by Patrick J. BuchananThe huge Democratic turnout in the Iowa Caucuses, over twice that of the GOP, and the stampede by independents to vote in the Democratic precincts, suggests that Iowa, a swing state carried by President Bush in 2004, may be lost irretrievably to the GOP in 2008.Why is Iowa walking away from the GOP? Why did Barack Obama win almost as many votes as all the Republicans Continue reading...

by Patrick J. Buchanan"Things are in the saddle, and ride mankind."Emerson's couplet comes to mind as the New Year opens with Pakistan, the second largest Muslim country on Earth, in social and political chaos, trending toward a failed state with nuclear weapons.Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, whom the White House pressed to return home from exile to form an anti-Islamist Continue reading...

by Patrick J. BuchananWith the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 8, and the Iowa caucuses dead ahead, the nominees of both parties may be known in two weeks. Surely, after Feb. 5, when a slew of primaries are held, both races will be all but over.Then, from Feb. 5 to Nov. 4, nine months, those nominees will be made to run an Iroquois gauntlet.To define them, before either defines himself Continue reading...

by Patrick J. BuchananGood for Time.Its Person of the Year was Vladimir Putin, who has presided over the economic rebirth of his nation and reasserted Russia's role as a great power.A first runner-up was Gen. David Petraeus, leader of the "surge" in Iraq that staved off what appeared a U.S. defeat and debacle, and helped revive the Bush presidency. Indeed, the anti-war Congress was Continue reading...

by Patrick J. BuchananNot since 1952 has the nation entered a presidential year with greater seeming uncertainty as to who will face off in November.Early that year, Tennessee Sen. Ernest Kefauver upset Harry Truman in New Hampshire, relieving the nation by dashing Harry's hopes for another four years. The Republican race would be a titanic struggle between the Eastern Establishment's Gen. Continue reading...