Outside the Beltway

Time to start talking about lame ducks?

The most important leader to come out of Africa in the 20th Century, and perhaps in all of history, has died.

A new poll finds the American public far less supportive of the idea of the U.S. as the world’s policeman.

Dana Milbank offers a nonsensical reason for denying our youth the freedom to choose their own path.

A third term for any of these guys? Don’t count on it.

China sends a message, and the U.S. responds. What happens next is anyone’s guess.

More bad poll numbers for the President and his party.

It wasn’t a Thermonuclear move, more like something the size of Hiroshima, but today the Senate took an historic move nonetheless.

Don’t blame Dallas, or 60s era Texas conservatism, for what happened in Dallas 50 years ago,

A top House Republican suggested today that only Governor’s should be President. His argument has both practical and historical merit.

A story that has turned into a partisan kickball and some bad journalism have resulted in a celebrated news program getting considerable egg on its face.

A second Federal Court of Appeals in a week in two weeks has ruled the PPACA’s birth control mandate is unconstitutional.

The state where the same-sex marriage battle began is just days away from legalizing same-sex marriage.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act passed the Senate yesterday but it’s unlikely to go much further.

Chris Christie did as well as expected last night, but that’s just the beginning.

A bizarre hit piece in National Journal gives the false impression that our military leaders are considering removing the president.

Chris Christie’s decision to take a tactical retreat on the issue of same-sex marriage raises some interesting questions for 2016.

Divided government is the worst political system ever, except for all the others.

My latest for The National Interest has posted.

The political polarization we saw during the Bush Presidency has continued throughout the Obama Presidency.

President Obama is trying to launch a war but there’s a lot of competition for attention.

Score one for Team Bush?

We’re almost certainly going to launch punitive strikes against Syria. They’ll almost certainly be ineffective.

As President Obama’s red line has been crossed more brazenly, he continues to sound reluctant to intervene in Syria while positioning forces to do just that.

Some conservatives don’t seem too troubled by Vladimir Putin’s repression.

It may be Rick Santorum’s “turn” but he’s too harsh and extreme to win the nomination.

Chris Christie waded into the debate going on in the GOP over foreign policy. His comments were less than helpful to say the least.

A late-night announcement that Gitmo detainees will get hearings raises more questions than it answers.

A new poll shows public approval for the Supreme Court nearing a all-time low.

Secretary of State Kerry becomes the latest American official to wade into the Middle East’s longest lasting quagmire.

David Bosco wonders, “Why is the United Nations Ambassador in the Cabinet?”

President Obama has appointed a lot of donor’s and supporters to plumb Ambassadorial slots. That’s not at all unusual.

The Oval Office Address, once a common tool of the Presidency, has been in declining use of late.

Could Rick Perry recover from his disastrous 2012 campaign to become a viable candidate?

A privacy rights group has filed a Petition with the Supreme Court regarding recent actions by the FISA Court.

We won’t have Rick Perry to kick around any more.

Does it matter if political leaders like each other on some personal level? Sometimes it does.

President Obama’s poll numbers seem to be suffering under the weight of nearly two months of scandals and/ media attention.

Outrage over leaks like those that Edward Snowden makes doesn’t exist when its politicians doing the leaking.

Even if you trust the current occupant of the White House to exercise the powers granted to the agencies operating in secret under him, do you trust all future Presidents?

A George W. Bush renaissance? Not exactly.

Revelations about the NSA’s data mining programs don’t seem to be having a significant impact on public opinion.

Big Brother is doing more than just checking your phone records.

President Obama threw down a gauntlet today in the form of a trio of Judicial nominations.

Republicans have problems with the younger generation that they will need to fix if they’re going to succeed in the future.