President Obama is setting himself up to lose the public debate over spending and a possible government shutdown because he is not giving the American people a clear sense of what’s at stake for them. On this issue, his language is vague and uninspiring – although he has threatened to veto the GOP spending plan …
I suspect the 1995 movie “The American President” was popular not just because of Michael Douglas and Annette Bening but because it spoke to our longing for leadership, for a President who realizes, as President Shepherd does at the film’s climax, that he needs to confront tough issues head-on rather than play it safe. We …
Continue reading “Obama Budget Critics Are Missing the Mark on Strategy”
Prospects for peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority have not been rising. The central issues of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements and Palestinian refugees seem no closer to resolution, and turmoil in Egypt, Jordan, Yemen and elsewhere in the region further complicates efforts to reach long-term solutions to vexing challenges. Now, Hezbollah’s de facto takeover of …
Continue reading “Hezbollah’s seizure of power in Lebanon dooms peace talks and puts Israel at risk”
Americans know little about what’s in the federal budget, Bruce Bartlett reminded us late last week in a convincing piece that relied on the latest poll results. And while wanting to cut deficits and spending, the public largely opposes cuts to the particular domestic programs that dominate the budget. It’s a welcome reminder: All else …
Continue reading “Political Ignorance Threatens Deficit Reduction”
In a bitterly polarized Washington, where the two parties increasingly confront one another over issues both large and small, we have apparently reached a rare bipartisan consensus: The rising deficit is a spending problem. Republicans have been saying it for years; President Obama largely adopted their narrative in his recent State of the Union address; …
Continue reading “Sorry, the Federal Deficit Isn’t a Spending Problem”
President Obama’s move to the political center and the accompanying rise in his approval ratings is good news both for him and the country because a weak President usually means a weak nation, at home and abroad. But Obama’s tortuous path to greater popularity says something disturbing about our political system and the ability to …
Continue reading “Obama’s Shift to Center: Big Payoff at a Big Price”
Debates over taxes and spending are often about bigger things, such as the proper role of the federal government, our responsibilities as citizens to finance that government, and our obligations to care for one another. Over the last 20 years, presidents and lawmakers have debated a number of fundamental questions: Welfare reform in 1996 — …
Continue reading “Battle Looms over GOP Efforts to Remake Medicaid”