponsored by the Institute on Religion & Democracy: 

Ladbrokes of London, the famous British bookmaker, lists the Syrian-born poet Adonis as a 4 to 1 favorite to win this year’s Nobel Prize, due to be announced in the next few days.  According to one Ladbrokes official, “I really think this is poetry’s year, and without a doubt, the politically…

The Obama campaign sent out an email today asking supporters to urge Congress to at least vote on the president’s jobs bill almost immediately after Democratic majority leader Harry Reid blocked a vote on the bill in the Senate.

AFL-CIO president had a message for leftist activists today in Washington, D.C.: "We’ll make government create jobs, because government action is the only way to create jobs right now."

Many observers were quick to draw an analogy between the storming of the Israeli embassy in Cairo three weeks ago and the 1979 takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran. After all, a few months after an uprising initially believed to be liberal and democratic, revolutionaries storm a Western embassy.…

The underwear bomber appeared in a Detriot court appearance today: 

The Fast and Furious scandal, in which the Justice Department knowingly gave Mexican criminal gangs thousands of guns, just keeps escalating. The latest development centers around whether or not Attorney General Eric Holder lied to Congress about having knowledge of the controversial gun…

According to a new poll conducted by the Boston Herald and the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, incumbent Republican senator Scott Brown is in a virtual dead heat with Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren in next year's race:

New Jersey governor Chris Christie will hold a press conference today at 1:00 p.m. in Trenton where he will announce for a final time that he's really, seriously, honestly not running for president in 2012.

The latest ad from American Crossroads, which will air in St. Louis, where President Obama will be campaigning later today:

A recent Rasmussen poll of likely voters shows Mitt Romney is currently much stronger than Rick Perry in Virginia, a nearly must-win state for the GOP. The poll shows Romney with a 1-point lead (46 to 45 percent) over President Obama in the Old Dominion, while Perry trails Obama by double-digits…

In an interview yesterday with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, President Obama was asked, "If hope and change define the 2008 campaign, what two words are going to make--are going to define 2012?"

Over the weekend, Bloomberg Markets magazine published a lengthy investigative piece about a French subsidiary of Koch Industries that supposedly conducted illegal business with the Iranian government. The report further insinuates an ensuing cover up.

Mark McKinnon: "Chris Christie's Best Reason to Run"

Hot Air: "Obama: Are you better off than you were four years ago? I guess you’re not"

Charleston, W. Va.

The St. Petersburg Times reports: 

The president finally submitted trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama to Congress. "The series of trade agreements I am submitting to Congress today will make it easier for American companies to sell their products in South Korea, Colombia, and Panama and provide a major boost to…

At some point while mindlessly channel-surfing, you no doubt stumbled on a Don Lapre infomercial. Here's one in which Lapre is touting a scheme involving "tiny classified ads" that could "earn you a fortune" of $50,000 a week without even leaving the comfort of your home.

Politico reports that President Obama will go "on the road" to "GOP swing districts" to tout his "jobs bill."

The Associated Press reports that "Syrian troops going house to house have detained more than 3,000 people in the past three days in the rebellious town of Rastan, which saw some of the worst fighting of the 6-month-old uprising recently, activists said Monday."

Over the weekend, the Washington Post reported that a Texas hunting camp with a racially-charged name, which was painted on a rock on the property, had been leased by Rick Perry and his family. The property had long been known by that name, even before the Perry family had anything to do with it.

The Manhattan Institute and e21 are hosting a conversation with entrepreneur Peter Thiel at the National Press Club. The boss is moderating. If you can't make it no big deal: The event will be streamed live on e21's website.

Looking for Chris Christie swag to encourage the New Jersey governor to run for president? Well, these bumper stickers can be found on eBay (for a reasonable $3.00!): 

The majority of the 50 states claim that Obamacare is unconstitutional, the Obama administration claims that it's not, and both sides have now asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide the question on appeal from a 3-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court. In August, the panel (made up of two Clinton…

Bill Kristol, with Mara Liasson, Juan Williams, and Brit Hume, yesterday on Fox News:

New York Daily News: "700 arrested at Occupy Wall Street protest as demonstrators and NYPD shut down Brooklyn Bridge"

Despite continued claims that he’s not running for the White House, credible news outlets continue to report that Chris Christie is still considering running for president. But should he run?

