Recently, I saw a clip of Chris Matthews grumbling at the state of the Obama Presidency. Matthews was expressing frustration at a perceived lack of communication between the president and Congress, and I think he’s on to something. Barack Obama came into office with everything going for him – a clear voter mandate, concrete plans, … Read more
Today, a variety of student perspectives were published in the Harvard Crimson on the death of the world’s most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden. I will always vividly remember the events of September 2001, watching my 4th grade teacher in Missouri receive a phone call and deliver the news that the Pentagon had just been … Read more
On the Sunday morning talk shows this week, Sen. John McCain offered a grim outlook on what the Libyan conflict may look like in weeks to come. Senator John McCain warned on Sunday that he feared the conflict in Libya was heading toward a “stalemate” and threatened to create a vacuum that could result in … Read more
Much hullabaloo has been made in the last two weeks over the state of the 112th Congress and how it can possibly operate without political gridlock. By popular media’s account, a three-way Western-style showdown between Speaker Boehner, Leader Reid, and President Obama is all but imminent. In the words of William A. Galston, a senior … Read more
My last post for this blog was an analysis of Obama on the campaign trail and the work that he was doing to ensure that Democrats across the country got elected. I assigned the President the title “Campaigner-in-Chief.” Indeed, because of Obama’s tour around the nation from coast to coast, this name was deserved due … Read more
Immediately following the midterm elections, newspaper headlines from around the world told the tale of an American president embarrassingly “defeated” and “apologetic” of his presidency thus far. From titles such as “No We Can’t” in the Kuwait Times to “Obama Admits He Needs ‘to Do a Better Job’ After Election Beating” in the London Guardian,to … Read more
California Proposition 19-also called the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannibis Act of 2010. If passed in November, this ballot measure will legalize possession, buying, and selling of marijuana for California residents 21 or older. According to supporters, legalization will cut the state’s estimated $19.9 billion budget shortfall by $1.4 billion in tax revenue, save valuable … Read more
Bob Woodward’s book, Obama’s War, hit shelves this week amidst turf wars in the White House between war advisors and political advisers. This is wholly appropriate. While the book paints Obama as a strategic war president, a man dedicated to closely considering all strategies before independently creating his own policy, the book’s main aftershock is to impress … Read more