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Recent Editorials |
Why Gingrich Floundered in Florida By R. EMMETT TYRRELL, Jr., Ah, yes, Newt Gingrich did in the last days of the Florida primary precisely what I predicted he would do. He hurled wild charges at Mitt Romney that suggested Newt was losing his grip. He charged Romney with lying and falling into the hands of George… State of Obama Begs for a Challenger Like Mitch Daniels or Jeb Bush By CONRAD BLACK, I cannot have been the only person who found President Obama’s State of the Union message and much of the indulgence of it, even by serious commentators, worrisome. The president was correct that “too many of our institutions have let us down.” He… Gingrich Meets the Enemy and It Turns Out To Be His Own Policies By IRA STOLL, Even before polls opened in Florida’s Republican primary, some pundits were trying to explain a potential Newt Gingrich loss there by saying he’d been outspent. Mike Allen’s influential Politico Playbook daily morning email reported Monday, “Newt… By R. EMMETT TYRRELL, Jr., How long have I been saying it? At least for 15 years, but in private I have been aware of it longer. Newt Gingrich is conservatism’s Bill Clinton, but without the charm. He has acquired wit but he has all the charm of barbed wire. Newt and Bill are… CONRAD BLACK: A Comeback of Nixonian, If Not Lazarene, Proportions Warrants a Low Bow To Gingrich IRA STOLL: Romney Could Hit Problems at Florida Over His Stand on Medicare Romney Offering the Right Stuff on Obama’s Crony Capitalism By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, Let me build on Charles Krauthammer’s great Friday column, “The GOP’s Suicide March.” Mr. Krauthammer argues that just as President Obama’s class-warfare, soak-the-rich mantra started lagging in the polls, some Republicans on the campaign trail… Gingrich Has Chance Tonight To Trump Interview With His Ex-Wife and Launch Reagan 2.0 By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, Might a strong Newt Gingrich debate performance tonight trump the ABC Nightline interview with Newt’s ex-wife Marianne? Remember, the debate comes before Nightline. And the roughly 5 million to 6 million people who watch the debate will be a lot more… Romney Emerges as an Improbable Savior in an Age of Fillmores By CONRAD BLACK, Though it is distressing to be enduring such a dismal election campaign, it is not unprecedented. As both parties prepare to spend a billion dollars either reelecting a president most Americans do not think deserves to be reelected, or a challenger… Romney’s Revolution: Wealth and Politics By IRA STOLL, To understand the presidential bid of the 70th governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, it’s useful to remember the career of the first. John Hancock, like Mitt Romney, was one of the richest men of his time. Hancock had a three-story… Is Romney’s Bain Capital Type of Treatment Just What America Needs? By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, There’s a troubled company out there called U.S. Government, Inc. It’s teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. It badly needs to be taken over and turned around. It probably even needs the services of a good private-equity firm, with plenty of experience… Obama’s Defense Strategy Leaves Room for Hope, If Not Confidence By CONRAD BLACK, It would be unfair to dismiss the administration’s latest assault on the U.S.’s defense capability as the folly and cowardice some commentators are already alleging. Without a worldwide rival of comparable strength threatening all American strategic… Tebow Inspires Our Man in Washington To Call Off a Boycott of the NFL By R. EMMETT TYRRELL, Jr., I have officially called off my boycott of the National Football League. I do not care how many felons or frotteurs play the game. Now there is Tim Tebow to redeem it. He can pass and run. He inspires his teammates. He inspires many returning fans… Expect To Hear More About George Romney, The Republican JFK Feared the Most By IRA STOLL One of the strange things about America — a country founded on a revolution against a hereditary monarchy — is that so many of our politicians seem to inherit their professions. John Adams begat John Quincy Adams. Senator Prescott Bush begat President… Time To Repair the Wreckage Wrought by the Progressive Reforms By R. EMMETT TYRRELL, Jr., An underlying theme of our times that has gone unperceived by the high and mighty in press, government, and other locales where the politically alive come to roost is the thumping failure of an increasing number of counter-productive old Progressive… It’s On: Getting Ready for Santorum — and Watch Out for the Rise of Europe By CONRAD BLACK, We will have to wait to see whether Rick Santorum’s jump to a virtual dead heat with Mitt in Iowa is enough to bring out the anti-non-Mitt assassination squads. Santorum is an unusually fervent Roman Catholic for a presidential candidate and such an… Germany, Canada, and Israel Stand Out in a Parlous World on the Eve of 2012 A Tour of the Horizon Without the Sermons and Treacle By CONRAD BLACK, My year-end column will be a tour of the political horizon, with a reflection on the comparative virtues of good government. But anyone gripped by the fear that I am going to sermonize some treacle about civics at them has nothing to fear. In all of… Why Art Laffer Finds Newt Gingrich So Promising By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, “The purpose of economic policy is growth, jobs, and prosperity,” supply-side founder Art Laffer told me today. As such, Mr. Laffer has endorsed Newt Gingrich and the Gingrich 15% flat-tax plan, which includes the 12.5% corporate-tax reform. “It’s… Index of Crony Capitalism Charts Embarrassing News for Those Tapped by Obama By IRA STOLL, Employees who hope to keep their jobs and investors who hope their shares will rise may want to hope their executives avoid President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. When the council’s members were announced February 23, among the… By IRA STOLL, With apologies and thanks to William Safire. 