The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. A cool front passed through the nation’s capital overnight, making it extremely comfortable in the campground. It is easy to be lazy and not want to care about the ridiculously shallow coverage of the presidential election of…
By Robert Reich – “He can’t possibly win the nomination,” is the phrase heard most often when Washington insiders mention either Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders. Yet as enthusiasm for the bombastic billionaire and the socialist senior continues to build within each party, the political establishment is mystified. Political insiders don’t see that the biggest…
By Andrew Dugan WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the 2016 presidential race increasingly dominates political news, Gallup is now reporting that the Democratic Party has regained it historical edge over the Republican Party in favorability ratings, a fact which may have implications for the White House race. As of the latest public opinion poll on the…
By Nicholas Sheppard – If Hillary Clinton’s bid for the presidency is successful, would it make her the most powerful woman in history? The proposition is a tricky one, because of all the historical relativism. Making sense of it involves looking at power both in absolute, and global terms. Unlike other powerful women in history,…
Eschew Obfuscation – By Michael Douglass – What I hate about Americans is our notion of what is presidential. Tall, calm and graying at the temples. Bill Clinton, Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan etc., all very presidential. The cult of political celebrity. Whatever. Bernie Sanders is not presidential but I’d like to have a…
By Frank Newport – PRINCETON, N.J. — Most Americans believe that managing government effectively is an important requirement for a good president, and in recent years, sitting presidents’ ratings on this trait have closely matched their overall job approval ratings. For example, 44 percent of Americans say that President Barack Obama is an effective manager…
By Jeffrey M. Jones – At the outset of the 2016 campaign for president of the United States, the potential Republican candidates identified so far lack the star power of previous campaigns, according to the latest Gallup poll on the subject. The Republican nomination contest is shaping up to be a lot like 2012, with…
By Robert Reich – It’s seed time for the 2016 presidential elections, when candidates try to figure out what they stand for and will run on. One thing seems reasonably clear. The Democratic nominee for President, whoever she may be, will campaign on reviving the American middle class. As will the Republican nominee — although…
By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — How can I explain this in a way everyone will understand, including conservative Republicans, liberal Democrats and the national and state press corps? President Barack Obama is and must be our political Jackie Robinson. You may recall or have heard that Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson was the first…
By Glynn Wilson – Americans continue to name Hillary Clinton as the woman they admire the most in the world, while President Barack Obama gets top billing as the man they admire the most, according to the latest Gallup poll on the subject. Ms. Clinton, who is positioning herself to run to become the first…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — Where oh where is Jeb Bush and what is his position on the torture ordered by his brother? As the media across the world continues to cover the story about the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report just out on the Bush administration’s CIA torture program,…
By Glynn Wilson – While a slim majority of Americans, 51 percent, say they disapprove of President Barack Obama’s executive action to deal with undocumented immigrants living in the United States, Hispanics, African-Americans and other recent immigrants by a wide margin approve of the policy plan to grant legal status to those who have been…
By Justin McCarthy – WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the Affordable Care Act’s second open enrollment period begins, 37 percent of Americans say they approve of the law, one percentage point below the previous low in January. On the other hand, 56 percent of Americans sampled say they disapprove of the law. Americans were slightly more…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – THURMONT, Md. – The weather forecast is calling for a dusting of snow here in the woods north of Washington, D.C. Thursday night, which we might as well call the first act of winter after one of the most lovely falls in memory for the people of…
By Glynn Wilson – Fifty-two percent of Americans say they expect the Republican Party to win control of the U.S. Senate in November, according to the latest Gallup poll on the subject, although there are a few key races still up in the air that could change that. An even larger majority of Americans, 63…
By Nick Sheppard – From The Sheppard Post – Near the end of 2012, Hillary Clinton’s health made headlines as she finished her term as secretary of state. She developed a stomach virus, hit her head, suffered a concussion and subsequently developed a blood clot in her brain but was medicated and made a good…
