President Obama’s legacy is rapidly vanishing. The decision by President Trump to withdraw from the nuclear deal with Iran is the biggest blow, but it’s only the latest. The elimination of the individual mandate and canceling the yearly bailout of insurance companies have left Obamacare in a…
The Senate majority leader is not depressed.
Can West Virginia Republicans take down Joe Manchin?
A rare left-right agreement in Washington: disliking the attorney general.
The Trump era has been tough on Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and no one has been tougher on her than President Trump himself, with his references to her as “Pocahontas.”
Larry Kudlow got blindsided in 2017 when President Trump was putting together his White House staff. He was a Trump loyalist, having announced his support at approximately the moment Trump announced his candidacy. And he and his partner Stephen Moore—both longtime advocates of supply-side, or…
Last September, the big hats in the political hierarchy of New York and New Jersey spent an hour at the White House with President Trump. They were seeking a pile of money to pay for a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River connecting northern New Jersey and Manhattan.
For decades, Republicans have been stuck with the epithet “the stupid party,” and they’ve often deserved it. But there’s been a switch in the Trump era. Democrats now are the stupid party.
When I first encountered Jeff Bell, he was debating Bill Bradley, the Democratic candidate for Senate from New Jersey. Bell was the Republican candidate and the underdog to Bradley, a famous basketball star at Princeton and later for the New York Knicks. It was 1978.
There are many ways Republicans can lose control of the House and Senate in November. But there’s only one way they stand a good chance to hold both chambers. It’s to run on the tax cuts.
Shortly before Christmas, I got an email from the Washington Wizards basketball team. “You are in your 45th year with the Wizards!” it said. “We will be taking you and a guest on a trip to see your Wizards in Atlanta on January 27th.”
Santiago, Chile
For 37 years, efforts to open the remote Alaskan tundra known as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling for oil and natural gas got nowhere. It’s a barren, uninhabitable area that looks like the surface of an asteroid. But environmental groups and their Democratic allies treated it like a…
The optimism of Democrats about the midterm election is based on the assumption that political conditions won’t change between now and November 6. Indeed, some of them won’t.
Shocked by Donald Trump’s election, Democrats adopted a strategy of resistance that’s simple and blunt: Anything Trump is for, they’re against. It’s turned out to be one of the least successful strategies a political party has ever pursued. Yet Democrats have stuck to it.
Every Sunday evening, the press office at the Environmental Protection Agency receives emails from the New York Times and Politico asking for EPA administrator Scott Pruitt’s public schedule for the coming week. The press office ignores the emails.
A job shuffle that would put Senator Tom Cotton in charge of the CIA is one of the worst ideas to come out of the Trump administration.
Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He has a reputation for being fair-minded. Al Franken (D-Minn.) is a Democratic member of the committee who balked at the nomination of a Minnesota judge to a federal appeals court.
In a 1971 story (“Nora”), Washington novelist Ward Just wrote about a senator in trouble. “If you’re an architect or a lawyer and you get into trouble, you can resign and go practice somewhere else,” Just wrote. “If you’re a politician and get into trouble, that’s the end of it.”
There are many ways to judge a president—polls, approval ratings, legislative successes, foreign breakthroughs, memorable speeches, and historic moments. But there’s a better way than any of these, and Fred Greenstein, a professor of politics emeritus at Princeton University, has developed it.
Ed Gillespie ran a perfect campaign for an election that didn’t happen. Ralph Northam ran a sloppy campaign with the same election in mind. Northam won, no thanks to his own efforts, and will become governor of Virginia in January.
The doubts are gone now about Virginia: It really is a Democratic state. The election of Ralph Northam, a bland and ideologically fuzzy candidate, as governor is all the proof that was required.
Consider this imaginary situation: A new chief of staff can organize President Trump’s harum-scarum White House operation into a crack, disciplined, and loyal team, or he can stop the president from tweeting. eThe catch is he can do one of these but not both. Which should he choose?
The verdict in the corruption trial of Democratic senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey may come as early as this week. If Menendez is convicted of a felony, Democrats face big trouble.
When Steve Bannon became CEO of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign on August 17, 2016, Trump was far behind Hillary Clinton, according to Bannon. “We were 16 points down,” he said.
When Steve Bannon became CEO of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign on August 17, 2016, Trump was far behind Hillary Clinton, according to Bannon. “We were 16 points down,” he said.
Mark Herring, Virginia’s attorney general, wanted to run for governor this fall. But Terry McAuliffe, the current governor, thought otherwise. And his endorsement of lieutenant governor Ralph Northam for the Democratic nomination for governor sent a blunt message to Herring: forget it.
Mark Herring, Virginia’s attorney general, wanted to run for governor this fall. But Terry McAuliffe, the current governor, thought otherwise. And his endorsement of lieutenant governor Ralph Northam for the Democratic nomination for governor sent a blunt message to Herring: forget it.