1. The Supreme Court a) leaves ObamaCare in the political realm for now but leaves a future court room to ride to the rescue in 2015 by agreeing with the Fourth Circuit opinion on the Anti-Injunction Act b)… Merry Christmas To Christopher Hitchens, Wherever He Is By CONRAD BLACK, As Christmas remains a religious occasion, a few thoughts from that perspective commend themselves. The National Post [where this dispatch first appeared] seems to have been plunged into mourning for Christopher Hitchens, perhaps best-known for his… First Real Convention Draft Since 1952 May Be Triggered by the Long Campaign of Gingrich By CONRAD BLACK, It seems to me that I have a duty to write about Newt Gingrich, as I am one who did not think his rise in the polls as a Republican presidential contender would be as durable as it already has been. As interesting as Newt himself is the dumbfounded… How the Once and Future Gingrich Outshines His Rivals By IRA STOLL, Peggy Noonan calls him “ethically dubious…unreliable….egomaniacal…harebrained.” George Will says he “embodies the vanity and rapacity that make modern Washington repulsive.” David Brooks says he “has every negative character trait that conservatives… America Is Disgraced by Geithner’s Agitation for Currency Dilution in Europe Yanks Seen as in No Position to Counsel Anyone on Monetary Management By CONRAD BLACK, The fate of the Eurozone is an excruciatingly slow reenactment of The Perils of Pauline. The latest beaming photo opportunity — as another emergency agreement was made last week and more than a score of European national leaders preeningly tried to… GOP Debate in Iowa Fails To Deliver a Pro-Growth Message To Vanquish Obama By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, Color me cranky about this week’s Republican presidential debate in Iowa. The headline stories were about whether Newt Gingrich actually lobbied for Freddie Mac, or why Mitt Romney changed his positions on gay rights, guns, and abortion. But a GOP… Pat Buchanan Chooses Shame, and Ends Up as a Nattering Nabob of His Own By CONRAD BLACK, I am afraid that Pat Buchanan, who earned his battle stars as a courageous spokesman for President Nixon, especially when he demolished the rabidly partisan Senate Watergate Committee in 1973, has become a babbling idiot. He returned to the Reagan… Economic Horizon Is Brightening, as Arithmetic and National Interest Assert Themselves By CONRAD BLACK, Difficult though current economic and political times are, ineluctable forces of economic arithmetic and national interest are asserting themselves in ways that are, in the circumstances, reassuring. There are a number of particular areas where this… When the Arabs Themselves Denied There Was a Palestine By JEROLD AUERBACH Newt Gingrich has been challenged for calling the Palestinians an “invented” people. He was accused by a spokesman for the American Task Force on Palestine of “deep historical ignorance and an irrational hostility toward Palestinian identity.” To… Why Romney Needs Gingrich’s Supply-Side Sizzle By LAWRENCE KUDLOW Say what you will about the former speaker, Newt Gingrich. His philosophy, his policy proposals, his track record, his campaign, and all the rest. But the one thing you have to acknowledge about Mr. Gingrich is that he’s a sizzler. He has a way with… Can Republicans Be Losing the Tax Debate? By R. EMMETT TYRRELL, Jr., Do my eyes deceive me? It seems that the Republicans are in danger of losing the debate on cutting taxes. Some thirty years after President Reagan proved that tax cuts encourage economic growth — which enriches us all — glum figures like President… Gingrich’s Most Important Political Race May Be Against Himself By IRA STOLL, The most interesting political race this presidential election season may just be Newt Gingrich versus himself. There is clearly a faction within the Republican Party looking for an alternative to Mitt Romney, for whatever reason, and Mr. Gingrich is… Ron Paul Will Be Missed at Forum of Jewish Republicans By SETH LIPSKY, When the Republican candidates gather Wednesday at Washington for a forum focusing on Jewish issues, one candidate will be absent — Congressman Ron Paul. The host of the event, the Republican Jewish Coalition, “rejects his misguided and extreme… How Golda Meir, Indira Gandhi, and Margaret Thatcher Wrought a New Standard of Leadership By CONRAD BLACK, It is surely time to recognize what an immense improvement has been wrought in world standards of governance by the rise of female national leaders. Golda Meir and Indira Gandhi were effectively the pioneers, among democratically elected leaders… Collapse of U.S. Justice System Into a Shambles Being Met With Silence By CONRAD BLACK, In the current issue of Commentary, there is a symposium of 43 knowledgeable people who discuss whether they are optimistic or pessimistic about America. In the current edition of The New Criterion, the eminent British historian Andrew Roberts, now a… Thatcher on the Edge of Madness By SETH LIPSKY, One of my favorite stories in respect of Margaret Thatcher concerns the prime minister’s visit to a sitting of the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal. This must have been about 1990. I wasn’t in the meeting, having already become editor of the… Owners of New York Times Used Tax Loopholes the Paper Scored Ambassador Lauder for Using By IRA STOLL, For sheer hypocrisy masquerading as journalism, it’s hard to come up with as bald an example as the 3,000-word attack on Ronald S. Lauder that ran Sunday on the front-page of the New York Times. Well, maybe the New Yorker’s August 2010 hit piece on… Latest Demarche of the Fed Gives Europe a Tylenol But Fails To Address the Illness By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, It’s often said that help comes to those who help themselves, but Europe can’t seem to help itself. So on Wednesday, the United States Fed came to the rescue. That rescue triggered a global stock market rally, including a near 500-point gain in the… Nixon — and Kissinger — Emerge in Ever-Better Light as History Unfolds By CONRAD BLACK, The latest drop from the interminably repetitive and rather innocuous Nixon Tapes has caused the customary outburst of confected indignation against Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger as anti-Semites, and, in the case of Kissinger, as effectively a… The Day Teddy Forstmann Gave Away His Coat, And Whistled Past the Graves By R. EMMETT TYRRELL, Jr., We lost a big-hearted prodigy on Sunday morning, Teddy Forstmann, financier, political player, philanthropist (especially for the young and in education) and a bit of an adventurer. I know. I accompanied him on some and feared for my life. He was a… America Dodges a Super-Tax-Hike as Super-Committee Collapses By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, Didn’t our Democratic friends always intend to derail the super-committee over the top Bush tax rates? You remember that $800 billion revenue number always floating around from the Democratic leaks? Well, that’s the static-revenue estimate of… In Which Our Man on the Canada Beat Defends the Incomparable Beaver By CONRAD BLACK, It is with regret that I take issue, and square off, with my esteemed friend of many years, Senator for Ontario Nicole Eaton. But I am scandalized by her rude and almost unpatriotic attack on the noble and distinguished national animal of Canada.