Outside the Beltway

A new poll shows that the American public is discontented, nervous about the economy, not entirely sure they can trust the new GOP majority in Congress, and has no idea what it wants from Washington. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

One of the most active American diplomats of the past twenty-five years has passed away.

Inspired by the reaction to the Julian Assange case, a feminist writer proposes dangerous changes to American rape laws.

Krauthammer thinks Obama tricked the GOP into agreeing to Stimulus II.

Even though it will likely be unsuccessful, a primary challenge against President Obama could end up harming him enough to hand Republicans the White House in 2012.

Michael Wilbon departs the Washington Post after more than 30 years to work full time at ESPN. Here are his last — and first — columns.

President Obama is already taking heat from the left for his compromise on tax cut extensions, but will it actually hurt him in the end?

The editors of the Washington Post want you to know that “Fair Game,” the new movie about the Valerie Plame affair, is “Hollywood myth making.” Propaganda and lies is more like it.

Why would anyone buy Johnnie Walker Blue, when amazing single malts can be had for less?

The Feds famously got notorious mobster Al Capone on tax evasion charges. Will WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange be done in by sex crimes?

Sarah Palin has taken to her Facebook page to raise “Serious Questions about the Obama Administration’s Incompetence in the WikiLeaks Fiasco.” They’re more interesting than I’d expected.

Tom DeLay is a sleazebag and has been found guilty by an Austin jury for skirting the law. But it may in fact be a miscarriage of justice despite the victim being as unsympathetic as it gets.

There is a simple mathematical equation that explains why deficit reduction is so difficult.

President Obama is likely join the ranks of the unemployed come noon on January 20, 2013 if a Fed forecast is right.

Despite the recent media outrage over TSA search procedures, public attitudes on the subject remain largely supportive.

Israelis and Palestinians don’t agree on much these days, but they do agree that Barack Obama hasn’t helped the peace process at all since coming to office.

Is the current media environment a problem for proper political discourse?

Hamid Karazi says that the United States needs to reduce it’s military presence in his country. Perhaps we should listen to him.

While not inherently unconstitutional, lame duck Congresses have the potential for violating the spirit of the Constitution and create the potential for mischief on the part of Representatives who have been thrown out of office.

New details are out about the upcoming Defense Department report on repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

The Federal Reserve is injecting $ 600,000,000,000 into the economy, primarily in the hope that it will boost stock prices and, in turn, the economy. It might work, but if it doesn’t the consequences could be severe.

George W. Bush’s new memoir reveals that he briefly considered replaced Dick Cheney as Vice-President before the 2004 elections. His decision not to do so reveals much about the relationship between Presidents and Vice-Presidents in modern American politics.

Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson takes a look at the Tea Party movement and claims to find racism.

David Broder offers up some odd ideas on the relationship between a war with Iran and the economy.

With polls opening in less than 48 hours now, the final pre-election polling is showing that 2010 is going to be a pretty bad year for Democrats.

Another poll confirms that Sarah Palin continues to be viewed negatively by the majority of American voters, but that doesn’t seem to matter to supporters who seem have a degree of adulation usually reserved for celebrities than serious politicians.

Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen argues that it’s time to put the debate over the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill mess to rest. He’s right.

Thanks mostly to Virginia Thomas’s decision to place an early Saturday morning phone call to Anita Hill, a woman who had remained silent since 1986 appears in the press to claim she can corroborate the charges that Anita Hill made nineteen years ago.

John Cole is ashamed that some House Democrats are running against Nancy Pelosi, given her effectiveness. It’s all a matter of perspective.

NPR has fired Juan Williams over controversial comments about Muslims.

A new law allows Presidential candidates to set up transition offices while they’re still running for election, perhaps providing an opportunity for shortening the 2 1/2 month interregnum between Election Day and Inauguration Day.

The Washington Post looks around and discovers that the Tea Party isn’t racist after all. Their bad, I guess.

Banks are faced with a huge number of foreclosures and that resources they’ve allocated towards handling them was woefully inadequate.

Responding to the rant that got Rick Sanchez fired, Slate’s Brian Palmer investigates the question, “Do Jews Really Control the Media?” His short answer, “Maybe the movies, but not the news.”

Pakistan yesterday blocked NATO’s primary supply line into Afghanistan in retaliation for an air strike that killed three Pakistani paramilitaries. Are the two countries truly allies?

Bob Woodward reports that President Obama was looking for options other than staying the course in Afghanistan. The military didn’t provide any.

What’s so wrong with saying that America will survive even if al Qaeda manages to hit us again ?

According to a new book from Bob Woorward, American policy in Afghanistan is the result of a decision making process that can only be described as chaotic at best.

Dan Drezner asks, “Has Bob Woodward jumped the shark?” My snarky response is that he did that in Bob Casey’s hospital room.

In yet another sign of how rapidly the media landscape is changing, longtime Newsweek stalwart is leaving for the Huffington Post.

The Tea Party movement and the populist backlash against DC mayor Adrian Fenty are a sign that things are changing so fast that a lot of people simply can’t adjust.

Sarah Palin had a very good track record in her primary season endorsements, but it’s not at all clear that she will have much of an impact on the 2010 General Election.