The Republican party is divided into two groups these days. There’s the Trump faction and its rival, the elected leaders, GOP officials, and rank-and-file antagonists of Trump. The split is not ideological. For the most part, the two sides agree on cutting taxes, killing Obamacare, and building up…
The Republican drive to confirm federal judges has gained momentum from a series of actions by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. They seem modest but are likely to speed up the confirmation of both appeals and district court judges—conservatives, for the most part.
If the president’s tax plan is enacted, it will go down in history as the Trump Tax Cut of 2017. And it should, for both the tax reductions and the strategy for enacting them reflect his personal intervention and desires.
In President Trump’s politics, “the overall impression matters more than the details,” writes Newt Gingrich in his book Understanding Trump. This is not only true and insightful, it also explains Trump’s conduct of late.
In President Trump’s politics, “the overall impression matters more than the details,” writes Newt Gingrich in his book Understanding Trump. This is not only true and insightful, it also explains Trump’s conduct of late.
In tax reform, the negotiators from the Trump administration and Congress who are thought to be in charge are called the Big 6 by Washington insiders. But there’s also a Big 4, a group of supply-side economists who are playing an influential role.
In tax reform, the negotiators from the Trump administration and Congress who are thought to be in charge are called the Big 6 by Washington insiders. But there’s also a Big 4, a group of supply-side economists who are playing an influential role.
Michael Cromartie, by his wits and his Christian faith, created something out of nothing, what investor Peter Thiel calls going from 0 to 1. And he became an important and influential figure in Washington, though that wasn’t his aim.
As Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, and untold others ramp up their campaigns for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, they’re going to be in for a surprise. A candidate neither they nor the political class regard as a serious contender is ahead of them in organizing a well-financed and unique…
There are few people in this life who you are always, every time, happy to see. Mike Cromartie was one of those people. It wasn't just because he was a Christian, though that was a big part of it. If I hadn't known of Mike's faith, I would have quickly concluded he was a Christian anyway. He didn't…
President Trump and his Never Trump antagonists have found something they agree on. They both want to separate Trump from the Republican Party.
The classic books about presidential campaigns don’t fixate on chronology. They only use chronology—the run from primaries to conventions to debates to the election—to tell a bigger story, one that transcends the campaign.
President Trump played a surprisingly small role in the Republican primary for the Alabama Senate seat held by Jeff Sessions before he became attorney general.
A few thoughts about what happened in Charlottesville over the weekend:
On November 12, 2015, officials in New York and New Jersey thought they had struck it rich. They had arranged a 50-50 deal with the federal government in which the feds would pay for half the cost of a new tunnel under the Hudson River, the renovation of Penn Station, and a lot more.
On November 12, 2015, officials in New York and New Jersey thought they had struck it rich. They had arranged a 50-50 deal with the federal government in which the feds would pay for half the cost of a new tunnel under the Hudson River, the renovation of Penn Station, and a lot more.
We’ll soon learn the value of President Trump’s endorsement. In a bit of a surprise, he jumped into the unpleasant Alabama Senate race and put his stamp of approval on Republican Senator Luther Strange.
The failed Republican effort to kill Obamacare had a saving grace. It’s small but significant. We now know the chief cause of skyrocketing health-insurance premiums since Obamacare was activated in 2013. And it’s not the “essential benefits” everyone is forced to buy, though they’ve often been…
The failed Republican effort to kill Obamacare had a saving grace. It’s small but significant. We now know the chief cause of skyrocketing health-insurance premiums since Obamacare was activated in 2013. And it’s not the “essential benefits” everyone is forced to buy, though they’ve often been…
Some years ago, a group of newspaper reporters came up with a headline that could work with almost any story. Here’s what they agreed on: “They’re at it again.”
Some years ago, a group of newspaper reporters came up with a headline that could work with almost any story. Here’s what they agreed on: “They’re at it again.”
Josh Hawley is a rarity in politics. Elected attorney general of Missouri last November, he’s held that office for five months. Yet he’s already under extraordinary pressure from Republicans to run for the Senate in 2018.
Josh Hawley is a rarity in politics. Elected attorney general of Missouri last November, he’s held that office for five months. Yet he’s already under extraordinary pressure from Republicans to run for the Senate in 2018.
"I'm for the most conservative outcome that we can get,” Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell told Politico’s Manu Raju last summer. House speaker John Boehner would agree with that goal. But critics to their right disagree. They are for the most conservative outcome they cannot get.
President Trump’s embrace of the conservative agenda has healed one rift in the Republican agenda. But he’s exacerbated another with his latest tweets, one featuring a video in which he clotheslines a “CNN” character, the other attacking MSNBC commentator Mika Brzezinski.
