Outside the Beltway

As President Obama’s red line has been crossed more brazenly, he continues to sound reluctant to intervene in Syria while positioning forces to do just that.

Some conservatives don’t seem too troubled by Vladimir Putin’s repression.

It may be Rick Santorum’s “turn” but he’s too harsh and extreme to win the nomination.

Chris Christie waded into the debate going on in the GOP over foreign policy. His comments were less than helpful to say the least.

A late-night announcement that Gitmo detainees will get hearings raises more questions than it answers.

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

Secretary of State Kerry becomes the latest American official to wade into the Middle East’s longest lasting quagmire.

David Bosco wonders, “Why is the United Nations Ambassador in the Cabinet?”

President Obama has appointed a lot of donor’s and supporters to plumb Ambassadorial slots. That’s not at all unusual.

The Oval Office Address, once a common tool of the Presidency, has been in declining use of late.

Could Rick Perry recover from his disastrous 2012 campaign to become a viable candidate?

A privacy rights group has filed a Petition with the Supreme Court regarding recent actions by the FISA Court.

We won’t have Rick Perry to kick around any more.

Does it matter if political leaders like each other on some personal level? Sometimes it does.

President Obama’s poll numbers seem to be suffering under the weight of nearly two months of scandals and/ media attention.

Outrage over leaks like those that Edward Snowden makes doesn’t exist when its politicians doing the leaking.

Even if you trust the current occupant of the White House to exercise the powers granted to the agencies operating in secret under him, do you trust all future Presidents?

A George W. Bush renaissance? Not exactly.

Revelations about the NSA’s data mining programs don’t seem to be having a significant impact on public opinion.

Big Brother is doing more than just checking your phone records.

President Obama threw down a gauntlet today in the form of a trio of Judicial nominations.

Republicans have problems with the younger generation that they will need to fix if they’re going to succeed in the future.

Should bloggers be treated the same as “journalists” for the purpose of the protections granted by media shield laws?

The Obama Administration’s aggressive pursuit of leaks is threatening freedom of the press.

We’re actually not speculating about who might be running any more than we used to.

Partisan targeting by the IRS should not be permitted to stand.

Would more information about the Benghazi attacks have changed the outcome of the Presidential election?

For several years, Tea Party and other conservative groups have contended that they were being targeted for investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and it turns out that they were right.

Yesterday’s hearings shed more light while also raising yet more questions to which we’ll likely never get a satisfactory answer.

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

There seems to be an effort underway to reassess the legacy of our 43rd President.

The Dakota Tribal Wisdom Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

The Republican field for 2016 is more wide open than any we’ve seen in a long time.

For the moment, Hillary Clinton looks unbeatable if she chooses to run in 2016

Emily DePrang looks back at “‘Baghdad Bob’ and His Ridiculous, True Predictions.”

The Iraq War did significant damage to the legacy of the Republican Party.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul won a completely meaningless straw poll.

Walter Russell Mead presents his sitrep of the War on Terror.

The GOP’s public image continues to be bad and there seems to be little sign that they’re doing anything to change that.