* The… Fred Ikle Set an Example That Will Illuminate Future Generations By R. EMMETT TYRRELL, Jr., The death of Fred Iklé last week inspires me to prophesy. Thus far only the redoubtable Wall Street Journal has remarked on Fred’s passing. That he was a formidable mind during the Cold War and important to the peaceful settlement of that decades-long… By IRA STOLL, Each civil rights leader had his own role to play in the struggle for integration. Thurgood Marshall was the lawyer. Martin Luther King, Jr., the inspiring orator. And Medgar Evers was the martyr. Evers was the field secretary of the Mississippi NAACP… By CONRAD BLACK, The effort by junior administration officials to banish all references to God from the speeches recorded on plaques at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, DC, is an outrage. It would be wrong to impute every action of everyone in the… Gingrich Emerges as the ‘Most Interesting’ Figure in the Debate By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, There were three winners in the CNBC debate: Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, and Newt Gingrich. Governor Perry was the obvious loser because of his memory lapse. The guy with the toughest job on Wednesday night was Herman Cain, who has been hammered by… Western Nations Will Survive, But Not by Staying the Recent Course By CONRAD BLACK, As the world financial crisis deepens, it is unlikely that it can be alleviated without carefully reviewing the infelicitous confluence of mistakes in Europe and the United States that has brought it to its present extreme state. The European Monetary… An Erroneous Idea About William F. Buckley Takes Root at His Alma Mater The author of ‘God and Man at Yale’ Was a Lot of Things, But Humble Was Not One of Them By R. EMMETT TYRRELL, Jr., Last weekend I was given a hint as to how an erroneous idea is born and how it takes on a life of its own. I was at Yale University, as a guest of “The William F. Buckley Jr. Program at Yale.” It is run by a group of extremely winning young Yale… America Can Prosecute Terrorists Freed by Israel Prisoner Swap Opens the Way for United States to Act Against Those Who Slew U.S. Citizens By NATHAN LEWIN On August 9, 2001, Ahlam Tamimi, a member of Hamas, drove a suicide bomber to the Sbarro restaurant in the heart of Jerusalem, where the bomber blew himself up, killing 15 people including Judy Greenbaum, an American citizen from New Jersey. On March… By CONRAD BLACK, The proposed changes to the rules of British Commonwealth monarchic succession and marriage raise some interesting reflections on the past and future. Henceforth, if these changes are adopted, the eldest shall succeed regardless of sex. This is not… Hope for Talks in Middle East Lies in Recognition That Israel Can Not Be Pushed By CONRAD BLACK, The recent exchange of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit for a thousand Palestinian prisoners in Israeli hands is regarded as a cautiously hopeful sign even by Israeli hawks, as it appears the only possible de-escalation from the absolute collapse of the… Future of American Justice Depends on Restoration of Bill of Rights By CONRAD BLACK, In addition to acknowledging the many positive messages I received about my column here last week partly about Justice Scalia, I want to thank Shannen Coffin, a chirpily content former Justice Department official and legal counsel to Vice President… By CONRAD BLACK, My brother Monte — George Montegu Black III — died nearly 10 years ago, but arises constantly in my thoughts and dreams, always pleasantly and true to life. There were just the two of us in our family, and he was four years older, not a great gap… Would Steve Jobs Have Been Born In an America That Flinches on Abortion — And Immigration, Too? By CONRAD BLACK, The vast recognition of the astounding accomplishments of Apple’s Steve Jobs seems not much to have focused on the fact that — according to the moral views that have prevailed in the United States for most of his adult life — he, as the unintended… Cue Card for Debate: Three Broad Themes Await Answers at GOP Face-Off in New Hampshire By Special to the Sun Following is The New York Sun Cue Card of three broad themes to listen for during tonight’s GOP Debate at New Hampshire. Monetary reform. This is the elephant in the room in respect of the economy, which is, ostensibly, the theme of the debate tonight… Amanda Knox Emerges as a Model of Protesting Innocence — and Italy Sets an Example By CONRAD BLACK, The case of Amanda Knox presents us with not only an interesting human drama, but also raises questions of comparative international criminal law. Italy is not generally regarded as, and does not hold itself out as, any great paragon of jurisprudence…
By Special to the Sun “A poisonous, vituperative, intensely personal debate” is what shaped the contours of the political battle today. That’s how Nicholas Wapshott, formerly one of the editors of The New York Sun, characterizes the clash between John Maynard Keynes and…