In April, Democrat Jon Ossoff got 48 percent of the vote in the special election to pick the new House member from Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District outside Atlanta. He came in first but was forced into a runoff with Republican Karen Handel, who got 20 percent to finish second. In the runoff,…
Six thoughts about Georgia’s 6th congressional district:
Is the deck being stacked against President Trump? It's beginning to look that way since a special counsel was appointed a few weeks ago to investigate possible ties between Trump—or any breathing body in his campaign last year—and the Russians.
Is the deck being stacked against President Trump? It's beginning to look that way since a special counsel was appointed a few weeks ago to investigate possible ties between Trump—or any breathing body in his campaign last year—and the Russians.
Ed Gillespie, the Republican hope for a revival in Virginia, squeaked out a narrow victory Tuesday night over a populist Corey Stewart to win the GOP nomination for governor.
President Trump has three rules for operating in the world of government and politics. Time learned of them from a White House official and describes them this way: "When you're right, you fight. Controversy elevates message. And never apologize."
President Trump may not realize it, but he needs House Republicans more than they need him. If they keep the House in next year's midterm election, Republicans can block Democrats from impeaching him. But if Democrats take over, Republican won't be able to prevent them from taking up impeachment.
President Trump has three rules for operating in the world of government and politics. Time learned of them from a White House official and describes them this way: "When you're right, you fight. Controversy elevates message. And never apologize."
President Trump is thinking about dispatching more troops to Afghanistan. Given his past insistence on withdrawing American forces, one might have expected this switcheroo to raise eyebrows in Washington and the media. Yet it hasn't.
Alexandria, Va.
Lionel Shriver is a novelist who is controversial in the literary world for her withering criticism of "cultural appropriation." It's the notion that if you belong to one ethnic, racial, or gender group, you're barred from writing fiction with characters from another group. If you're Asian, for…
Republicans are not dead yet. In the House, they are moving ahead briskly on tax reform. In the Senate, Republicans are talking privately in hopes of agreeing on how to repeal and replace Obamacare, the House having already passed its bill overhauling the health care system.
"Does anyone remember when Donald Trump wasn't president?" Senator Roy Blunt (D-Missouri) asked the audience recently at a Capitol Hill seminar sponsored by the law firm Baker-Hostettler.
President Trump sees himself as harassed and abused. True enough. Presidents often feel oppressed. But Trump is protected and defended in a way that he appears to take for granted. It comes from having both houses of Congress controlled by his own party.
For a symbolic issue, the Keystone pipeline has sure caused a lot of damage—to Canadian-American relations, to Democrats, to President Obama. And it feeds, underscores, or reflects a variety of political divisions, some of them quite bitter.
Among the swirling parts of the controversy over President Trump's firing of FBI director James Comey, there's one that matters most. It stands in the way of the naming of a special prosecutor, the creation of a bipartisan, joint House-Senate committee to investigate the Trump-Russia connection, or…
Asked why Virginia has become a Democratic state or at least is Democratic-leaning, former governor Jim Gilmore had a one-word answer: "Fairfax."
President Trump and the boys from Goldman Sachs have put together a dazzling tax reform plan. It has enough pro-growth incentives to energize the economy even after Congress eliminates some of them. But there's a problem: paying for it.
President Trump has changed his policies in his first 100 days in office more than any president in the post-World War II era—or perhaps any president ever. And for the most part the changes have been for the better.
President Trump has changed his policies in his first 100 days in office more than any president in the post-World War II era—or perhaps any president ever. And for the most part the changes have been for the better.
Neil Gorsuch's confirmation as a Supreme Court justice appeared all but certain after his smooth and appealing testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. He came across as "almost too good," one of his backers said. He was the beneficiary of a well-financed effort by outside groups. And…
At 39, Tom Cotton is the youngest member of the Senate. He was elected from Arkansas in 2014 after two years in the House. And having served in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan as an infantry captain, he quickly emerged as an influential senator on military and foreign affairs.
IN LATE JULY, Bill Bennett, the former education secretary and drug czar, got a telephone call from the White House. Would he be interested in serving as special presidential envoy on Sudan, where Christians are persecuted and slavery thrives? The caller wasn’t Clay Johnson, President Bush’s…
The late columnist Robert Novak had a favorite saying about the GOP: “The only reason God created Republicans was to cut taxes." And the 1980s were a perfect world for doing so.
In a flash, Washington changed. With the collapse of their health care plan, the political power of President Trump and congressional Republicans took a hit. And since power is a zero-sum game, Democrats, the bureaucracy, liberal interest groups, and the media were big winners.
This is an updated version of an article that appears in the April 3, 2017, issue of THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
Before Republicans captured Washington, the unyielding conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus were a nuisance. Now, with the GOP in control of the House, Senate, and White House, they’re a roadblock to success.
For decades, a favorite pastime of the Washington press corps has been to find "daylight" between the president and the vice president—a difference of opinion, a dislike, a secret irritation. But not any more.
