"The Scriptures refer to reaping the whirlwind. That certainly describes Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson after the first statewide poll since the controversial deal he cut in exchange for his deciding vote on the Senate health care bill," John Fund writes at OpinionJournal.com. Published January 1, 2010
DAY OF RECKONING Published December 31, 2009
"In a key scene in Frank Capra's 1939 film 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,' appointed senator (and unwitting pawn in a corruption scheme) Jefferson Smith, played by Jimmy Stewart, suggests to a colleague that perhaps it would be a good idea to read bills before voting on them," John Fund writes at OpinionJournal.com. Published December 29, 2009
GIFT GIVING Published December 28, 2009
"'Tis the season for Frank Capra movies, and not just 'It's a Wonderful Life,'" New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin writes. Published December 24, 2009
FAVOR FACTORY Published December 23, 2009
"Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana has issued an excellent statement on the health care bill," William Kristol writes in a blog at WeeklyStandard.com. "He calls it 'Washington at its worst,' and especially urges 'senators with the privilege of representing the great state of Indiana, to give special consideration to Hoosier families and their values and reject this bill.' Published December 22, 2009
"I'm sitting here digesting the news of [Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson's caving to the pressure and the Dems passing the Reid bill. I don't get it. Honestly. I realize that passing a health care bill has become a political imperative. But I don't understand why this bill meets the need," Douglas Holtz-Eakin writes in a blog at www.NationalReview.com. Published December 21, 2009
"As with most presidents at the end of their first year in office, Barack Obama's approval ratings have slipped in 2009, though not as much as the clamor of his critics would suggest," Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center, writes at PewResearch.org. Published December 18, 2009
WORDS OF WISDOM Published December 17, 2009
MORE THAN A TRICKLE Published December 16, 2009
"It is not enough for climate scientists and environment ministers to go to Copenhagen and tell each other how right they are. They also need to convince the public. National politics -- the democratic process -- is awfully inconvenient sometimes, but cannot be waved away," Clive Crook writes in the Financial Times. Published December 15, 2009
Virginia Attorney General-elect Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II says his fellow Republicans lost their congressional majorities in the elections of 2006 and 2008 as a result of their big-spending ways. Published December 14, 2009
TAXING JOBS Published December 11, 2009
"As the president approaches the end of his first year in office, the verdict of the public is clear: Barack Obama has performed poorly," Peter Wehner writes at www.commentarymagazine.com. Published December 10, 2009
HURT FEELINGS Published December 9, 2009
The Obama administration is squirming as former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld continues to bulldog the president for suggesting in his speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., last week that the previous administration had repeatedly denied troop requests by commanders in Afghanistan. Published December 8, 2009
"Voters are increasingly worried about unemployment, but Democratic leaders in Congress remain obsessed with passing health care reform," John Fund writes at www.opinionjournal.com. Published December 7, 2009
Contrary to assertions by some, including D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, President Obama has not received more threats than previous presidents. Published December 4, 2009
OBAMA'S FOES Published December 3, 2009
