Outside the Beltway

President Obama’s job approval numbers have fallen off from their post-election highs. But, does it matter?

A theory on why Benghazi will not die as a political issue.

The American tax code contains perverse incentives and barriers to getting out of poverty.

Applications to America’s Law Schools are down, because the nature of the legal profession is changing.

Want to teach political science for a living? Go to one of a handful of top schools or don’t bother.

Harvard’s pet conservative offers a critique of the Democratic Party that reads like something from the OTB comments section.

Thinking can be an uncomfortable exercise.

Are two-term Presidencies the new normal?

More griping about poor analysis.

The analyst actually wants to understand and be correct far more than he or she wants their preferences to prevail in the analysis

Younger voters are starting to become as cynical as the rest of us.

All eyes on Northern Virginia.

John Sides argues that, contrary to popular conception, undecided voters are neither morons nor non-partisan.

It’s no wonder partisans can’t agree with each other when they can’t even agree what the facts are.

Getting to the heart of the problem from my POV (plus historical numbers).

Should people be able to vote six weeks before Election Day?

Some of the Harvard students accused of cheating are speaking out, and making allegations of their own.

Harvard has announced the discovery of what one official calls an “unprecedented” cheating scandal.

A black ‘Democrat’ who seconded Obama’s nomination in 2008 is endorsing Romney in 2012. It’s not a big deal.

Dan Nexon often gets asked by prospective candidates how they might improve their chances at getting into a PhD program in political science.

It would be nice if people who make authoritative decisions had some idea what they are talking about.

With four months to go until Election Day, the Obama Campaign was greeted with a very dismal jobs report this morning.

Voters don’t seem all that interesting in the things that the political media becomes obsessed with.

Public opinion of the Supreme Court has declined in recent years. But It’s not because of anything the Court did.

Figuring out how much of the opposition to a black president is based on racism is . . . complicated.

A blog post lampooning black studies dissertations got a writer fired, setting off a controversy over the limits of free speech.

There are a number of problems with the notion that the Federalist Papers provide a perfect guide to the Constitution.

The Wall Street Journal publishes a screed aimed at those about to graduate college.

If we taught the Federalist Papers more rigorously would that lead to a shared view of the constitution?

The famous “double helix” article was published 59 years ago today. It’s worth a look.

The major you choose in college will have an impact on your future.

Charlie Savage documents a major shift in Barack Obama’s philosophy of presidential authority.

Ted Nugent, whose music I really liked when I was in junior high school, said something vile and crazy.

The Romney campaign is pushing back on the “Republican War on Women” meme with this infographic on “Women & The Obama Economy.”

OTB’s comment section as a microcosm of the American political landscape.

Newt Gingrich is morally and intellectually bankrupt, so perhaps it’s no surprise that his health care think tank is now fiscally bankrupt.

Dan Drezner declares that “Policy wonks ignore political science journals at their peril.”