For decades, a favorite pastime of the Washington press corps has been to find “daylight" between the president and the vice president—a difference of opinion, a dislike, a secret irritation. But not any more.
President Trump can go both ways. On February 24, he delivered a wild-and-woolly speech brimming with populist anger to the Conservative Political Action Conference. Four days later, he addressed a joint session of Congress in statesmanlike fashion and called for national unity and bipartisanship.
President Trump can go both ways. On February 24, he delivered a wild-and-woolly speech brimming with populist anger to the Conservative Political Action Conference. Four days later, he addressed a joint session of Congress in statesmanlike fashion and called for national unity and bipartisanship.
There are many claimants to the honor of having nudged Donald Trump over the top in the presidential election. But the folks with the best case are the National Rifle Association and the consultants who made their TV ads.
What happened to Common Core—that is, abolishing it? President Trump's promise to get rid of the controversial program of standards for elementary and secondary schools is gone from his speeches.
There are many claimants to the honor of having nudged Donald Trump over the top in the presidential election. But the folks with the best case are the National Rifle Association and the consultants who made their TV ads.
President Trump has been a strategic success and a tactical failure. That's the genteel way of putting it. The blunt way is that he's pushed ahead relentlessly on big conservative issues. But more than Democrats or the media, he's been his own worst enemy, a tactical bull in a china shop.
There's an untold story from the 2016 election that should encourage Democrats and worry Republicans. It happened in Houston, the nation's fourth largest city in population and the hometown of former President George H. W. Bush. To be precise it's Harris County, Texas—which consists mostly of…
Republican William Howell is retiring after 15 years as Speaker of the Virginia House, having thwarted much of the agenda of Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe.
President Trump has been a strategic success and a tactical failure. That’s the genteel way of putting it. The blunt way is that he's pushed ahead relentlessly on big conservative issues. But more than Democrats or the media, he's been his own worst enemy, a tactical bull in a china shop.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell says President Trump's approval rating would be "10 to 15 points higher if he allowed himself to stay on message."
In 1993, the vast health care plan of the Clinton administration died without a vote being taken in Congress. Known as Hillarycare after its champion, the president’s wife, it left its mark on the new administration. In the midterm election of 1994, Democrats lost control of the House for the first…
When Donald Trump released his first list of potential Supreme Court nominees last May, Neil Gorsuch's name was not on it. The inner circle of Trump's advisers were aware of Gorsuch's lofty reputation as a judge. Still, they kept him off the list because they hadn't fully studied his judicial…
When Donald Trump released his first list of potential Supreme Court nominees last May, Neil Gorsuch’s name was not on it. The inner circle of Trump's advisers were aware of Gorsuch's lofty reputation as a judge. Still, they kept him off the list because they hadn't fully studied his judicial…
Tom Price, President Trump’s choice for secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), has the distinction of being a better fit for the department he's been picked to lead than any other Trump cabinet nominee. But this hasn't helped Price gain Senate confirmation.
Ronald Reagan loved Washington but disliked the government. George W. Bush hated Washington but liked the government. Donald Trump loathes both Washington and the government.
That Donald Trump's inaugural speech was patriotic, nationalistic and populist – that was no surprise. What was unexpected, at least by me, was his call for government action. And not just what government can do to unleash the economy and incentivize Americans to work, save, and invest
Ronald Reagan loved Washington but disliked the government. George W. Bush hated Washington but liked the government. Donald Trump loathes both Washington and the government.
Donald Trump is in the rare position of loathing the media and dominating them—simultaneously. What more could a president-elect want as he enters the White House? Not much.
Donald Trump is in the rare position of loathing the media and dominating them—simultaneously. What more could a president-elect want as he enters the White House? Not much.
From the moment Donald Trump picked Senator Jeff Sessions to be the next attorney general, it was clear what Democrats would need to defeat the Sessions nomination: a surprise witness. It was such a witness whose testimony led to the Senate's rejection of Sessions for a federal judgeship in 1986.
Democrats are addicted to Obamacare. It has performed poorly, alienated far more people than it has aided, and been a political disaster. Yet Democrats can’t shake it. In 2010, it was the issue that delivered the House to Republicans. In 2014, it gave them the Senate. In 2016, it was one of the…
When Donald Trump campaigned last spring in the Republican primaries, he touted his tax cuts in a special way. To give them credibility, he would declare proudly that economist Larry Kudlow loved them.
Of Donald Trump's most prominent allies in the presidential campaign, Jeff Sessions is the last one standing. Newt Gingrich is an outside adviser to Trump and occasional critic. Chris Christie works full-time as governor of New Jersey. Rudy Giuliani didn't get the position he wanted—secretary of…
Thomas Sowell is giving up his column. I can think of lots of columnists whose writing we wouldn't miss. Sowell isn't one of them. Every column he wrote in a quarter-century career as a columnist was eminently worth reading. I say this having read nearly every one of them.