Offers a Bill To Allow Free Competition in Currencies By SETH LIPSKY, The first time I met Friedrich Hayek was in 1980 at California, where he was staying at the home of another economist. Then a young editor for the Wall Street Journal, I’d asked to call on the Nobel laureate for a book review I was writing. His host… Historic Force of New York City Is Expressed in Two New Monuments By CONRAD BLACK, Having just spent four pleasant months in New York City, it was my misfortune to have to leave just before the opening of two historic sites that demonstrate the longstanding, dramatic importance of that city. The relocation and renovation of… Back To Prison: ‘One Does What One Must’ By CONRAD BLACK, Though I suspect many readers are as bored with the subject as I am, I yield to a commissioning editor’s request for some reflections on returning to prison. Having spent 29 months in a federal prison already, I know what to expect. I have seen the… Let the Fall of Gadhafi Embolden America To Assist in Toppling Assad By CONRAD BLACK, The war about to end in Libya, at least the anti-Gadhafi part of it, is one of the most unusual in modern history. It began as a rebellion that the regime appeared it could probably, narrowly, suppress. French author and very public intellectual… Disconcerting Development Hits Markets as Europe Flees To Cash Assets in America By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, Amidst the financial flight-wave to safety, with stocks plunging, gold soaring, and Treasury bond rates collapsing — and all the European banking fears which go with that — there’s an important sub-theme developing: An almost-forgotten monetary… Buffett Squandering His Chance By CONRAD BLACK, I am far from an iconoclast, but I am getting a little weary of Warren Buffett’s posturing as a social democrat. He is a brilliant investor and a pretty good aphorist, and his shtick as friendly, folksy Uncle Warren, the Sage of Omaha, though a tired… After Christie, Time To Focus on Those Who Are Prepared Lead In the Coming Crisis By CONRAD BLACK, As I started to write this piece, Republicans and Democrats were aquiver with apprehension about whether New Jersey governor Chris Christie would seek the Republican presidential nomination. I wrote that if he did, he would be seeking to duplicate the… Pro-Growth Tax Reform Emerges as Missing Element in Budget Debate By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, Stocks and bond yields are sinking as Wall Street disses the debt deal and instead focuses on a likely double-dip recession. Everyone is gloomy. But is this pessimism getting a little over-baked? Granted, the economy is sputtering, with less than 1%… America Has Chosen a Good Time for Its First Serious Decline By CONRAD BLACK, It has never been believable to me, and still is not, that the United States would hit its debt ceiling and suddenly be without any ability to borrow or to pay the running costs of the U.S. government beyond incoming cash. In that scenario, it could… By LENORE SKENAZY, It is with an actually, physically aching heart that I report to you the death of an 8-year-old Brooklyn boy, Leiby Kletzky, who disappeared from a short, solo walk yesterday and was later found in a dumpster. Here is the story. I bring it up because… Former Tax-Collectors Turn Out To Make Great Free Market Leaders By IRA STOLL, A new attack is being aimed at a congresswoman from Minnesota, Michele Bachmann, at just about the same time as a new poll that named her as the leading presidential candidate among Iowa Republicans. As a National Journal article put it: “You’ll never… Revisionists on American Revolution Brooding on Left and Right By IRA STOLL, This July 4, while most Americans are celebrating Independence Day, a growing number of revisionists will be brooding. It’s an interesting phenomenon, because it isn’t restricted to the hard left, which has long cast aspersions on America’s founding… Death Throes of Europe More Serious Than America's Ailments By CONRAD BLACK, My column last week described the shocking dimensions of America’s economic collapse. But much of the rest of the developed world is faring no better. Japan is magnificent in its stoicism in the face of earthquake, tidal wave and nuclear… Cuomo Marriage Bill Fails — Inexplicitly — To Protect Ordinary Religious Individuals By ROBIN FRETWELL WILSON, Governor Cuomo said yesterday he would deliver a marriage equality bill identical to 2009’s failed attempt, “no ifs, ands or buts” about it. Who is it that he is kidding? Mr. Cuomo’s bill vastly improves the ability of religious communities or… Bachmann Steals the Show as GOP Field Starts Its Debates By R. EMMETT TYRRELL, Jr., WASHINGTON — So there are two. Two pulchritudinous ones, that is. Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin are beautiful, and the feminists tells us, so what? Well, they never say so what when an attractive male, usually a Democrat, comes on stage. They call… Republicans Could Lose the House If They Get Boxed in on Debt Limit By DAVID MALPASS, Republicans may lose the House in 2012 because they are boxed in on the debt limit, which, as currently written, forces a choice between default and more debt. It’s a lose-lose proposition for fiscal conservatives. The current debt limit always goes… Canada Emerges as a Moral Leader by Standing Up for Israel By CONRAD BLACK, As befits a modest country unaccustomed to leading the world other than by homogenized measurements of the quality of life, Canada seems not to have noticed that Stephen Harper has kicked off his new term as head of a majority government with the… U.S. Emerges as an Appeasement Power By CONRAD BLACK, Contrary to the famous advice of Franklin D. Roosevelt in his State of the Union message in 1941 — “We must always be wary of those who with sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal would preach the ‘ism’ of appeasement” — the United States is now… NBC Cable Business News Channel CNBC Emerges as Hotbed of Free-Market Ideology Joe Kernan Is Latest Star, Following Santelli, Kudlow, Carney, and Caruso-Cabrera By IRA STOLL, Think of right-of-center news or opinion in America, and what spring to mind are talk radio, Fox News Channel, some magazines, the Wall Street Journal editorial page. But probably not NBC. That network is known for, if anything, a left-wing tilt on… By DAN FRIEDMAN, It’s strange that a man who needs no introduction should need an introduction. But such has been the fear and loathing for Ze'ev (Vladimir) Jabotinsky by the Jewish socialists who founded Israel — and ruled unopposed for decades — that they have… The Reason Powerful Men Prey on Women or Cheat May Surprise You The Sex Is Often Be the Least of It By SHMULEY BOTEACH, The number of public men destroyed of late through sexual scandals is simply staggering. Within 48 hours of each other we heard that IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who many believed would be the next president of France, as well as Arnold… By IRA STOLL, Here’s a word you can expect to hear quite a bit between now and the 2012 election: speculators. The way President Obama has been using the word recently, it means, “the guys — not me! — who made your gas prices go up.” In a speech over the weekend… World Agape as America Runs Over the Debt Cliff and the GOP Searches for a Candidate By CONRAD BLACK, Considering the vulnerability of this administration’s record and its low standing in the polls, and the parlous condition of the country by almost any measurement, the ostentatious confidence with which the president and his entourage have kicked off… Truth Is Put To the Lies of an Accomplice to Mass Murder By TOM TEICHOLZ, The conviction of John Demjanjuk, 91, by a German court is significant in many respects, not the least of which is that this may be one of the last Nazi war crimes trials. Demjanjuk was found guilty of having been an accessory to the murder of more… Army Move on Atheist Chaplains Could Lead To ‘Church of Evolution’ By SHMULEY BOTEACH, The report in the New York Times that atheists are looking for official recognition as chaplains in the American military in order to cater to the needs of non-believing servicemen is interesting. On the one hand, it’s kind of absurd. Atheist… Marriage of William, Kate May Be Set Down as Morganatic, But Promises a Spectacle To Enjoy By CONRAD BLACK, Since the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton is the first, first-time wedding of a British royal who has a serious prospect of being the monarch in nearly 30 years, and only the fourth in the last century, it is natural that it would… Paul Ryan Gets a Boost From Obama By R. EMMETT TYRRELL, Jr., WASHINGTON — Why is it that Donald Trump is a creditable candidate with a significant segment of Republican voters? In some polls he runs ahead of all Republicans save Governor Romney, and all I have heard him say is that he wants to see our… Geithner’s Optimism Masks a Philosophical Divide With the GOP in Congress By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, Secretary Geithner was optimistic today about getting a deal on the budget deficit and raising the debt ceiling. In particular, he was confident that in the next few months a compromise would lock in some clear targets for deficit reduction, with a… Obama Is Beckoned To Take a Step Backward by Brokering Yet Another Mideast Peace By CONRAD BLACK, There is something faintly nostalgic about former U.S. national security advisor Brent Scowcroft’s Financial Times op-ed, published Wednesday, calling for President Obama to “broker a new Mideast Peace.” The man, the media and the message are all, as… A Radical Restoration of Sound Money and Fiscal Discipline Will Be Needed To Right the Economy By CONRAD BLACK, There is finally some progress toward deficit reduction, more than two years after the dawn of the era of trillion-dollar annual budget deficits stretching far ahead. The administration was astoundingly late giving any indication of taking the issue… Pawlenty Doctrine Draws a Distinction With Obama on Libya By R. EMMETT TYRRELL, Jr., Monday night I attended a public policy discussion sponsored, not surprisingly, by The American Spectator—I say not surprisingly because I have been attending these meetings for roughly thirty years and always come away with fresh ideas. They are… Palin Doctrine Emerges as Arab League Echoes Her Demarche on Libya By BENYAMIN KORN, The call by the Arab League for Western military intervention in an Arab state — in this case asking that a UN “no-fly zone” be imposed over Libya – is not only without precedent but it puts in formal terms what Governor Palin stated three weeks ago… America Becoming a Helpless Giant With Policies in Shambles By CONRAD BLACK, An observer is entitled to wonder if this administration has taken leave of its senses. I have often written here that it might do better at some point, but it has been in office for 26 months and its policy record is a shambles. It has given… Calvin Coolidge, Call Your Office, as Unions Rage Against Democracy at Wisconsin A National Test Erupts Over Cost of Public Employees By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, The Democratic/government-union days of rage in Madison, Wisconsin, are a disgrace. Congressman Paul Ryan, of Wisconsin, calls it Cairo coming to Madison. But the protesters in Egypt were pro-democracy. The government-union protesters in Madison… Fed, Lately a Friend of Stock Market, May Become a Foe By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, “Don’t fight the Fed” is an old stock market adage. Successful investors pay a lot of attention to it. It means that when the central bank is easy, it’s bullish for stocks. And when the bank turns tight, it’s bearish for stocks. Obviously, the… While the Baron Walked the Line, She Remained His Valentine A Twentieth Anniversary Worthy of an Opera By CONRAD BLACK, Public Valentine greetings are a depth of questionable taste I have never before plumbed. But as this is the first Valentine’s Day in eight years I have not spent either in or apprehending my unjust residence in an American prison for offenses I would… Becoming Reagan: Let’s Hope Obama Stays the Course By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, A week after Ronald Reagan’s 100th birthday celebration, comparisons between Presidents Obama and Reagan are escalating. The conversation began when Mr. Obama praised Reagan in a USA Today op-ed. He commended Reagan’s leadership, his confidence in… By CONRAD BLACK, Ronald Reagan, the centenary of whose birth falls on tomorrow, had perhaps, of all presidents, the most astonishingly American of lives. Abraham Lincoln, born in a log cabin and with only a couple of years of formal schooling, was an autodidact who… Can America Pull Out of Its Nose-Dive? A Disappointing Speech by Obama Is Met With Incoherent Replies by the GOP, Tea Party By CONRAD BLACK, It was a seriously demoralizing experience to read that the majority of Americans thought that Barack Obama gave a good State of the Union speech this week. Their approval may indicate that the process of the country's decline is more advanced even… By SETH LIPSKY, Senator Lieberman’s decision to retire from the Senate after four terms is a tragedy for the Democratic Party, particularly for the party of President Kennedy, who 50 years ago today gave the inaugural speech that inspired Mr. Lieberman’s career. The… In America’s Contest With China, the Best Weapon Ignites a Boom Pro-Growth