Outside the Beltway

Hillary Clinton is taking a hit in the polls, but it’s unclear if that’s going to matter when 2016 rolls around.

Rand Paul Is at a distinct disadvantage compared to his fellow Republican candidates for President.

Lindsey Graham is the latest entrant into the Presidential race, but it’s hard to see how he gets out of the bottom of the polls.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker isn’t officially a candidate for President yet, but he’s doing quite well in Iowa anyway.

Don’t believe everything you read in the papers.

Many provisions of the Patriot Act lapsed at midnight, but apparently the world hasn’t ended.

The Iowa Straw Poll seems to be dying, and that’s a good thing.

The Senate returns tomorrow to try to pass an extension of the PATRIOT Act before it expires, but it may not be able to do so.

The race for the Republican nomination is as tight as ever, and so far nobody seems to be emerging as a clear front-runner.

Rand Paul is out with one of his more forceful attacks on Republican hawks to date.

The Senate went home last night without passing a bill to renew the PATRIOT Act, which expires at the end of the month.

Hillary Clinton is a deeply flawed candidate who might not even make a very good President. But that doesn’t matter in the race for the Democratic Nomination, and she’s probably going to be the next President anyway.

Rand Paul held the Senate floor for nearly twelve hours yesterday to talk about the PATRIOT Act, but it’s unclear if he accomplished anything.

With 14 candidates vying for the Republican nomination, TV execs are scrambling to make the debates watchable.

Republicans could learn a few things from the Tory victory in the recent British elections, but they are in danger of drawing the wrong conclusions.

Marco Rubio is the latest Republican Presidential candidate to have a problem giving a coherent answer to a few simple questions about the Iraq War.

South Carolina’s Senior Senator is set to be the latest entry into the race for the Republican nomination.

Lindsey Graham says that, if elected president, he would summarily kill anyone thinking about joining ISIS.

George Stephanopoulos’ s ties to the Clinton’s have always raised questions about his objectivity. Now, there’s further reason to doubt that he can play fair when the Clinton’s are part of the story he’s covering.

The House has passed a bill that would place real restrictions on the National Security Agency’s data mining program. Now, it moves to the Senate.

Iraq seems to becoming a political headache for yet another member of the Bush family.

Like most Republicans, Jeb Bush either fails or refuses to recognize what an utter, unjustifiable disaster his brother’s decision to invade Iraq actually was.

Director of National Intelligence now tells Congress that he testified falsely about NSA spying because he forgot the program existed.

For reasons only he can understand. South Carolina’s senior Senator will be entering the race for the White House early next month.

Jeb Bush told a group of supporters that his brother is his top Middle East policy adviser. This strikes me as being a bad idea.

Break out the sweater vests, Rick Santorum is getting ready to enter the race for the Republican Presidential Nomination.

So far at least, there’s little evidence in the polls that Hillary Clinton has been hurt by the news reports about the financial dealings of the Clinton Foundation.

A new poll has some bad news for Jeb Bush in the Hawkeye State, which leads to the idea that maybe he shouldn’t waste too much time there to begin with.

There must be something odd in the water in the Lone Star State, because a bizarre conspiracy theory seems to have taken root there.

Mike Huckabee’s back, but the 2008 magic is gone.

Ben Carson is running for President.

Republicans on Capitol Hill are talking about fundamentally changing what it means to be an American, and it’s a bad idea.

Rand Paul bucks Republican orthodoxy on Iraq, Libya, and negotiations with Iran.

Vaccination has eliminated a disease that used to be a serious threat from the Americas.

The Wright Stuff Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

Even for political junkies, the thrill seems to be gone.

Marco Rubio is often described as one of the GOP’s leaders on foreign policy, but a close look reveals a decided lack of substance.

Less than two weeks after entering the race, Florida Senator Marco Rubio is at the top of the GOP field in a new poll.

Former Hewlett Packard CEO, and failed Senate candidate, Carly Fiorina will be running for President for some reason.

Yet another study has found no link between autism and childhood vaccines. However, that’s unlikely to mean the end of the anti-vaccination movement.

New allegations regarding foreign government donations to the Clinton Foundation seem likely to become a campaign issue.

The GOP race remains tight, but some candidates have benefited from their entry into the race more than others. Overall, though, Hillary Clinton continues to dominate.

And the fun part is that his main motive for running appears to be the opportunity to troll Rand Paul.

The “racism” debate brought about by Barack Obama in 2000 is getting a spin-off.

Like nearly all of his fellow Republicans, Jeb Bush has adopted the disastrous foreign policy views that typified his brother’s Presidency.

Conditioning an Iranian nuclear deal on recognition of Israel is foolish, unrealistic, and very bad diplomacy.

Ben Carson will be entering the race for President next month, but don’t pretend for a minute that he’s a serious candidate.

Marco Rubio is the first Republican in the race who actually has a plausible chance to win the nomination, but it’s not going to be easy.

So, she’s in.