Of Donald Trump’s most prominent allies in the presidential campaign, Jeff Sessions is the last one standing. Newt Gingrich is an outside adviser to Trump and occasional critic. Chris Christie works full-time as governor of New Jersey. Rudy Giuliani didn't get the position he wanted—secretary of…
Republicans have lost the last two presidential elections, but not much else over the past six years. They’ve captured the House and Senate. They now hold 31 governorships and 69 of the 99 state legislative chambers. What this means is pretty simple: There’s an emerging Republican majority.
Donald Trump issued a "Dear Pro-Life Leader" letter in September. "As we head into the final stretch of the campaign, the help of leaders like you is essential to ensure that pro-life voters know where I stand," he said. And he was specific about what "I am committed to."
Donald Trump issued a “Dear Pro-Life Leader" letter in September. "As we head into the final stretch of the campaign, the help of leaders like you is essential to ensure that pro-life voters know where I stand," he said. And he was specific about what "I am committed to."
There's an old saying that "personnel is policy" in filling the top positions in an administration. More precisely, if you want a policy to be pursued and protected, hire those most committed to it.
Shortly after his inauguration in 2009, President Obama invited Republican leaders in Congress to a White House meeting. The House members brought a proposal with ideas for stimulating the economy, then suffering through the Great Recession. In the meeting, Eric Cantor, then the House minority…
Liberals and the environmental left have gone into a tizzy over the selection of Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt as Donald Trump's pick to head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
A certain type of American always got along well with Fidel Castro. Jesse Jackson was exactly that type—left-wing, ambitious, publicity-conscious. He and Castro could do business together. And in 1984, they did.
A certain type of American always got along well with Fidel Castro. Jesse Jackson was exactly that type—left-wing, ambitious, publicity-conscious. He and Castro could do business together. And in 1984, they did.
Readers of THE WEEKLY STANDARD had a clear advantage during Tuesday night's episode of Jeopardy! when the category of "Leaning Conservative" came up.
Fred Barnes, the WEEKLY STANDARD executive editor, joined the Wall Street Journal's Mary Kissel Tuesday for the paper's Opinion Journal webcast. Barnes discussed his recent Journal op-ed about how incoming Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer has the unenviable task of defending Barack Obama's…
A majority of Americans—59 percent—want Donald Trump to stop tweeting and close his Twitter account now that he's been elected president. This is advice Trump is likely to ignore, and should.
A majority of Americans—59 percent—want Donald Trump to stop tweeting and close his Twitter account now that he's been elected president. This is advice Trump is likely to ignore, and should.
Alabama attorney general Luther Strange has decided to run for the Senate to succeed Jeff Sessions. President-elect Donald Trump has picked Sessions to be the U.S. Attorney General.
Republicans should have no trouble repealing the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. They can invoke the procedure known as reconciliation, which means only 51 votes in the Senate will be needed to kill the unpopular health insurance plan. Since there will be 52 Republicans in the new…
IN A PERFECT WORLD—heck, in a merely rational world—President Bush’s strategy for combating the economic downturn and battered stock market would be obvious: He’d use the huge Social Security surplus to cut taxes, stimulate the economy, and increase stock values. That surplus, after all, means the…
Republicans should have no trouble repealing the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. They can invoke the procedure known as reconciliation, which means only 51 votes in the Senate will be needed to kill the unpopular health insurance plan. Since there will be 52 Republicans in the new…
Donald Trump, like Ronald Reagan, becomes president as the head of the Republican party and leader of a political movement. For Reagan, joining the party with the conservative movement was painless. They fit nicely. For Trump, merging the party with his populist movement won't be as easy. But it's…
Rudy Giuliani is a close friend of Donald Trump and was one of his most ardent advocates in the presidential campaign. And now he is a finalist for secretary of state. But it would be a mistake to install him at State for two reasons.
Donald Trump, like Ronald Reagan, becomes president as the head of the Republican party and leader of a political movement. For Reagan, joining the party with the conservative movement was painless. They fit nicely. For Trump, merging the party with his populist movement won’t be as easy. But it's…
Donald Trump has done what Ronald Reagan did. He beat back a hostile press, smears by his opponent, outrage by foreign leaders, vast campaign spending by Wall Street and the wealthy one percent, and vows by actors and rock stars to leave the country if he was elected president.
There's a reason presidents are wary of campaigning actively to elect their successor. Presidents are the past. Presidential candidates are the future. Presidents can raise money and draw crowds at campaign events. But speeches? That's asking for trouble.
H.R. Gross worked alongside Ronald Reagan at radio station WHO in Des Moines, Iowa, in the 1930s. Reagan did sports. Gross did news. But Gross’s tie to Reagan isn't his claim to fame.
