Outside the Beltway

Tan, rested, ready, Biden in 2016?

Ta-Nehisi Coates explores his complicated reaction to the first African-American president.

The Elfish Presley Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

Ron Fournier sees major similarities but ignores key differences.

David Brooks thinks that the problem with American Government is that the Presidency isn’t strong enough.

Dana Milbank offers a nonsensical reason for denying our youth the freedom to choose their own path.

A third term for any of these guys? Don’t count on it.

Divided government is the worst political system ever, except for all the others.

63% are angry at Republicans, 57% are angry at Democrats, and 53% are angry at President Obama.

The political polarization we saw during the Bush Presidency has continued throughout the Obama Presidency.

President Obama is trying to launch a war but there’s a lot of competition for attention.

The Pole Dance Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

Ted Cruz is either being incredibly cynical as he deludes his fellow Republicans, or he’s living in a fantasy world.

A new poll shows public approval for the Supreme Court nearing a all-time low.

Once again, the threat of the “nuclear option” appears to have had less megatonnage than some expected and others hoped.

The Semper Dry or Damper Fi Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

Former Justice O’Connor seems to regret the fact that the Supreme Court got involved in the 2000 election. Her regrets are misplaced.

2012’s election represented a significant change in voting patterns in the United States. What’s unclear is if the change is a permanent one.

Tom Brokaw has some good criticisms of what the White House Correspondent’s Association Dinner has turned into.

Will the prohibitive favorite for the 2016 Democratic nomination do it differently this time around?

When it comes to same-sex marriage, the GOP finds itself on the horns of a dilemma.

The final release of President Lyndon Johnson’s tape recordings reveals a bizarre plot.

Frustrated Republican health care staffers are leaving the Hill for lucrative positions on K Street.

Institutional dynamics in the US constitutional system are the key to undertstanding our current predicament.

We really don’t need to be treating Inauguration Day like it’s the coronation of a new King.

The GOP is following a strategy on the debt ceiling that cannot possibly succeed.

From a political point of view, the GOP’s position on taxes makes no sense at all.

The Flip The Bird Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

A quick post on a pet peeve.

Less than two weeks after he lost the election, the GOP is acting as if Mitt Romney never existed.

Believing the maker/taker dichotomy.

I just came across Peggy Noonan’s pre-election column. It is quite illustrative.