The Bullpen

Dana Liebelson
Dana Liebelson

The problem with outsourcing the military

U.S. defense contracting is a mess of lax oversight, poor accountability, thin competition, conflicts of interest, and sometimes, grave misconduct

Edward Morrissey
Edward Morrissey

Obama's boneheaded health-care fight with Catholics

The president desperately needs to woo Catholic voters in key swing states. So why on Earth is he picking a culture-war fight with them?

31 Comments
Daniel Larison
Daniel Larison

The brewing proxy war in Syria

As Western governments clamor for Bashar al-Assad's ouster, they roar toward a dangerous conflict with Syria's Russian and Iranian patrons

Robert Shrum
Robert Shrum

Nominating Mitt Malaprop

Romney has the GOP nomination wrapped up — but his serial verbal miscues will haunt him in November

Edward Morrissey
Edward Morrissey

Obama is not the most polarizing president ever

Despite The Washington Post's rather preposterous claim, this president is not the nation's most divisive ever. Not even close

28 Comments
Paul Brandus
Paul Brandus

Obama's 5 biggest mistakes

The president's Republican opponents will surely spend 2012 hammering away at his failures. So what exactly are they?

39 Comments
Yunte Huang
Yunte Huang

Newt the goat

The struggling Republican was born in 1943, the Chinese year of the goat. And as Gingrich's wrongheaded policies prove, the zodiac readings don't lie

7 Comments
Robert Shrum
Robert Shrum

Obama is the Reagan of 2012

Newt and Mitt are clambering over each other trying to claim the Gipper's mantle. But it's a Democrat whose situation and rhetoric best mirror Reagan's

28 Comments
Daniel Larison
Daniel Larison

The West's inimical posturing on Iran

The EU approves a ban on Iranian oil imports, but what the West really needs is a complete reappraisal of its dealings with Tehran

6 Comments
Edward Morrissey
Edward Morrissey

Rolling the dice with Newt

Gingrich's fiery style excites the base. But it also turns off a majority of Americans

Paul Brandus
Paul Brandus

Obama's top 5 successes

The president will surely boast of his accomplishments during Tuesday night's State of the Union address. So what exactly are they?

37 Comments
Robert Shrum
Robert Shrum

Mitt Romney's taxing baggage

Mitt's tax avoidance embodies unfairness in a moment when economic justice is a driving issue. And to boot, he comes off as out of touch, unconnected, and unconcerned

10 Comments
Edward Morrissey
Edward Morrissey

Is the GOP presidential field a Tea Party failure?

To the dismay of many in the clamorous grassroots, the Republican nominee is all but certain to be an establishment insider 

23 Comments
Robert Shrum
Robert Shrum

Monsieur Romney's attack on American values

The GOP frontrunner blasts the president as "tak[ing] his inspiration from the capitals of Europe." But the truth is, that's exactly what Mitt's doing

9 Comments
Edward Morrissey
Edward Morrissey

Newt and Co. abandon their principles to pile on Romney

Mitt's GOP rivals are pouncing on his record at leveraged-buyout firm Bain. But Bain's creative destruction is a key tenet of conservative economics

8 Comments

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