No good deed goes unpunished, even if you are House speaker, third in line to the presidency, and didn't want the job in the first place.
In his final days as the minority leader and with the Democrats on the verge of retaking a majority in the chamber, Harry Reid suggested that FBI Director James Comey potentially violated the Hatch Act in a letter, after praising his work on the Clinton email scandal earlier this year. It's the…
No good deed goes unpunished, even if you are House speaker, third in line to the presidency, and didn’t want the job in the first place.
Donald Trump was down by six percentage points to Hillary Clinton two weeks ago, five last week, and three in the new Fox News poll in the presidential race. This isn't a surge. But Trump is gaining. And there's pattern behind it.
Brigadier General Joe Heck, U.S. Army Reserve, spent last week on active duty at the Pentagon. A doctor, he was assigned to the Joint Staff surgeon's office. In 2008, he was deployed to Iraq, where he ran an emergency room in a combat hospital outside Baghdad.
Brigadier General Joe Heck, U.S. Army Reserve, spent last week on active duty at the Pentagon. A doctor, he was assigned to the Joint Staff surgeon’s office. In 2008, he was deployed to Iraq, where he ran an emergency room in a combat hospital outside Baghdad.
Third presidential debates usually don't matter. And there's a reason. The candidate who's behind tries to avoid mistakes made in the earlier debates and sound more clear-minded and knowledgeable. The candidate who's ahead simply plays it safe.
Besides choosing the next president, voters have a second and equally important obligation on November 8. They must elect a strong and clear-minded Congress to protect the country against the extreme policies of both candidates. It will take a Republican Congress to do this.
Besides choosing the next president, voters have a second and equally important obligation on November 8. They must elect a strong and clear-minded Congress to protect the country against the extreme policies of both candidates. It will take a Republican Congress to do this.
Former President George W. Bush says every American citizen should vote in the presidential election, though he hasn't revealed whom he plans to vote for. But it won't be Donald Trump. We can be sure of that.
If Donald Trump had acted in the restrained and calm manner that Mike Pence did in the vice presidential debate, he might have won his debate with Hillary Clinton last week. At least he wouldn't have embarrassed himself, which is what happened in the clash with Clinton.
A footnote in a book about Ronald Reagan led Gene Kopelson to drop by the Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas, in the fall of 2012. Kopelson is a physician, not an academically trained historian. But he had begun research on Reagan's presidential run in 1968, a campaign to which historians have…
When the first presidential debate in 1984 ended, I walked across the stage to shake Ronald Reagan’s hand. I had been one of three media questioners. Reagan looked stricken. He was fully aware how poorly he had done. Walter Mondale had outperformed him.
A footnote in a book about Ronald Reagan led Gene Kopelson to drop by the Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas, in the fall of 2012. Kopelson is a physician, not an academically trained historian. But he had begun research on Reagan's presidential run in 1968, a campaign to which historians have…
Donald Trump must have neglected to watch the video of Ronald Reagan in his 1980 debate with President Carter. Had he copied the restrained and imperturbable approach of Reagan—or at least tried to—Trump could have benefitted enormously from last night's debate with Hillary Clinton. But he didn't.…
Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Wash-ing-ton, addressed a local group in Fred-ericksburg, Virginia, last week and talked about Donald Trump’s chances of winning the state. A Trump supporter thought he was downplaying Trump's prospects and left in a huff,…
Donald Trump outlined his tax and economic plan in Detroit on August 8. He returned to it last week for the first time in five weeks. In between, he mentioned bits of it. But concentrate on it? Nope.
Donald Trump outlined his tax and economic plan in Detroit on August 8. He returned to it last week for the first time in five weeks. In between, he mentioned bits of it. But concentrate on it? Nope.
Thanks to Donald Trump’s critics, we know why he would have difficulty governing the country. He's inexperienced. He's hotheaded. He's narcissistic. But what about Hillary Clinton? If elected president, could she govern effectively?
Donald Trump, brilliantly but perhaps not intentionally, created a political moment to modify his position on immigration. He didn’t seize it.
Hillary Clinton has built-in advantages in the presidential race. The media's liberal bias that benefits her campaign has been on display for months. After her coast-to-coast fundraising whirl last week, Clinton's war chest is overflowing. She "is pushing the boundaries of fundraising further than…
The low point for Marco Rubio came on March 15 when he was trounced in the Republican presidential primary in Florida, his home state, by Donald Trump, 46 to 27 percent. At that point, it appeared Rubio would finish his Senate career at the end of the year and leave politics behind.
Hillary Clinton has built-in advantages in the presidential race. The media's liberal bias that benefits her campaign has been on display for months. After her coast-to-coast fundraising whirl last week, Clinton's war chest is overflowing. She "is pushing the boundaries of fundraising further than…
Donald Trump unleashed a new populist messenger on Wednesday night who declared Americans can defeat the establishment and the media just as the British people did in voting to leave the European Union.
