Four More Years — of This?

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In what The Washington Post called “a bold act of political defiance,” President Obama Wednesday announced the recess appointment of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Cordray’s nomination had been blocked by a Senate filibuster. There was no way he was going to win approval in 2012. …

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Our Innocents Abroad?

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Friday’s lead stories in The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal dealt with what both viewed as a national affront and outrage. Egyptian soldiers, said the Post, “stormed the offices” of three U.S. “democracy-building organizations … in a dramatic escalation of a crackdown by the military-led government that could …

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The Roots of Voter Anger Go Back to 1954

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Sixty-nine percent of voters nationwide are angry with the policies of the federal government. To understand why, it’s important to remember that most voters believe tax cuts and government spending cuts are good for the economy. Collectively, voters have voted for politicians who promised spending cuts and tax cuts in …

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Was Awlaki an American?

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Friday morning, Predator drones operated by the CIA and Joint Special Operations Command rendezvoused over Yemen and launched Hellfire missiles that blew to pieces the radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. A declared enemy in the war on terror was eliminated. Yet Awlaki was a U.S. citizen. Reps. Dennis Kucinich and Ron …

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Obama’s Race-Based Spoils System

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Chester Arthur was a most unlikely reformer. A crucial cog in the political machine of the Empire State’s Sen. Roscoe Conkling, he was named by President Grant to the powerful and lucrative post of collector of customs for the Port of New York. Arthur was removed in 1878 by President …

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Is a U.S. Default Inevitable?

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As President Bush prepared to invade Iraq in September 2002, the head of his economic policy council, Lawrence Lindsey publicly estimated such a war could cost $100 billion to $200 billion. Lindsey had committed candor, and the stunned Bushites came down on him with both feet. “Baloney,” said Donald Rumsfeld. …

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Return of the Anti-Interventionist Right

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Late last month, when U.S. air strikes caused civilian casualties in Afghanistan, an angry Hamid Karzai issued an ultimatum. If future U.S. strikes are not restricted, we will take “unilateral action” and America may be treated like an “occupying power.” That brought this blistering retort from one Republican hawk. “If …

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When Dictators Fall, Who Rises?

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One month before the invasion of Iraq, Riah Abu el-Assal, a Palestinian and the Anglican bishop of Jerusalem at the time, warned Tony Blair, “You will be responsible for emptying Iraq, the homeland of Abraham, of Christians.” The bishop proved a prophet. “After almost 2,000 years,” writes the Financial Times, …

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