From a TV point of view, the arguing, interrupting, counterpunching, talking over each other and pleading to the cameras was delicious viewing, lacking only tears to make the moment picture perfect.
Obama got himself in trouble when he drew a red line to prevent Syria from using chemical weapons but then lacked the will to enforce it. Putin brokered a phony Syrian chemical weapons surrender for Obama.
The lasting impact of the genteel former president is not likely ever to be fully appreciated beyond the countless individuals whose lives he touched in profoundly kind and personal ways.
Although it’s early to start thinking about the president’s chances at reelection, the variables are many. Chaos in the Democratic Party, challengers from inside the GOP and economic surprises could be ahead.
The first female speaker, who will turn 79 in March, is facing a growing chorus of demands for change from younger members, the very ones her prodigious fundraising and pugnacious politics helped elect.
We don’t know much. But we do know there was no blue wave. In fact, the Democrats’ gains of 30-plus seats were less than the 40 expected when a president’s job approval is below 50 percent.
The self-described non-politician wasted no motion or words reaching out to the unconvinced. Elections are about divisions, not unity. Trump’s strategy provides a template for his approach to re-election.
Instead of passively sticking to campaign fundraising, as many presidents do in such times when their name is on no ballot, Trump has gone all in to preserve even a slim GOP hold on both houses of Congress.
The Saudis say journalist Jamal Khashoggi died in a “fight.” Despite Washington’s outrage, President Donald Trump should reject senators’ moral righteousness and ignore their pre-election indignation.
Some commentators tried to portray Trump’s conversation with Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen as a naïve gesture that humiliated Beijing. Soon after, however, at his Florida resort, Trump was wooing China’s Xi Jinping.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell may be the personification of the Washington establishment that Donald Trump campaigned against. But together, they have accomplished a transformation of the judicial system.
Donald Trump didn’t create the anger. He used it, as politicians have for millennia. And with his policies and actions, he’s played on it successfully. Now Democrats have written their own extreme playbook.
To put it bluntly, we’ve been patsies. Our government, companies, infrastructure and institutions have been the targets of countless cyberattacks, feints and breaches. Recall, for one example, Chinese hacking.
Barack Obama has taken his practiced pauses back on the campaign trail in recent days to gin up Democrats’ energy to help ensure they recapture control of the House on Nov. 6 and — who knows? — maybe even the Senate.
Donald Trump thinks his attacks on John McCain worked for him. Trump supporters will say his actions and tweets are all part of a grand strategy. If so, it’s a flawed one because he so often must back off of it.
Progress may be erratic. And it may take some time to sort out our ethics and what’s right to forge a lasting social consensus. But in the end, it’s worth it and our society is better and stronger for it.
Turkey is a golden opportunity for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who likes to deal with strongmen. Ironically, as a newcomer to democratic rule, Turkey sought and received NATO membership and protection in 1952.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has withstood challenges to her leadership from her own party. But with the calculus changed in Trump’s Washington, even a blue wave in November wouldn’t give her a sure thing.
Watch for the Democratic split to deepen and widen as the party’s 2020 presidential wannabes, likely an even larger field than the 17 contenders Republicans struggled with in 2016, begin their public maneuvering.
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, answers questions from reporters on at the U.S. Capitol about the government shutdown. On Thursday, Dec. 27, Roberts was the only senator from either party on Capitol Hill.