If you want to see basketball played brilliantly, watch a video of the second quarter of the U.S.-Serbia game. It was the gold medal game and Serbia, having come close to beating the Americans earlier in the Olympics, was anything but a pushover.
John McLaughlin was a Jesuit priest, unsuccessful Senate candidate in Rhode Island, and White House aide to Richard Nixon. But he won't be remembered for any of that because he did something a lot bigger. He changed TV political commentary and made it faster, funnier, and far more watchable—in…
Donald Trump delivered a strong speech Monday on thwarting terrorists and crushing ISIS while cleverly disguising it as an address on national security policy.
Donald Trump's speech on the economy Monday puts him in a strong position on the issue on which Hillary Clinton is weakest and politically vulnerable.
ALL BUT HIDDEN in the middle of President Bush’s nationally televised speech last Thursday was a significant distinction about America’s war against terrorism. "This war will not be like the war against Iraq a decade ago, with its decisive liberation of territory and its swift conclusion," Bush…
At a Kentucky rally in May, Hillary Clinton announced she would put her husband “in charge of revitalizing the economy, 'cause you know he knows how to do it. And especially in places like coal country and inner cities and other parts of the country that have really been left out."
The drive by Republican state attorneys general to block the overreach by the federal government into state affairs got a boost yesterday from the primary victory of Josh Hawley as Missouri AG. If elected, Hawley will add a state the growing movement of state attorneys general.
A program overseen by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as part of the "reset" with Russia wound up enhancing Russia's military technology and funneling millions of dollar to the Clinton Foundation, according to a new report by investigative journalist Peter Schweizer and the Government…
The day after endorsing Hillary Clinton for president, Bernie Sanders was asked a question he didn’t welcome. Did he believe Clinton could be trusted to enact a left-wing agenda if elected? Sanders ducked. "Sorry, I'm not going to get into the trusted or not." The questioner wanted him "to…
In a congressional race in which Ted Cruz clashed with House Republican leaders, the former mayor of West Point, Georgia, captured the GOP primary Tuesday and is all but certain of winning the general election in November.
Politics is a team sport. Ronald Reagan understood that. Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell treat politics as a team effort. Ted Cruz isn’t a team player.
Cleveland
Art Laffer is a famous economist, one of the brains behind President Ronald Reagan's supply-side tax cuts in 1981. But he was also a political adviser to Reagan and other presidential candidates. Based on history rather than polls or demographics, he insists Donald Trump will win the presidential…
Hillary Clinton is the most corrupt person ever to get this close to becoming president of the United States. Aaron Burr was corrupt, but his treason didn’t occur until after his presidential possibilities had dried up. Ulysses Grant was a great man whose administration was riddled with corruption,…
Donald Trump’s campaign for the Republican presidential nomination is based on two issues: immigration and trade. And there's a significant difference between the two. On immigration, Trump capitalized on existing opposition to illegal immigrants. But on trade, he not only created a wave of anger…
The FBI director's decision not to recommend prosecution of Hillary Clinton for mishandling highly classified information is a bump in the road for Donald Trump's campaign against her—a pretty big bump. It may halt Trump's gradual narrowing of her lead in the general election race, at least for the…
Drive over the Potomac River from Virginia into Washington across the 14th Street Bridge, and you can’t miss a large electric sign overhead. "SafeTrack Is Here," it says. "Rethink Your Commute." That's supposed to be helpful advice. Properly understood, it's a warning.
After the 9/11 attacks, politicians divided into two camps. The 9/12ers were the largest. They believed the world had changed and America faced a frightening new threat from Islamic terrorists. But there were plenty of 9/10ers. They were mostly liberals and Democrats who felt the world wasn’t much…
[img nocaption float="right" width="213" height="305" render="<%photoRenderType%>"]997[/img][img nocaption float="right" width="340" height="677" render="<%photoRenderType%>"]998[/img]Wings of Morning The Story of the Last American Bomber Shot Down over Germany in World War II by Thomas Childers…
If Hillary Clinton is elected president, congressional Democrats are likely to push her to move to the left and embrace much of the agenda of Bernie Sanders, her opponent for the presidential nomination. If Donald Trump wins, Republicans in Congress intend to be a check on him, pressing him to…
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, like many Republicans who support Donald Trump, is upset with Trump and the tack he's taken in the presidential campaign.
Donald Trump has achieved two things besides locking up the Republican presidential nomination. The first is widely acknowledged: He now has a real chance of beating Hillary Clinton. Sean Trende, the best of the big-picture political writers, puts the possibility Trump will win the presidency at 30…
Inside the Beltway and along the Washington-to-Boston corridor, #NeverTrump has won the hearts and minds of conservative intellectuals and the high-toned media. The dissenters—yes, there are some—make a lot less noise.
