Outside the Beltway

The House GOP and the White House moved one step closer to a constitutional confrontation, but is it much ado about nothing?

WaPo’s Jackson Diehl asks, “Will the GOP nominate a dove?”

Despite the disdain for him on the the hard right, Mitt Romney is the man to beat right now in the race for the GOP nomination.

The War Powers Act’s 90 day limit is in sight. Will Congress force the president’s hand?

A quick glance provides some insights into Palin’s thought processes and leadership style.

There’s precedent for this sort of thing happening and the candidate making the comeback. And you don’t have to go back too far.

Some people still think Mitt Romney’s religion is a relevant issue.

When John McCain declared that Sarah Palin could beat President Obama, it was easy to dismiss. But when the architect of the Democratic strategy in 2008, says the same thing, you have to listen.

The GOP doesn’t have a charismatic superstar waiting in the wings. That’s okay.

Voters in New York State may help move the budget debate on Capitol Hill.

Once again, Congressional abdication has led to an Executive Branch power grab.

Rand Paul has borrowed a bad idea from the 2008 Presidential campaign.

With Huckabee out, the right side of the GOP primary base may end up divided. And that will help Mitt Romney.

With co-frontrunner Mike Huckabee out, Mitt Romney looks stronger than ever.

Mitt Romney began his effort to confront what is likely to be his biggest political liability in the 2012 campaign.

John McCain thoroughly dismantles the argument that Osama bin Laden’s capture vindicates the use of so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques.”

The 60 day deadline for Presidential discretion under the War Powers Act will expire next week. Congress won’t do anything about it.

I don’t feel the jubilation that came with Saddam Hussein’s capture in December 2003. Sadly, I know better this time.

The Garbonzo Warfare Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

There are signs that the Ryan Plan isn’t playing well with the public.

With all the birther talk these days, it’s probably time to question whether we even need the “natural born citizen” rule anymore.

For the first time, Donald Trump is leading a poll for the GOP 2012 nomination. That’s bad news for the GOP.

Will the Ryan Plan ever be voted out of the House?

Donald Trump has been surging in polls of Republican voters recently, but that doesn’t mean much of anything.

The re-emergence of Obama foreign policy advisor Samantha Power to prominence has brought critics to the forefront

Nate Silver argues today’s polls “have a reasonable amount of predictive power in informing us as to the identity of the eventual nominee.”

Michele Bachmann raised more money in the First Quarter of 2011 than any other Republican. Which means that she’ll have to be taken seriously if she decides to run for President.

Politicians in office have a nasty habit of behaving completely differently than they promise on the campaign trail.

The race for the 2012 Republican nomination is missing the one thing that GOP nomination battles have almost always had, a frontrunner.

The Libyan rebels probably aren’t strong enough to defeat Gaddafi on their own, and the no-fly zone isn’t going to be enough either. Which means this operation is going to be far more extensive than President Obama is willing to admit publicly.

Operation Odyssey Dawn has resurrected the eternal battle over what limits there are, and should be, on the President’s ability to use military force without Congressional authorization.

Is Libya a war? Hell yes, Libya is a war.

There are many opportunities to go to war. Here’s a guide for choosing between them.

With minor exceptions, all of the potential candidates for the GOP nomination in 2012 seem to have accepted the idea that defense spending, and the Bush-era interventionist foreign policy, are off the table when it comes time to talk spending cuts.

Republicans are starting to sour on Sarah Palin, meaning that they’re finally starting to catch up to the rest of the country.

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is beginning to more like a real candidate for President. She won’t win, but she will be entertaining.

The CNN Effect has given away to Twitter Standard Time.

Intervening to “help” the Libyan revolt is very tempting, but it’s a temptation we ought to resist.