Outside the Beltway

When John McCain declared that Sarah Palin could beat President Obama, it was easy to dismiss. But when the architect of the Democratic strategy in 2008, says the same thing, you have to listen.

With so many Republicans wringing their hands over the 2012 field, one name that keeps popping up as a possible game changer is Texas Governor Rick Perry.

Stephen Colbert has been running an ongoing shtick in which he’s trying to start a political action committee, gets letters from his Viacom bosses poo-pooing the idea, and then inviting his lawyer on to explain ways to get around these concerns.

Once again, Congressional abdication has led to an Executive Branch power grab.

Mike Huckabee’s decision not to run has shaken up the GOP field for 2012.

Can one effectively run for the presidency if one’s spouse doesn’t want to be in the spotlight?

Is the war in Libya illegal?

Matt Eckel’s takeaway from my Atlantic piece on How Perpetual War Became U.S. Ideology is that we need a peer competitor.

Why the United States has found itself in a seemingly endless series of wars over the past two decades.

Osama bin Laden is dead, but he’s succeeded in changing America for the worse.

You thought the birther insanity was over? Silly you.

President Obama’s long-form birth certificate is being released, the White House announced today.

Trump continues his antics: pulling out 2008 campaign memes and doing his best to paint Obama as a mysterious “other.”

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.