On February 13, Justice Antonin Scalia died at a hunting lodge in Texas. That same day, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell made this announcement: “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we…
Hillary Clinton sounds like Paul Ryan on the economy. She says she’s for "strong growth, fair growth, and long-term growth." She would abandon the slow-growth economics of President Obama and return us to those wonderful days in the 1990s when husband Bill was in charge. This is a different Hillary…
If you’re expecting Donald Trump to change now that he's the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, forget it. Trump says he can act presidential any time he wants to. But that time rarely comes. There's a reason for this. Trump equates being presidential with being boring. And boring isn't…
What happened to Ted Cruz? A month ago, he won the Wisconsin primary in a landslide and was poised to combat Donald Trump with a fresh burst of enthusiasm. Now he's out of the race and Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Differences between Ted Cruz and Donald Trump go beyond their personalities and opinions. One sprang up when Cruz last week named Carly Fiorina his vice presidential running mate, should he win the Republican presidential nomination. He couldn’t wait until the California primary in June, though…
An hour before polls closed in five states last night, Our Principles PAC declared that Donald Trump would sweep all five primaries. No worry, the anti-Trump outfit said. "The path to the nomination does not hinge" on any of these outcomes.
The presence of “Trojan horse" delegates—or "double agent" delegates, as Donald Trump calls them—is not a new phenomenon at a Republican convention. There were many at the last convention during which a presidential nomination was contested.
Is Donald Trump as good at making deals as he says? He’d better be or his chances of winning the Republican presidential nomination are likely to vanish before his eyes.
If you’re running for your party's presidential nomination, you'd better not rely on the notion that you have the best chance of being elected in the general election. The most compelling evidence at the moment is John Kasich's campaign—that is, its lack of success.
Ted Cruz's victory in the Wisconsin primary was a turning point in the Republican presidential race in more ways than one.
House speaker Paul Ryan is not running for president. That became clear several months after the 2012 election, in which Ryan was Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate. At two private dinners, a prominent Republican introduced Ryan to a bipartisan group of influential policy intellectuals…
Donald Trump was wise to decline to join a 13th and final Republican presidential debate. He has little new to say and not much that’s compelling or interesting. He began the 11th debate by calling Mitt Romney "a failed candidate" and "an embarrassment to everybody." And in his next-to-last…
We shouldn’t be surprised the Republican presidential race has come down to Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. This is a party in which half or more of its voters feel they've been betrayed by their leaders. Who else would they favor except the two candidates most at odds with the GOP brass?
In the 1980s and ’90s, Republicans attracted, then locked up, new groups of voters: the anti-abortion movement, the Reagan Democrats, the Christian right, and the pro-gun crowd. More recently, Republicans have won the support of practically everyone associated with the energy industry, especially…
When Donald Trump contacted him early in September 2014, Rick Santorum suspected Trump had something specific on his mind. He just didn’t know what it was. "I don't think Donald Trump does anything by accident," Santorum says. "He found an excuse to reach out to me."
Donald Trump tightened his grip on the Republican presidential nomination by dominating Super Tuesday. But his prospects of defeating Hillary Clinton in the general election are fraught with new trouble.
When Ronald Reagan ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1980, the top issue was the sour economy. Reagan’s solution was a 30 percent, across-the-board cut in individual income tax rates. As nominee, he stuck with the big tax-cut as his main message. And he followed through as…
Donald Trump, having won the Nevada caucuses, is now two primary victories from defeating his top two rivals and claiming the Republican presidential nomination.
Presidential campaigns are never perfect. Troubles occur. What is supposed to happen doesn't happen. There's an old saying that no one has ever become a better person for having run for president. That's about as close to a reliable expectation of presidential campaigns as there is.
There wasn't much to like in last night's Republican debate in Greenville, South Carolina. I doubt if many people came away from the two-hour squabble feeling better about the GOP or its presidential candidates.
Donald Trump got everything he wanted in New Hampshire primary—and a whole lot more. He's not only a stronger frontrunner in the Republican race than ever; he's now in the driver's seat on the road to the presidential nomination.
Ted Cruz put on a show when he won the Iowa caucuses. The impression was that of a rookie football player dancing in the end zone after scoring a touchdown. In the NFL, teammates stop an exuberant player from celebrating too long and being penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. The stage at his…
By finishing third in last night’s Iowa caucuses, Marco Rubio joined Donald Trump and Ted Cruz as a candidate with a realistic chance of winning the Republican presidential nomination. Rubio pulled himself out of the pack of long-shot candidates and sure losers in the large GOP field – by itself,…
When a Republican leader went to vote in his Dallas neighborhood on May 1, 1976, he was in for a huge surprise. It was the day of the Republican presidential primary in Texas—Ronald Reagan versus President Gerald Ford—and a long line of voters extended outside the polling place. And he didn't…
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