For five memorable seasons, Sandy Koufax dominated baseball as no other major league pitcher ever had before. From 1962 to 1966, Koufax led the National League in earned run average, the only pitcher ever to do that. At the same time, he compiled a record of 111-34, a winning percentage of .766,…

Three or four years ago, during the Neronian decadence that preceded the financial crash of 2008, we got a glossy brochure in the mail from one of our doctors. It announced that for a modest fee—about a hundred dollars per person—our family could enjoy a whole range of special perquisites known as…

The constant tension in any movement is who gets to define it, and how. Enter the debate over evangelicalism, which exists in two forms. Evangelicalism as a doctrinal movement has often been defined according to what is called the “Bebbington quadrilateral”—a strong commitment to the Bible,…

Is there a more empathetic person in the world than Diane Sawyer, the top newsreader at ABC TV? I’m sure there must be—around seven billion of them, probably. But is there anyone who looks more empathetic than Diane Sawyer? Not a chance. When she peers at you through the camera she has the look of…

Drive

Last December, U.S. border patrol agent Brian Terry was murdered in a firefight with three Mexican nationals in Arizona. Two guns recovered at the crime scene were traced back to an ongoing Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigation, informally known under the code…

A Sensitivity to the Seasons

The pseudonymous author of this memoir, Winston Smith, chose the moniker because of the maddening bureaucracy within which he worked. His blog, “Winston Smith—Working With the Underclass,”  won an Orwell Prize for chronicling the labyrinthine, dysfunctional horror show that had become the British…

When John Connally became governor of Texas in 1963 he quickly sought to get his own man on the state Banking Board. He chose Robert Strauss, then a prominent Dallas lawyer and civic leader (and, not coincidentally, a close Connally ally). But Strauss didn’t want the job and demurred in his…

The spectacular collapse of Solyndra has all of the trappings of an epic Washington scandal, with serial revelations of embarrassing and potentially improper White House machinations to secure a $535 million federal loan guarantee for a startup company with dubious prospects of success. The sudden…

"M" sent in James Bond. MacArthur ordered in the 1st Marine Division. Today, when the Department of Defense has a complex crisis requiring brawn and brains, Brigadier General Mark Martins gets the call. His latest job: Hit the reset button at Gitmo. 

Silver Spring, Maryland

Judging from old people I know, the question of seriousness used to be far more important than it is today. Those of us in the perpetual age of pre-old are more likely to divide our friends and relations into categories of “racist” or “black,” “sexist” or “good-looking,” fun or boring,…

Orlando, Florida

Cairo

President Obama’s plan for taxes and spending has been hailed by the media as “populist.” A more accurate word to describe his agenda is “reactionary.” It won’t, to use Obama’s catchphrase, “win the future.” It probably won’t even win the past.

The Scrapbook’s attention was drawn the other day to a photograph in the New York Times. It accompanied the obituary of Sidney H. Asch, a New York politician and judge who was famous for his scholarly opinions. The photograph, seen here, depicts Judge Asch as he swears in Robert Morgenthau as…

It didn’t take long for the snark attack to begin among the Big Money crowd. Less than 24 hours after the Federal Reserve announced its latest easy-money plan to goose the flaccid U.S economy, investors were already deriding “Operation Twist” as “Operation Fail.” Almost everything that was supposed…

Some have praised President Obama’s September 20 speech at the U.N. as his most rousing defense of Israel to date. Perhaps so—though that’s not saying much. It rather seems to us that the president merits some credit—but only some—for a growing self-awareness, both of his own limits and of the…

In Annapolis today, Air Force and Navy met on “the fields of friendly strife.”  With 10:00 left in the game, Air Force led 28-10, having more or less dominated play for the first 50 minutes. With 2:09 left, the Falcons still led 28-17. Then Navy nailed a must-make 37-yard field goal, recovered the…

In case you missed it, last week's Wall Street Journal featured a behind-the-scenes look at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, one of the largest resorts in the world. If you were to stay in a different room each night, it would take you more than 13 years to get through all 5,043. Needless…

Jonathan Last: "The Wisdom of Juice-Boxers"

We are all Europeans now. Doubt that—and just try to get news about the American economy on the financial news networks on any morning. No luck. Lots of talk about German chancellor Angela Merkel’s balancing act—trying to keep from being turfed out of office, while still sending Germans’…