Policies, Reagan Taught, Produce the Goods By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, A number of people, myself included, have looked to President Reagan’s Cold War triumph over the Soviet Union as a possible solution to Red China’s rising arrogance. Times are different today. But Reagan argued forcefully that domestic economic growth… Recovery Looks Better, But Beware of Inflation By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, The United States economic recovery continues to look better, according to the stock market and a boatload of economic statistics last week. Stocks jumped 133 points on the Dow, which hit a 30-month high following its seventh straight weekly rise… When — and How — To Intervene With Unstable Citizens Looms as a Question After Tucson By HENRY STERN, So much has been written about the tragic shootings in Arizona that we are reluctant to add to the paper flow. The terrible event has given people the opportunity to express their views on hatred (a word which is variously defined), guns (including… Big Step Toward the Center Marked by Appointment of Daley as Chief of Staff Bullish Move Seen in Elevation of Pro-Business Democrat By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, President Obama marks another milestone in his post-election move to the center by appointing pro-business Democrat William E. Daley to the powerful post of White House chief of staff. If there are any doubts that Mr. Obama wants to repair his… LAWRENCE KUDLOW: Washington Is Moving Toward the Supply Side “Stop the bad stuff” is what John Boehner told a bunch of us at breakfast a few weeks before the election. That’s how he defined the GOP mission. Now he’s Speaker. And now there’s an opportunity for both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue to move in the… LAWRENCE KUDLOW: The Gipper Must Be Smiling Over U-Turn by Obama Team Past is not always a prologue. But looking at some of the big winners and losers of 2010 does provide some strong hints of a positive 2011. The biggest winner last year was the Tea Party, which shellacked President Obama in the election. Mr. Obama… Castro’s Cuba Nears an Anniversary, Cheered by PBS By R. EMMETT TYRRELL, Jr. WASHINGTON — Next week marks the 52nd anniversary of Fidel Castro’s accession to his Cuban throne. I cannot wait to see how it will be solemnized. Will little children appear before Fidel throwing flowers? They better not throw them too hard. He is… LAWRENCE KUDLOW: Obama’s Economic Ideology Is Cast Aside in a Fell Swoop The new Tea Party Republican Congress on a historic Thursday completely transformed American economic policy. Elections matter, and so do their ideas. Smaller government, low taxes, and less spending were key election themes in the Republican… Rahm Emanuel and the Case of the Hound’s Tooth By R. EMMETT TYRRELL, Jr., WASHINGTON — My campaign for mayor of Chicago against Rahm Emanuel is getting underway. I already announced on Sean Hannity’s nationally televised program and have Sean’s endorsement. After careful consideration, Rush will undoubtedly be aboard and… Deficit Commission Moves the Ball in the Right Direction But Needs To Be Much Tougher on Spending By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, My first cut at the Bowles-Simpson deficit-commission recommendation is that it basically moves the ball in the right direction. It goes after entitlements, domestic and defense discretionary. It puts some kind of freeze on federal hiring and salaries… An Extraordinary Event in the Markets as Investors Scramble To Stay Ahead of Collapsing Dollar Negative Yield Emerges on Inflation-Protected Securities By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, An extraordinary event for bond markets occurred yesterday when the Treasury sold $10 billion of 5-year inflation-protected securities, or TIPS, at an auction with a yield of negative 0.55 percent. That’s right. Negative. Can’t remember when that’s… By R. EMMETT TYRRELL, JR., By SETH LIPSKY, Mr. Smith: “Are you drunk?” Miss Saunders: “Certainly. You didn't think I was a lady, did you? You don't think a lady would be working for this outfit. Even I can't take it anymore. I quit. Can't take a lot of things. You. I can't watch a simple guy… Sarah Palin Celebrates Shabbat And Offers Echoes of Esther By BENYAMIN KORN, Driving to Lancaster from Philadelphia Friday afternoon, my wife and I passed through a town named Ephrata. It was named after the town that, in ancient times, was part of the city of Bethlehem; today it is a thriving Israeli city of 8,000-plus… WikiLeaks and Other Failed Radicals By R. EMMETT TYRRELL JR., WASHINGTON — They are beginning to die out, or at least to retire. So long suckers. Surely the Clintons, Senator Jean-Francois Kerry, Al Gore and dozens of others who presented themselves as reasonable alternatives to the radicals of the 1960s thought… Obama Turns Out To Be, After All, Merely a Community Organizer By R. EMMETT TYRRELL JR., WASHINGTON — It is becoming apparent for all to see, that a man who made his name as a community organizer does not have the skills to be President of these United States. Maybe he could develop the requisite skills as a governor. Possibly, he could… Kagan’s Record on Religion Offers Some Grounds for Hope By AVI SHAFRAN, Imagining that one can divine how a new Supreme Court justice will rule on the sort of fundamental issues often brought before the High Court — particularly when the justice has never before served as a judge — is a pastime best left to gamblers and… Conrad Black: My Prison Education By CONRAD BLACK, In my 28 months as a guest of the U.S. government, I often wondered how my time in that role would end. I never expected that I would have to serve the whole term, though I was, and am, psychologically prepared to do so, now that I have learned more… By AVI SHAFRAN, The proposed Israeli conversion-reform legislation known as the Rotem Bill — now on hold for several months — became a sort of Rorschach test for many Jews’ fears. The bill was introduced by Yisrael Beiteinu, a nationalistic and not infrequently… King Dollar and Lower Taxes Emerge as the Model By LAWRENCE KUDLOW, How ironic. Chairman Bernanke launches QE2 and everyone worries about a dollar collapse. But instead, it’s the euro that has collapsed, dropping 9.5% relative to the greenback. Overall, the dollar index has appreciated 7%. Some, like Robert