Outside the Beltway

My latest for The Atlantic, “Romney’s Realist Foreign Policy Is a Lot Like Obama’s,” has been posted.

Ahead of his big foreign policy speech, Mitt Romney has unveiled his “Foreign Policy and National Security Advisory Team” which “will assist Governor Romney as he presents his vision for restoring American leadership in the world and securing our enduring interests and ideals abroad.”

The partisan crowds like President Obama’s populist rhetoric but it seems ill-suited for his re-election strategy.

Pundits love to speculate about new candidates entering the race and spicing things up. This will all be academic quite soon because filing dates in key states are fast approaching.

The health care battle is formally joined in the Supreme Court.

Despite all the negatives going against him, Mitt Romney may yet be the inevitable Republican nominee.

Is quoting President Obama without fixing his grammar “racist”? Some say it is.

When the old rules don’t apply anymore, the system breaks down.

During last night’s debate, Mitt Romney repeated a charge that has become part of the conservative zeitgeist. But is it true?

Based on the numbers, Barack Obama is an immigration hawk.

Rick Perry’s speech criticizing the President’s policies in the Middle East raised more questions than it answered.

Rick Santorum is tired of “filth” atop Google searches for his name and wants the company to do something about it.

The DOJ needs to go on a low-carb diet.

President Obaama’s poll numbers are lower than where Reagan and Clinton were at this point, but not by very much.

As more details roll in on President Obama’s millionaire tax hike, it’s looking like it was drawn up by J. Wellington Wimpy: “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.”

Public disapproval of Congress continues to fall.

The FBI has been using some odd materials to train its counterterrorism agents.

NATO is still seen as essential by 62 percent of both EU and U.S. respondents, demonstrating that the transatlantic military bond is still, despite a rough decade, firmly entrenched in American and European views of the world.

The Obama campaign’s new “Attackwatch” site is the latest Outrage Of The Day

Paul Krugman chose to mark the the 10th anniversary of September 11th with an odd blog post.

The short-lived national unity spawned by the attacks of a decade ago was re-kindled for a few hours as former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush joined with Vice President Joe Biden to honor Flight 93.

Rick Perry took a stroll down the third rail of American politics last night.

Killing’s our business and business is good.

Mitt Romney’s jobs plan is detailed, but it doesn’t seem to be impressing anyone.

51.5 percent of Americans disapprove of President Obama’s job performance. It’s still his race to lose.

With most of the public looking at the future and not seeing anything good, the President is suffering

Is the GOP race really down to just two men at this point?

It never ceases to amaze me how many smart people manage to believe, against all evidence to the contrary, that their political philosophy has massive support.

What does the apparent outcome of the war in Libya mean for the so-called “Responsibility To Protect” doctrine?

Rick Perry’s position on immigration-related issues could be a problem for the same conservatives who have been getting behind him.

Environmentalists are upset by President Obama’s decision to abandon stringent new smog regulations, but he made the right decision.

Steve Clemons highlights former first lady Laura Bush’s continuing work in promoting education and international engagement.

The failure of a solar energy firm in California is raising questions about a centerpiece of the Administration’s economic policy.

Rick Perry isn’t as radical as some on the left are saying, but that doesn’t mean he’s any good.

The Romney campaign may be finally starting to pay attention to Rick Perry.

He’s been out of office for more than two years, but George W. Bush is still being blamed for the state of the economy.

Dick Cheney’s long-awaited book’s out and he promises lots of bombshells that will have heads exploding in DC.

Is the NYPD becoming too much like the CIA?

Steve Benen has coined the phrase “Thank America Last” to describe those avoiding praise of President Obama for success in Libya.

President Obama is back on Martha’ Vineyard for a ten-day vacation. The usual suspects are upset.

Rick Perry’s vision of capitalism doesn’t exactly comply with what Adam Smith had in mind.

The treasurer behind “Rick Parry with an ‘A’ for America” has left to work with Rick Perry