Outside the Beltway

Chris Christie has had a very good month, and it’s ending with him with a strong lead among potential Republican candidates for 2016.

Nearly two-thirds of House Republicans voted for default. They lost.

It’s a party thing.

Being Speaker of the House has become much more of a difficult job than it used to be.

There’s no denying it now. The GOP is being harmed by the events in Washington far more than the President and Democrats in general.

There’s a way for President Obama and Speaker Boehner to talk out a deal to resolve the current crisis, but they have to want to do it.

It’s now clear that, absent an unlikely miracle, there will be a government shutdown.

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

CNN is reviving the Crossfire shoutfest with Newt Gingrich, S.E. Cupp, Stephanie Cutter, and Van Jones as hosts.

So far, three weeks of bad news hasn’t really had much of an impact on the public’s view of how President Obama is handling his job.

The world oil markets aren’t too far away from being hit by the shock of massively increased demand from China. Somehow, we’ll have to adapt.

Republicans seem to think they need fewer Presidential debates in the 2016 cycle, but it’s unclear how they can make that happen.

Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum apparently talked about uniting to stop Romney during the 2012 Republican primaries.

Rand Paul’s filibuster has made him a darling among conservatives but it may not last.

NYT Magazine asks “Can the Republicans be Saved From Obsolescence?”

The GOP seems to be drawing all the wrong lessons from the 2012 elections.

Two-term Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss will not seek re-election in 2014.

The attempted coup against John Boehner resembled something you’d see in a banana republic.

Today, there are many millions of Americans who can tell one Kardashian sister from another, but have no idea that Barack Obama has compiled the worst presidential record since Jimmy Carter.

Was Rick Perry the worst candidate to run in the 2012 cycle? It certainly appears so.

Mitt Romney wasn’t a perfect candidate, but he was much better than most of the 2012 Republican field.

Republicans are trying to figure out what went wrong. Will they learn the right lessons from their loss?

The 2012 Election should be a warning to the GOP that it needs to open itself up to minority groups, especially Latinos.

President Obama easily won re-election last night, carrying virtually all of the battleground states. Meanwhile, abortion, gay marriage, and recreational marijuana also won big.

Naturally, most of us are asking: What does this mean for next Tuesday’s election.

Hillary Clinton doesn’t have much sympathy for her former aide’s inability to “have it all.”

A five year old “shocking” video of President Obama speaking to a group of African-American ministers proves to be not very shocking at all.

Now that he is on the ballot for good, Republicans seem to be giving Todd Akin a second look. That seems unwise.

Whether Mitt Romney wins or loses, the GOP needs to evolve or be doomed to minority party status.

Whether Republicans like it or not, Mitt Romney was the best candidate they had in 2012.

The Romney campaign seems to be responding to criticism by pretending it hears no evil.

It may not be the one thing that costs him election, but Mitt Romney’s remarks about the “47 percent” are still a problem for his campaign.

Senator Rand Paul suggests the GOP may want to reconsider its foreign policy aggressiveness.

The 2012 campaign is revealing once again that many conservatives have a view of President Obama not shared by the public at large.

The President and his supporters say that Congressional Republicans will temper their rhetoric in a second Obama term. Don’t count on it.

The Romney campaign has hurt the press corps’ feelings.