Outside the Beltway

If the Bush TARP initiative saved the economy at no cost to taxpayers, we have the odd situation of Republicans nonetheless angry it happened and Democrats who thought it a good idea annoyed that it worked.

Public trust in Congress is at an all time low, again, and the public doesn’t trust either party to fix things.

The Democratic Party seems to have decided that the best way to begin the final leg of the midterm election campaign is with a legislative cave-in of epic proportions.

In 1994, it was the Contract With America. In 2010, it’s the Pledge To America. But does it really mean anything regardless of what it’s called ?

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 ?

Jon Stewart has made the transition into the post-Bush era much more effectively than his protege, Stephen Colbert.

The political fight over the extension of the Bush tax cuts took a very interesting turn today.

Ted Koppel thinks our actions since 9/11 have helped Osama bin Laden fulfill his goals. He couldn’t be more wrong.

The Obama administration has persuaded the nation’s most liberal appellate court that the executive branch’s right to secrecy trumps the rights of people claiming they were tortured by the United States Government.

President Obama didn’t use the words “Mission Accomplished” last night, but the message was the same.

If Republicans regain control of Congress, you could be seeing a lot of scenes like this on your television for the next two years.

The Obama’s are vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard again this year so, of course, it’s time for people to say stupid things about Presidential leisure activities again.

According to John Bolton, Israel has a deadline of August 21st to attack Iran’s nuclear program. This is the fourth deadline he’s set in the last three years.

Barack Obama has significantly widened his predecessor’s global war on terrorism, even if he’s no longer calling it that.

Shockingly, the Tea Party as a generic movement is more popular than congressional leadership. Interestingly, the Democrats are still slightly more popular than the Tea Party and the Reps are in third.

Former Bush administration Solicitor General Ted Olson is making a zealous case for same-sex marriage. Why are people surprised?

There isn’t as much GOP unity over the idea of changing America’s citizenship rules as you might think.

The Obama administration is refusing to enforce border security, right?

Why I wasn’t fooled by Barack Obama’s campaign promises to curb presidential power.

The Obama administration wants the FBI to be able to look at your Internet records without the inconvenience of respecting your 4th Amendment rights.

Three different ways they’re viewing the leaked “war logs” across the Pond.

With everyone concerned about the budget deficit, the idea of cutting military spending is finally gaining traction on Capitol Hill.

Recent debates over the economic and fiscal impact of the Bush tax cuts indicate that Republicans still haven’t learned the lessons of the Bush years.

Will a debate over foreign policy tear apart the GOP ? Probably not.

Much like his pledge to close Guantanamo within a year, President Obama’s promised deadline to implement a “scientific integrity” program has come and gone.

Did the American media cover up torture by the Bush Administration?

Despite repeated promises to the contrary, the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay will be remaining open indefinitely.

Stanley McChrystal is being called to face Obama’s national security team this morning. They should take the opportunity to come up with coherent Afghanistan policy.

Is there a double standard in play when generals criticize Democratic versus Republican presidents?

Should Obama waive restrictions on international shipping, as Bush did during Katrina? It’s more complicated than you may think.

Fatherhood.gov, the website Obama launched to some criticism yesterday, actually has its roots in the Bush Administration and has a predecessor dating to 2000.