Outside the Beltway

It is waaay too early to be putting much stock in polling for 2012 (either in terms of X v. Obama or GOP v. GOP).

What is Donald Trump up to? Only he seems to know for sure.

With all the birther talk these days, it’s probably time to question whether we even need the “natural born citizen” rule anymore.

Once again, President Obama has ignored Candidate Obama’s promises to reign in the Presidential powers assumed by George W. Bush.

Like all Presidents before him, Barack Obama is asserting the right to virtually unfettered discretion when it comes to military matters.

There’s still time for Sarah Palin to burnish her political reputation. But she probably won’t.

If the Republicans need their own Bill Clinton, how about Mark Sanford?

The Nixon Center has gone from one of the most controversially named think tanks in Washington to yet another blandly named one: Center for the National Interest.

Republicans begin to discover that defeating an incumbent President isn’t an easy task.

The Constitutional Reform Commitee has finished its work and will report its recommendations to the military.

Republicans won the right to govern Wisconsin. What does that mean for Democrats?

Michael Medved wishes that conservatives would stop implying that the President of the United States wants to destroy the United States.

Newt Gingrich is very popular among young conservatives. But two ugly divorces will keep him from being a contender for the presidency.

A few thoughts/historical examples, as to why I am guarded in my optimism on Egypt.

Ellis Goldberg, a Professor of Political Science at the University of Washington and an expert on Egyptian politics, has a pessimistic view about the likelihood that the military is interested in democratization.

So, what are the constitutional provisions for presidential resignations in Egypt?

The media are wildly exaggerating the heckling at a gathering of conservatives.

One Republican Congressman is calling on President Obama to stand firmly behind our “friend” in Cairo, even though there’s little evidence we can trust him.

Today’s Foreign Desk includes comments on Brazil’s floods, developments in Ivory Coast, and Silvio Berlusconi’s sex scandal.

The American media and Sarah Palin have developed an odd symbiotic relationship, and it’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

A new book by President Reagan’s youngest son raises allegations that the former President was showing signs of Alzheimer’s Disease while still in office, and that’s led to a family feud between the two Reagan brothers.

150 years ago, President-Elect Abraham Lincoln was presented with a chance to avert Civil War. He passed it up, and we should be glad that he did.

One columnist argues that Sarah Palin’s response to the Arizona shootings mark the end of whatever political future she might have had. He’s probably correct.

President Obama and Hillary Clinton top Gallup’s lists of Most Admired Americans.

Is calling Côte d’Ivoire “Ivory Coast” linguistic colonialism? Where do we draw the line when English names for countries go out of vogue?

Just weeks after voting for a broad ban on earmarks, Republicans are looking for ways to get money to their districts without calling it an “earmark.”

President Obama’s press conference yesterday, bitterly railing against Democrats in the Congress for being “purist” and “sanctimonious,” is brilliant triangulation.

Meghan McCain doesn’t know what a “blue blood” is but doesn’t want to be called one.

The prospective Republican field for 2012 is dismal. Then again, it always is.

The over-hyping of President Obama’s lip getting cut while playing basketball is a bit much.

President Obama’s response to the outrage that has accompanied new TSA screening procedures at America’s airports is incredibly non-responsive.

While Tim Pawlenty and John Thune get high marks from insiders, they have next to no shot at winning the 2012 Republican nomination for president.

Rand Paul is taking some heat for remarks that may or may not indicate that he’s backtracking on his previous vow not to seek earmark spending for Kentucky. Yes folks, the phony war on earmarks is back.

Despite votes in the 2010 contest still being counted, polls for 2012 are already pouring out. They’re largely meaningless.

George W. Bush’s new memoir reveals that he briefly considered replaced Dick Cheney as Vice-President before the 2004 elections. His decision not to do so reveals much about the relationship between Presidents and Vice-Presidents in modern American politics.

If you’re looking for a reason why the GOP is likely to do very well tomorrow, voter response to the “right track/wrong track” question is a very good guide.