Outside the Beltway

Rick Perry continues to slip in the polls.

What was written on a rock outside of a hunting lodge in Texas 30 years ago doesn’t really matter all that much.

The story of Perry’s hunting lodge probably doesn’t tell us that much about Perry, but it is still telling.

Andy Rooney made his last appearance as a regular commenter on “60 Minutes” last night but says he’s not retiring because “writers don’t retire.”

Country music legend Hank Williams, Jr. is not a fan of the current administration.

The first two months of Rick Perry’s campaign are a good example of why it helps to start a Presidential campaign early.

“Straight talkers” like Chris Christie make for lousy leaders.

Is money the only thing that matters in post-Citizens United American politics?

Alabama immigration law causing parents to withdraw children from schools.

Judging them by their own manifesto, the Occupy Wall Street protesters are pretty silly people.

Why does what was painted on a rock 30-odd years ago matter today?

A meme is emerging that the Occupy Wall Street protests are America’s version of the Arab Awakening. That meme must die.

Parents are being arrested for sending their children to public schools outside their district.

Some 700 protesters were arrested yesterday afternoon after they shut down the Brooklyn Bridge for 2-1/2 hours, apparently mistaking it for Wall Street.

Pete Gent, the former Dallas Cowboy and Michigan State player best known as the author of “North Dallas Forty,” has died at 69 from pulmonary illness.

He suggested the possibility of sending troops to Mexico to fight drug cartels.

Giving the President the unchecked power to kill American citizens raises some serious red flags.

Some actual political science suggests that being an overweight male candidate may not be a negative for voters.

Pundits love to speculate about new candidates entering the race and spicing things up. This will all be academic quite soon because filing dates in key states are fast approaching.

Marcia Anderson has become the first African American woman to be promoted to a two star general in the US Army.

When the FBI essentially creates a terrorist in order to arrest him, have we really accomplished anything?

Chris Christie’s weight has become a political concern, apparently.

My latest for The Atlantic, “The Thorniest Question: When Can a President Order an American Killed?” has been posted.

Better or worse?

And, the week closes out with another round of rumors about New Jersey’s Governor.

Another entry in the ongoing follies of US border and immigration policy.

Despite what the media keeps saying, there’s no real evidence that GOP voters are dissatisfied with the 2012 field.

A consultant for would-be academics, says she wouldn’t have a job if professors would do theirs.

Can someone who doesn’t look like a GQ model make it in politics anymore?