Jeff Bergner is a writer and policy analyst who contributed essays to The Weekly Standard from 2009 to 2017. He served in the U.S. State Department as Assistant Secretary of Legislative Affairs and has written on topics including governance, foreign policy, energy policy, and political culture. His work for the magazine frequently offered sharp commentary on Democratic politics and Republican governance challenges.
The secretary of state is usually thought of as the principal cabinet position, and indeed he or she is first among cabinet officers and fourth in line overall to succeed the president. But when Rex Tillerson shows up at Foggy Bottom, he will discover a department that faces many challenges, not…
The secretary of state is usually thought of as the principal cabinet position, and indeed he or she is first among cabinet officers and fourth in line overall to succeed the president. But when Rex Tillerson shows up at Foggy Bottom, he will discover a department that faces many challenges, not…
“. . . vast bureaucracies of civil servants, no longer servants and no longer civil." (Winston Churchill)
“. . . vast bureaucracies of civil servants, no longer servants and no longer civil." (Winston Churchill)
An observer of this summer's party conventions would get the idea that the use of military force is almost always and everywhere wrong and ill-advised. Any reference to the use of force was drowned out at the conventions by chants of "America First" and "no more war." With the exception of Donald…
An observer of this summer’s party conventions would get the idea that the use of military force is almost always and everywhere wrong and ill-advised. Any reference to the use of force was drowned out at the conventions by chants of "America First" and "no more war." With the exception of Donald…
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s recent outburst against Donald Trump has been roundly criticized by people of all political stripes. Insofar as her comments suggested a clear bias about cases that could come before the Supreme Court, they were clearly a mistake and a departure from the norms of Court…
President Obama recently referred to the wealthy as “society’s lottery winners.” This clever little locution contains a world of radical implications, none of them good.
It has become a staple of the political left to brand Republicans the anti-science, anti-reason party. This narrative congealed in a breathless 2005 book by journalist Chris Mooney entitled—does the phrase sound familiar?—The Republican War on Science. Those fueling the narrative today seize on…
As the United States vacillates over what to do in Syria, it might be a good time to check in with the Obama foreign policy “pivot.” A little less than two years ago President Obama’s administration announced that the United States would pivot away from the Middle East and toward Asia.
There is an old saw that if you torture statistics enough, they will tell you whatever you want to hear. Words are like this, too. In the interest of clarity during the current campaign season, here is a brief lexicon of how Democratic officials use words:
Barack Obama has said on many occasions that he inherited a very bad economy from George W. Bush. He has blamed the Bush economy for every shortcoming and disappointment of the past four years. If inheritance is a fair standard, let’s ask the obvious question: What will Barack Obama leave to his…
The two of us—a marketing professor and a political analyst—have just published a book about the highly successful Obama presidential campaign of 2008. We have distilled a number of lessons from our research. Since the Obama camp already knows these lessons firsthand, we call them “rules for…
Sometimes talking with liberals is perplexing. You never know what claim they will make next or what name they will call you. Take David Axelrod’s response to Standard & Poor’s recent credit action: He calls it the “Tea Party downgrade.” Amazingly, he blames the United States’ loss of its AAA bond…
In a few months my wife and I will turn 65 years of age. I guess we’re the proverbial grandpa and grandma that our political leaders aim to protect. Our mailbox has been full lately with brochures describing the Medicare enrollment process, offering supplemental health coverage, and helpfully…
Recent electoral successes, including Scott Brown’s landmark victory in Massachusetts, have positioned Republicans once again for a role in governing, and far sooner than they might have supposed. But are they ready to govern? It all depends, for the problem with many Republicans (and I am a…
In response to multilateral condemnation of its nuclear program, Iran has announced its intent to expand massively its uranium enrichment facilities. Once again, the White House press spokesman has announced gravely that Iran has chosen to "isolate itself." Once again, the UN Security Council will…
As the public's enthusiasm for a major new energy tax wanes, advocates of the administration's "cap and trade" emissions proposal have found a new justification: national security. We should adopt a cap and trade energy tax, they say, because this will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and thus…