Outside the Beltway

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he isn’t running for President, but he’s sure acting like a guy who’s at least thinking about it.

The pending compromise between the two parties on taxes and other policies underscores the fact that enhanced minority power (in this case, the filibuster power) helps contribute to fiscal irresponsibility.

As things stand right now, the dynamics don’t look good for President Obama in 2012

Amid signs that Democrats in Congress might rebel against the tax cut deal he struck with Republicans, President Obama took to the airwaves today to defend it at the same time that his base is rebelling against it.

President Obama is already taking heat from the left for his compromise on tax cut extensions, but will it actually hurt him in the end?

The unemployed are predominately poorly educated non-voters. Some argue that they are therefore getting far too little attention from the political class.

President Obama and the GOP have reached a deal on extending the Bush tax cuts that gives the GOP virtually everything it wanted.

Republican maneuvering to extend the Bush tax cuts for all Americans appears about to pay off.

The Senate rejected an effort to limit the extension of the Bush tax cuts based on income level. At this point, the only question is when Democrats will concede defeat on this debate.

Unemployment rose to 9.8% from 9.6% in November.

President Obama’s plan to free federal employee pay is getting praised by Republicans but is wildly unpopular among progressive activists.

President Obama is likely join the ranks of the unemployed come noon on January 20, 2013 if a Fed forecast is right.

The latest forecast from the Federal Reserve foresees stagnant growth and high unemployment for the next two years.

Dana Milbank asks, “Would we be better off under a President Hillary Clinton?” His affirmative answer isn’t very convincing.

There’s some good news in the October jobs report.

The Federal Reserve is injecting $ 600,000,000,000 into the economy, primarily in the hope that it will boost stock prices and, in turn, the economy. It might work, but if it doesn’t the consequences could be severe.

The British press takes a look at America’s Midterm Elections.

If the polling is anywhere close to accurate, a Republican wave will come crashing down today, repudiating the first two years of the Obama administration. What does it mean?

Another round of GDP growth figures are out, and they show that the U.S. economy continues to grow far slower than necessary to sustain job growth. Is this a temporary problem, or something we can expect to live with for the foreseeable future?

A call for ideological purity in the Democratic Party in today’s New York Times demonstrates that Democrats can be just as foolish as Republicans.

According to some new studies by crack economists, it’s helpful to have a spouse bringing in some money if you happen to lose your job.

If job growth continues at the anemic pace that it has been on in 2010, it could be quite some time before we return to the “Good Old Days” of 5% unemployment.

Another month, another bad jobs report.

Yet another study shows what any of us who’ve ever spent any time around soldiers already knew: Our Army is not comprised of stupid people who couldn’t find a decent job.

Arnold Schwarzenegger predicts President Obama’s re-election. Historically, that’s the safe bet.

Paul Krugman says there’s zero evidence for structural causes for unemployment. It’s just a demand problem. How do we spark demand, then?

David Brooks blames our economic woes on a change from a culture that valued productive work to one of gentility. And Bill Cosby.

Ohio has long been a bellwethers state and, if a new statewide poll is any indication, it looks to be ready to hand the Democrats a very bad defeat in November.

The first ad of the 2012 presidential cycle has aired, by some dentist touting Hillary Clinton. She’s not running. Could she?

The August jobs numbers may be “better than expected,” but they still aren’t all that great.

Another political analyst is out with a 2010 prediction that should make Democrats very nervous.

The perfect storm of a bad economy and a new, massive, unpopular government entitlement program may be combing to cause serious damage to Democrats in November.

The Nevada Senate race is, in many ways, a three-way in which none of the above could be a spoiler for Angle.

For many reasons, the housing market is unlikely to fully recover for the foreseeable future.

Another set of bad economic numbers are out today, and one wonders when we’ll start getting the good news.

House Minority John Boehner is getting a lot of attention for calling for mass firings at the White House. The real news, though, is that his speech is shifting the focus of the political conversation back to the economy. Which is just what the GOP needs.

Glenn Greenwald argues that the “Ground Zero Mosque” debate is about more than just a “mosque” near Ground Zero. He’s right, but that also means the debate is likely to get uglier.

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.

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is superbly qualified for the presidency. But our system virtually assures that he won’t be a serious contender for the job.