AUTHOR ARCHIVES
Trump Goes Back To the Future on Foreign Policy
April 10, 2017 Since World War Two, there has been a broad bipartisan consensus that America must play an active role in maintaining a liberal world order. Even if conservative hawks have been more eager to project force and liberal internationalists preferred diplomacy, there was widespread agreement that America had an essential role...
How To Measure Trump’s Performance
January 18, 2017 For Senate Republicans, these are heady times. Against expectations, they maintained control of their majority and are virtually guaranteed of keeping control of the upper chamber after the 2018 midterms, thanks to a favorable map. With at least 11 Democratic senators in their sights—and only one or two Republicans to...
Senate GOP Could Check Trump
November 30, 2016 In working to get his agenda passed through Congress, President-elect Trump faces an inconvenient reality: Republicans will hold just 52 seats in the Senate (assuming they win a December runoff in Louisiana), their narrowest majority in the upper chamber since George W. Bush’s first term. This means individual GOP senators...
How Hillary Clinton Could End Washington's Gridlock
October 12, 2016 For those only paying attention to the nasty presidential race, it’s easy to conclude the campaign won’t foreshadow an era of good feelings in Washington. But the conventional wisdom that presumes gridlock is the new normal is wrong. If Hillary Clinton wins the presidency and faces a closely divided Senate...
Clinton Wins Debate, But Did She Win Over Voters?
September 27, 2016 Hillary Clinton demonstrated a command of policy on Monday night, and a cool confidence that she was more prepared than Donald Trump to be commander in chief. By the end of the first presidential debate, Trump looked peeved and distracted. He didn’t get in a clever one-liner to defang Clinton’s...
Bill Clinton Tries to Humanize His Wife With a Political Love Story
July 27, 2016 PHILADELPHIA—History was made here Tuesday, with Hillary Clinton breaking the proverbial glass ceiling to become the first woman presidential nominee in American history. But it was Bill Clinton’s closing convention speech that stole the show. He made the kind of case for Hillary Clinton that only he could, offering a...
On Convention’s First Night, Bernie Sanders and His Supporters Upstage Clinton
July 26, 2016 PHILADELPHIA—Hillary Clinton was greeted as an interloper at her own convention, at least judged by the chilly reception she received on the first day of the Democratic National Convention. Amid a hacking scandal that exposed the Democratic National Committee’s bias towards Clinton during the primaries, Bernie Sanders delegates were in...
For Trump, It’s Not Morning In America Anymore
July 22, 2016 CLEVELAND—Donald Trump’s closing speech at the Republican convention was one of the most pessimistic pieces of political rhetoric in recent history. Most candidates, even in times of turmoil, try to make the case that hope is on the way. Trump’s speech, by contrast, offered a litany of bad news so...
Cruz Roils GOP Convention With Last Stand Against Trump
July 21, 2016 CLEVELAND—It was sabotage night at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday. Trump’s rival, Sen. Ted Cruz, used his prime-time speaking opportunity to deliver a conservative stemwinder distinguished by his refusal to endorse the GOP presidential nominee on stage. “Stand, and speak, and vote your conscience, vote for candidates up and...
Republicans Slam Clinton, But Don’t Make the Case for Trump
July 19, 2016 CLEVELAND—When Pat Smith offered emotional testimony about how the government failed to protect her son during the Benghazi attacks, Donald Trump was calling into Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News show to preview his speech at the convention. As Smith powerfully recounted Hillary Clinton’s unresponsiveness to her family’s plight, Trump attacked John...