Tag Archive
Michael Barone: A Few Words in Defense of Negative Campaigning
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A Few Words in Defense of Negative Campaigning
By Michael Barone
Those who take a certain pleasure in denouncing the evils negative political advertising should have spent the last week in South Carolina. They could have plunked down in front of TV sets, especially during morning, early evening and late evening news programs, and by [...]
Michael Barone: Obama, Romney Change Tacks in Week of Political Risks
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Obama, Romney Change Tacks in Week of Political Risks
By Michael Barone
It was a week of risk-taking in the 2012 presidential race.
Barack Obama, his job approval languishing in the low 40s, delivered a much heralded speech in Osawatomie, Kan., framing the choice between the parties in class-warfare terms.
That’s a risky strategy. Democrats haven’t [...]
Michael Barone: Newt Keeps Pitching the America of His Imagination
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Newt Keeps Pitching the America of His Imagination
By Michael Barone
Here are a couple of things to keep in mind about Newt Gingrich, as he leads in polls for the Republican presidential nomination nationally and in Iowa and South Carolina, and may be threatening Mitt Romney’s lead in New Hampshire.
One is that he is [...]
Michael Barone: Entitlement – Not Tax Cuts – Widen the Wealth Gap
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Entitlement, Not Tax Cuts, Widen the Wealth Gap
By Michael Barone
What should be done about income inequality? That basic question underlies the arguments hashed out in the supercommittee and promises to be a central issue in the presidential campaign.
Supercommittee Democrats argue that income inequality has been increasing and can be at least partially reversed [...]
Michael Barone: Obama Has a Knack for Ticking off America’s Friends
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Obama Has a Knack for Ticking off America’s Friends
By Michael Barone
The election of Barack Obama, we were told, would bring new respect and friendship for America in the world.
No longer would we be led by a Texas cowboy ignorant of and indifferent to world opinion. Instead, we would have a visionary leader sympathetic [...]
Michael Barone: GOP Has Momentum, Needs Clear Direction
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GOP Has Momentum, Needs Clear Direction
By Michael Barone
This has been quite a week or 10 days for Republicans. As this is written, down in South Carolina Rick Perry has just announced he’s running for president, while here in Ames most of the votes have been cast but none has yet been counted in [...]
Michael Barone: Free Market, Not Government Policy, Drives Energy Boom
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Free Market, Not Government Policy, Drives Energy Boom
By Michael Barone
There’s an awful lot that’s stale in the debate on government energy policy.
Some stale arguments are nevertheless valid: It’s dangerous to depend heavily on Middle Eastern oil. Others have increasingly been seen as dubious: that global warming caused by human activity will result in [...]
Michael Barone: Obama’s Hypocritical Rhetoric on Immigration Reform
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Obama’s Hypocritical Rhetoric on Immigration Reform
By Michael Barone
Barack Obama’s immigration speech in El Paso May 10 was an exercise in electioneering and hypocrisy. Hypocrisy because while Obama complained about “politicians” blocking comprehensive immigration bills, he was one of them himself.
In 2007, when such a bill was backed by a lame duck Republican president [...]
Michael Barone: What the GOP Can Learn From Canada’s Conservatives
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What the GOP Can Learn From Canada’s Conservatives
By Michael Barone
Some years ago, the columnist and editor Michael Kinsley sponsored a contest to come up with the most boring headline. The winner was, “Worthwhile Canadian Initiative.”
Well, Canada held an election last Monday, and the result was anything but boring. It amounts to something like [...]
Michael Barone: On Foreign Policy, Obama Leads From Behind
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On Foreign Policy, Obama Leads From Behind
By Michael Barone
Sometimes a sympathetic and perceptive journalist paints a more devastating portrait of a public figure than even his most vitriolic detractors could. A prime example is Ryan Lizza’s New Yorker article titled “The Consequentialist” and subtitled, “How the Arab Spring remade Obama’s foreign policy.”
Lizza’s article, [...]