Outside the Beltway

It’s Obama’s race to lose, not a coin toss.

Obama heads into his convention in a good position, but with several potential pitfalls in his path.

The front page of Sunday’s NYT profiled Valerie Jarrett, the power behind the throne at the Obama White House.

So far, there’s very little movement in the polls for Governor Romney.

A clear victory for the Obama campaign in an Ohio Court, but will it stand on appeal?

A legal setback for the Texas Voter ID law, but not much of a political setback for Voter ID laws in general.

Tonight’s convention speech is the most important speech Mitt Romney has ever given.

The political convention we know is a 19th Century relic. It’s time to modernize it and make it a lot shorter.

As its convention begins, one has to wonder what has happened to the Republican Party.

One of these men is going to his party’s convention, the other is not. The reason why is rather obvious.

At some point, however, using the bad actions of the past to justify worse actions in the present has to stop.

Dan Balz summarizes what has been “A most poisonous campaign” and is likely to get much worse before it gets over.

A group of former special operations and intelligence officers are criticizing President Obama for “Dishonorable Disclosures.”

Victor Davis Hanson thinks President Obama plans to win the back the White House by alienating the white man.

For the first time in 80 years, there are no veterans on the major party Presidential tickets.

Romney’s new ad on a ruling issued by HHS on welfare-to-work requirements doesn’t pass the smell test.

Don’t look for an effort to enact new gun laws in the wake of the Aurora shootings.

Carbon emissions in the U.S. have declined just as use of natural gas in electricity production has increased. That’s no coincidence.

Alex Pareene’s quip that “Aaron Sorkin is why people hate liberals” has gone viral.

Rush Limbaugh made perhaps one of the dumber comments I’ve seen from the right about the entire Bain Capital story, and managed to display an apparent inability to use Google to look things up.

David Brooks is wistful for the noblesse oblige of the elites of yore.

Lies and misrepresentations in politics seem to be something the American people have come to, if not accept, at least expect.

London’s iconic clock tower, known affectionately as “Big Ben” for some 150 years, has been renamed “Elizabeth Tower” in honor of QE2’s 60 years as royal figurehead.

With the Supreme Court’s decision imminent, many supporters of the PPACA are starting to second guess the Obama Administration’s legal strategy.

The 1976 Pulitizer prize winner is phoning it in.

Neil Munro acted like a jerk, but Barack Obama needs to be more open to questions than he has been.

The Republican nominee gets some backhanded praise from an unlikely source, MoJo blogger Kevin Drum.

Bill Clinton walks back his comments about extending the Bush Tax Cuts in the most unbelievable manner possible.

A Bill Clinton parody account created by the Romney campaign is both clever and yet another sign of what’s wrong with American politics.

Why isn’t the American middle class and working class angrier at the 1 percent?

Mitt Romney thinks prospective Presidents should be required to have business experience.

Bill Clinton is the latest Democrat to defend private equity, and Mitt Romney’s business record. It would appear this meme is on its last legs.

The official portrait of George W. Bush, the 43rd president, was unveiled at the White House yesterday. The ceremony was a rare display of political humor and grace.

For the first time in 68 years, neither major party candidate for President has served in the military. Does this matter?

A new book about the President details his marijuana use in High School and at Occidental College.

Figuring out how much of the opposition to a black president is based on racism is . . . complicated.

The Oval Office is nothing like a corporate boardroom.

All of a sudden, people are talking about Mike Huckabee as a potential Romney running mate.