Outside the Beltway

A new book by former SecDef Robert Gates is making political waves in Washington power circles, but will it matter to ordinary Americans?

If you’re still not convinced that we lost the war in Iraq, this should settle the argument.

The “paper of record” joins the call for some kind of deal with Edward Snowden.

Has Speaker Boehner breathed new life into immigration reform in the House? Maybe.

The New York Times Benghazi report raises as many questions as it purports to answer.

.Many have tried to justify N.S.A. data mining on the theory that it could have prevented 9/11. Is that true?

More details.

The Sunbelt continues to dominate.

Airlines are squeezing ever-larger passengers into ever-smaller spaces. Naturally, the passengers are taking it out on the other passengers.

Does a determination that NSA data collection practices are likely unconstitutional mean that Edward Snowden’s actions were, in some sense, justified?

Ron Fournier sees major similarities but ignores key differences.

David Brooks thinks that the problem with American Government is that the Presidency isn’t strong enough.

Without a deal of some kind, it’s quite likely that Edward Snowden will remain beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement or some time to come.

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.

The Federal Exchange website seems to be functioning better, but many questions about implementation of the PPACA remain to be answered.

Even as it defies China’s illegal territorial claims with military flights, the Obama administration is urging US airlines to comply.

Politics aside, the challenges to the PPACA’s birth control mandate raise important legal issues.

The Justice Department is reportedly not planning to prosecute Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in connection with the Bradley Manning case.

Republican hardliners are pushing a position on immigration that is completely out of sync with the nation as a whole.

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

Phil Carter draws attention to “The Vets We Reject and Ignore.”

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

Accusations of blame are already being tossed around about why Republicans lost in Virginia, and they mirror a broader debate in the Republican Party nationally.

The news that Obama aides discussed a change to the 2012 ticket is part of the latest Halperin/Heilemann campaign history.

NSA Director General Keith Alexander really doesn’t like the idea of a free press.

Would you trust the men and women in this building?

The argument that the Roberts Court has been overly “activist” does not hold up to examination.

So much for the most transparent Administration in history.

The GOP’s approval numbers have fallen like a stone, but it’s unclear whether this will matter in 2014.

There seems to be at least some hope for a temporary deal in Washington to end the shutdown and raise the debt ceiling, but don’t count your chickens just yet.

Republicans appear to be uniting behind a short-term plan to deal with the debt ceiling, but seem okay with keeping the government shutdown going forward.

63% are angry at Republicans, 57% are angry at Democrats, and 53% are angry at President Obama.

To borrow a phrase from Stephen Colbert, if you want to understand how Congress works, you better know a District.

Tom Clancy, author of dozens of bestselling military thriller novels, has died aged 66.

The GOP seems perfectly fine with risking a shutdown, even though polling shows they’d pay the biggest price for it.

Can differences in media coverage of two unrelated filibusters be explained solely by media bias?