Mundell… By R. EMMETT TYRRELL JR., WASHINGTON — My friend, Andrew Roberts, has inherited the title of Historian of the English-Speaking Peoples, from Winston Churchill. Churchill wrote his four-volume history up to 1900. Roberts took up the story from there and has written his… By R. EMMETT TYRRELL JR., WASHINGTON — Well, well, well — now it appears that even the Soviet — strike that — the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is afflicted by the general mediocrity of the moment. There was never any reason to doubt that the Soviet grasp of the… Outpourings of Emotion Stir City As A Central Park ‘Killer Tree’ Claims An Infant By HENRY STERN, The tragic death of a six-month-old baby on Saturday just outside the Central Park Zoo was the result of a major limb of a honey locust tree which suddenly fell about thirty-five feet. The infant was being held by her mother when the falling branches… By R. EMMETT TYRRELL JR., WASHINGTON — “If you have nothing else you have your principles,” Lady Thatcher told me when things were pretty tough at The American Spectator in the late 1990s. Sharks were circling the ship and there was blood in the water and I was getting anxious… Should Turkey Be Expelled From NATO? By CONRAD BLACK The world appears to have descended into an unusually deep slough of the blahs. It is easy to imagine that the horrible oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the provocations from the sinister gangster regime of North Korea, will never end. Job himself… By AVI SHAFFRAN, With all the hyped-up headlines, the old joke practically insisted on being dusted off. The one about the group of scientists who inform G-d that His services are no longer needed, that their knowledge of the universe now allows them to run it just… Why American Jews, Such Advocates of Immigration, Should Support Arizona By BENYAMIN KORN, Can American Jews, who have always embraced ethnic diversity and generous immigration policies, support Arizona's controversial new immigration law? Yes, we can – and we should. Traditional Jewish support for a liberal American immigration policy has… By R. EMMETT TYRRELL, JR., Owing to the promotion tour for my new book, After the Hangover: The Conservatives’ Road to Recovery, I have been meeting with what the intelligentsia once called “the masses.” They read books. They pay taxes. They attend lectures. Oh, and by the way… By AVI SHAFFRAN, Despite having eclectic tastes in many things, I have no appreciation of urban music. And so I had never heard of Q-Tip (the person, that is; the object is familiar to me). He is apparently a rapper. Presumably with clean ears. I was introduced to… Skenazy Braces for Blame As ‘Take Your Kids To the Park Day’ Looms for Tomorrow By LENORE SKENAZY, Hi Readers. I’m writing this today, because by evening tomorrow, I have a feeling I will be in the crosshairs for something that has happened to some child somewhere in this country, or even another country that has heard about Saturday’s “Take Our… How a British Election Turned Into A Torah Teaching Moment By AVI SHAFRAN, The British election campaign just ended would seem an unlikely source for a Torah teaching moment, but there it was. One of the blows the Labour Party absorbed in the days preceding the election was precipitated by Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s… Narrow Escape Sets New Yorkers To Reflect on Question of Iran By HENRY STERN, New Yorkers are thinking a great deal this week about the attempted bombing in Times Square. Our narrow escape from death and destruction in the heart of the city reminds us of the police work that frustrated the July 1997 plot to explode bombs on the… Mayor Betrays an Awkward Discomfort In Wake of Times Square Car Bomb By R. EMMETT TYRRELL, JR. WASHINGTON — As we read the news about this Pakistani jackal who admits to planning a cowardly assault on hundreds of innocent people in New York’s Times Square a thought that occurs to me is, how endlessly interesting history is. Often things take… What Does Sarah Palin Read Her Daughter From the Bible? By BENYAMIN KORN, When Governor Sarah Palin spoke to 16,000 Christian evangelical women in Louisville, Kentucky on April 16, guess which book she mentioned as the one she reads to her daughter at bedtime? Try the biblical Book of Esther. That’s right — Sarah Palin… By AVI SHAFRAN, “Boy, you’re brave,” said the first fellow to approach me at the table after the symposium. The panel discussion Sunday was the second time in as many months that I had made a presentation on the topic of Jewish religious pluralism in Israel. Back in… Clinton Gives Cover To the Angry Left Something Is Missing From the Debate Over the Tea Party By R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., WASHINGTON — Not so long ago there arose on the American political scene something called the Angry Left. It was an indignant group of ritualistic liberals whose appearance the mainstream media apprised us augured well for Democratic victory in 2008… Is Obama Making the Mistakes That JFK Made? By R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., WASHINGTON —The increasing static between Kabul and the White House brings to mind other dicey episodes in American diplomacy. Even dealing with allies can be tricky. Recall de Gaulle. He was heartburn for five American presidents. Even Churchill… Dwight David Obama: President Is Likened To Eisenhower By YOUSSEF IBRAHIM, NEW YORK — The latest prediction from the Arab World is that President Obama shall transmogrify into a new Eisenhower, an American president who will ‘’force’’ Israel to withdraw from the West Bank as Eisenhower ‘’forced’’ the Britain, France, and… Albany Flails for an Escape Route By HENRY STERN The March 31 constitutional deadline for the adoption of the New York State budget has come and gone. The legislature and the governor have not decided on a budget, and there is no prospect of early agreement between the two houses and the governor on… By ANDREW WOLF Albany has now become the latest front in the war to drag us all, kicking and screaming, into state-mandated good health. Ravitch Offers Passionate Defense of America’s Public School System By ANDREW WOLF No silver bullets. This is the simple premise of Diane Ravitch’s eagerly awaited new book, “The Death and Life of the Great American School System.” Red-Letter Day in Albany As the Law Takes a Hand By HENRY