All Politics
Obama: We underestimated Islamic State extremistsUS officials acknowledge that they underestimated Islamic State extremists and overestimated the willingness of Iraqi forces to fight ISIS. Obama insists that US ground troops won鈥檛 be sent, but most Americans don鈥檛 believe that.
When to shoot: Why the Secret Service is in hot waterThe Secret Service is in trouble for the recent White House fence jumper. More troubling, the Washington Post reports, is a 2011 incident when shots hit the presidential family residence. Congress holds a special hearing this week.
Hillary Clinton becomes a grandmother. Now will she announce for 2016?Chelsea Clinton gave birth to a daughter, Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky, Friday night. Hillary Clinton has said she wouldn鈥檛 announce her presidential plans until after that happy event.
Should the next attorney general be confirmed in a lame-duck session?The risk that the GOP might gain control of the Senate in 2015 is fueling speculation that the White House and Senate Democrats will attempt to bring the nomination before the Senate during the upcoming post-election lame-duck session. It's a bad idea.聽
Bombing the Islamic State: a new imperial presidency?Congress, if it musters the political will, has more than enough powers to bring any president to heel.聽Members acquiesce because they think the president has the better argument, politically speaking. That could change after November elections.
Social conservatives campaign against Republicans who endorsed same-sex marriageIn a rare move, social conservative activists urge general election votes against GOP US House candidates Carl DeMaio and Richard Tisei, US Senate candidate Monica Wehby, even though it could boost Democrats.
How fast will White House push Eric Holder replacement?For the White House, lining up a Holder successor in a few weeks, before the new Congress takes over, would be moving pretty fast. As of Friday, there did not appear to be any real front-runner for the post.
When is right time to replace Eric Holder? Depends which party you ask.Republicans, who believe they may take the Senate, say they want to wait until 2015 to replace the attorney general. Democrats disagree. Lawmakers are also divided on when to debate broader authorization for war against Islamic State.
Derek Jeter: king of the Bi-racial AgeDerek Jeter, who drove in the winning run in his last home game Thursday, transcends his statistics. He is a winner. He did all the little things that make winning possible. And聽he let his baseball playing do all the talking.
Ben Carson for president? Why a nonpolitician won't win.Politicians are so unpopular these days that a nonpolitician like conservative hero Ben Carson might seem a natural choice for president. But it rarely works.
OK, who's trying to push Mitt Romney into 2016 race?The conventional assumption that former Governor Romney will simply fade away into private life is wrong, writes the well-connected Byron York. Why might Republicans want Romney to run again?
Can Sarah Palin save Pat Roberts in tight Kansas Senate race?Sarah Palin appears in Kansas Thursday to stump for Sen. Pat Roberts, the most endangered Republican senator. She could be helpful, but there's irony in her pitch.
US jobless claims below 300,000: How good is job market getting?Some 293,000 people filed claims for unemployment benefits in the past week 鈥� a lower-than-expected number and one that puts this indicator firmly back to levels last seen before the Great Recession.
GOP fundraising off Obama 'latte salute.' Appropriate?The National Republican Senatorial Committee created a pop-up web site, Semperlatte.com, that charges Obama鈥檚 'latte salute' is indicative of a 'larger pattern.'
Obama's call to action at UN: Join us in fight against 'evil' Islamic StateSaying that 'the future of our civilization depends on us coming together' to fight Islamist extremists, Mr. Obama told the United Nations General Assembly that military action was necessary because 'the language of force' is the only one they understand.
Obama cites authority to fight Islamic State. Why some lawmakers don't buy it.For the Islamic State fight, President Obama pointed to two authorizations passed by Congress more than a decade ago. Their applicability to today is stirring debate with the force of a Tomahawk missile.
Who鈥檚 going to pay for the president's war against the Islamic State?Budget debates on Capitol Hill have been extraordinarily contentious in recent years. Sooner rather than later, Congress needs to come to terms on how to pay for this war.
Obama coffee-cup salute: 'Big deal' or 'so what'?On Tuesday, President Obama held a coffee container while performing a kind-of salute to a Marine guard while exiting the presidential helicopter. Partisans are now weighing in.
US airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria: Can they be effective?US airstrikes, and what follows, are unlikely to be sufficient to wipe out IS and may not necessarily do anything to seriously degrade its military position. Moreover, the US聽is now, effectively, aiding the regime of Bashar Assad in its civil war.聽
Congress out of session does not mean Congress isn't workingMeasuring Congress by the number of days spent in session in Washington misses the point. Members of Congress don't just vote on bills, they also represent their constituents. That means connecting with them at home.