Outside the Beltway

This November, California could become the first state in the nation to completely legalize the possession and sale of marijuana. And the battle over the ballot initiative is having an impact on other statewide races.

What’s so wrong with saying that America will survive even if al Qaeda manages to hit us again ?

According to a poll released Tuesday, nearly 20 percent of U.S. citizens now believe Barack Obama is a cactus, the most Americans to identify the president as a water- retaining desert plant since he took office.

According to a new book from Bob Woorward, American policy in Afghanistan is the result of a decision making process that can only be described as chaotic at best.

The Republican Leadership is treating Lisa Murkowski very differently than the Democrats handled Joe Lieberman in 2006.

A staffer for U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss left a threatening slur on an Internet discussion of the right of gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. military.

The effort to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell suffered a setback in the Senate today that likely delays any further moves on the issue until after the midterm elections.

One Republican analyst thinks that President Obama could learn a few leadership lessons from Vito and Michael Corleone. In order to do that, though, the President would need to stop acting like the weakest of the Corleone brothers.

Most voters want their representatives to take a stand.

While she continues basking in the glory of her surprise victory, Christine O’Donnell is still dodging questions about potentially serious violations of the law.

For the moment, the Tea Party movement is helping pull the GOP out of a slump that seemed like it would continue for a long time. Will it last, or will the movement end up doing for Republicans what the left has done for Democrats ?

Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections were marked by another round of allegations of widespread voter fraud, once again bringing to the forefront the question; what exactly are we trying to accomplish in Afghanistan ?

While Sarah Palin is viewed unfavorably by half of likely voters, they nonetheless think her views are more like their own than President Obama’s.

Could Mike Pence make the leap from the House of Representatives to the White House ? It’s possible, but history and the likely GOP field in 2012 suggest it would be very difficult.

Is Sarah Palin running for President in 2012 ? It’s looking more and more likely that the answer might be yes.

While it will be difficult, the idea that Lisa Murkowski could win a write-in bid to retain her Senate seat is not at all implausible.

Lisa Murkowski is the worst kind of sore loser candidate, willing to screw over her party’s voters and her own donors to keep her seat