J. STERN, Yesterday was a red letter day in both political corruption and criminal behavior. We observed the indictment of Councilman Larry Seabrook for a multitude of crimes over seven years, and the expulsion from the Senate of Hiram Monserrate. Both are noteworthy events. By SETH LIPSKY One thing that comes to mind as I travel the country to talk about the Constitution is the lyrics from the Rolling Stones song “Gimme Shelter”: For today it seems that all over the country government officials and ordinary citizens alike are reacting to the expansion in power of the federal government by turning for shelter to the Constitution. By LAWRENCE PARKS The right move for the Senate at this juncture is to use the confirmation process for the Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, to open up the question of the our central bank and the need for a reform of the laws in respect of the dollar. This is because the problem with the Federal Reserve isn’t its personnel but rather the Fed itself. By LAWRENCE PARKS Now here’s a coincidence to ponder — the same day that the Democrats in the Senate proposed allowing the federal government to borrow another $1.9 trillion, a columnist for the Wall Street Journal called for America to sell its gold. By LAWRENCE PARKS The question that intrigues us this morning is whether that most celebrated of liberal columnists, Frank Rich of the New York Times, is going to end up in harness with those of us who favor honest money. I’ve been thinking about it because Mr. Rich issued a column the other day lamenting derivatives, which he quotes Warren Buffet as calling “financial weapons of mass destruction.” By SETH LIPSKY Host: Good evening to our television audience, and welcome to this special edition of “Crossfire.” What makes it special is that we have with us tonight two Founders of America, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. Gentlemen, it’s nice to have you with us. Hamilton: Good to be here. Madison: What’s this doo-hickey? Host: A microphone, Mr. President. Gentlemen the Senate of the United States just brushed aside a constitutional point of order in respect of the Health Care Reform, specifically whether the Congress has the constitutional authority to require Americans to purchase health insurance. One of the architects of the measure, Senator Max Baucus, was quoted in the New York Times as saying the power is there under the clauses of the Constitution that grant Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce and to tax and spend for the general welfare. Now I understand you gentlemen have maintained almost a feud but, in any event, two very different views of these powers. By SETH LIPSKY The death of Marek Edelman, who led the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto and whose example towers over the generations, offers much to think about in the current crisis. By ANDREW WOLF No sooner did the Daily News lambast critics of Mayor Bloomberg’s educational program as “flat earth” adherents than the federal NAEP math test released its results, which undermine the mayor’s claims for academic improvements on his watch. Bloomberg’s Diversion Strategy By ANDREW WOLF The negative tone of Mayor Bloomberg’s reelection effort must signify that there is concern in the Bloomberg camp over Comptroller Thompson’s surprising strength with just over two weeks to go in the campaign. By ANDREW WOLF News is in from the front lines of the epidemic afflicting our nation. No, I’m not talking about Swine Flu, which seems to be well under control, but the raging “Childhood Obesity Epidemic,” against which Mayor Bloomberg has just banned the common practice of selling at school fund-raisers the dreaded cupcake. Apple pie, no matter how American, will, I predict, be next. New York’s Education Challenge By ANDREW WOLF David Steiner was sworn in as the new State Commissioner of Education Thursday, and was immediately greeted with a familiar song: Send More Money. These are the education “advocates” who have become the perpetual remains of the “Campaign for Fiscal Equity,” undeterred even in the face of evidence that huge increases in expenditures in New York City schools during the Bloomberg years — some 79% in just six years — has barely moved student performance. By SETH LIPSKY One way to reflect on the death of Corazon Aquino would be to go onto the Internet and bring up the address she gave to a joint meeting of the United States Congress. It took place nearly 23 years ago, on September 18, 1986—half a year after Aquino acceded to the presidency of the Philippines in a triumph over the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. Even from this remove, the speech leaves one trembling with emotion, particularly when the universal hunger for democracy is being demonstrated yet again, this time in Iran. By SETH LIPSKY The curtain is about to go up on the confirmation hearings for President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. During the advance maneuvering, The New York Times reported that the campaign against Sotomayor has been drawing inspiration from the attacks that succeeded against President Clinton’s nomination of Lani Guinier for a Justice Department position. The JTA's Bizarro Attack on Neo-Cons By IRA STOLL The Washington bureau chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Ron Kampeas, has posted a screed against neoconservatives on that organization's Web site. "For eight years we in Washington lived in a bizarro world where the most obvious conclusions were not just ignored, but mocked, actively suppressed and made akin to treason," he said. Now, "neoconservatives are losing," because of "their failure, or their abject inability, to say 'I was wrong.'" He writes, "The Bush administration had not merely an aversion but a psychotic fear of saying 'We wuz wrong.'" By ALICIA COLON President Obama’s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court has unleashed, among other things, a cascade of emails into my computer from friends remarking on the similarities of our backgrounds. I, too, am a Newyorican who lived in a housing project. Mine was in Spanish Harlem, hers in the Bronx, and we both went to parochial schools. Our fathers passed away when we were young, and our mothers struggled to support our families. We also speak perfect unaccented English and are both Catholic.
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