Outside the Beltway

It’s time for another White House Correspondent’s Dinner, and it’s going to be just as atrocious as the last one. But, the dinner isn’t the real problem.

Another poll shows that Republicans are largely out of step with public opinion on the question of whether businesses should be free to refuse to provide services for same-sex weddings.

Less than two weeks after entering the race, Florida Senator Marco Rubio is at the top of the GOP field in a new poll.

Former Hewlett Packard CEO, and failed Senate candidate, Carly Fiorina will be running for President for some reason.

The GOP race remains tight, but some candidates have benefited from their entry into the race more than others. Overall, though, Hillary Clinton continues to dominate.

Some observations about Stewart’s interview (and some digression from me–okay, a lot of digression by me).

The US economy added 126,000 jobs, much less than the guess of 244,000.

Rand Paul has been cozying up to social conservatives lately, but he risks alienating the people most likely to support his campaign for the White House.

We’re down to debating whether bigots should have to sell cakes to gay people.

Harry Reid made outlandish claims about Mitt Romney during the 2012 election. He probably knew they were lies when he made them. And he doesn’t care.

President Obama thinks that it would be a good idea if everyone were forced to vote. He’s wrong, and his idea is most likely unconstitutional.

Two weeks after the email story broke, there’s no sign that Hillary Clinton is losing ground in the 2016 race.

A powerful Democratic Senator looks like he’s about to be in a whole lot of trouble.

Ben Carson is inching closer to running for President, and he’s continuing to pander to the most extreme elements of the Republican Party.

By a wide margin Americans think it was wrong of the GOP to invite Israel’s Prime Minister to speak to Congress.

ISIS apparently now has a foothold in Libya, and is making inroads in Yemen.

John McCain is not a fan of Code Pink.

Mitt Romney is set to make an announcement at 11 Eastern today. [UPDATE: He’s out!]

There’s really no point in watching tonight’s speech.

The Republican National Committee is trying to bring some sanity to the Presidential debate process, but there’s no guarantee it can succeed.

Pope Francis has earned a reputation as a liberal in comparison to recent predecessors but he’s no liberal.

Some are criticizing the President for not going to Paris for yesterday’s rally.

The terrorism wave that began with the massacre at the Charlie Hebdo offices has not ended with the killing of the perpetrators. A follow-on attack has occurred in Germany and there are reports of “sleeper cells” being activated in France.

He’s tan. He’s rested. And, apparently, he’s ready. Mitt Romney seems very interested in 2016 all of a sudden.

The terror attack in Paris seems likely to undercut GOP efforts to use the DHS budget to attack the President’s immigration policies.

At least 11 are dead and 10 wounded in an attack on free expression.

President Obama believes the North Korean attack on Sony was “an act of cyber vandalism” rather than “an act of war.”

President Obama criticized Sony for backing down, and said that the U.S. would respond to North Korea’s cyber attack “at a place and time we choose,”

With major theater chains having pulled out, Sony bowed to the inevitable, but now there appears to be proof that a foreign power is behind the Sony hacking attacks and threats of violence.

Judging by recent polling, the President’s executive action has hardened GOP opposition to immigration reform, making progress on the issue going forward much less likely.

Ben Carson is not a serious candidate for President, but he’s likely to get a lot of support from the GOP’s Tea Party wing.

Michael Brown’s stepfather made incendiary comments in the wake of the Grand Jury announcement, but they do not amount to a crime.

It’s an old story. Republican leadership wants to avoid a government shutdown, but the hard core conservatives want a fight, this time over the President’s immigration action. We have a week to see how it unfolds.

The numbers on the Ebola outbreak are bad, but they aren’t as bad as had been feared.

A new poll shows that a majority of Americans support the President’s changes to deportation policy, but don’t like that he acted unilaterally.

Regardless of the outcome of the Michael Brown investigation, there are legitimate problems that need to be addressed.

Not surprisingly, last night’s announcement that there would be no state court indictment in the Michael Brown shooting led to violence and confrontations with police. That’s not going to solve any of the real problems that face Ferguson, or any other community in the United States.

A surprising change at the top of the military’s civilian chain of command.

As things stand right now, there is no legitimate legal authorization for the President’s war against ISIS, and that’s largely because Congress has failed to act.