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Articles by Stephen Dinan

President Obama cited the beginning of the Constitution's preamble during an 18-minute speech Monday from the grand platform of the Capitol as he started his second term in office with a blueprint for national unity. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington times)

Obama uses the Constitution as basis for his aggressive plans

President Obama's appeal for unity in his inaugural address four years ago gave way Monday to a more pointedly aggressive vision of liberalism and social justice, coming from a chief executive who survived his first term's legislative battles and is determined to make his second term consequential.

January 21, 2013
President Obama talks with Vice President Joseph R. Biden in the presidential box during the inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue en route to the White House on Jan. 21, 2013. (Associated Press)

Biden seems revved up and ready for 2016

Even as President Obama on Monday grasped the reins of power for another four years, the man who would be his successor — Vice President Joseph R. Biden — was never far away.

January 21, 2013
The U.S. Capitol is kept largely out of reach from American taxpayers.

Obama gut-busting lunch menu tops 3,000 calories

The ceremonial lunch President Obama and his former congressional colleagues are eating Monday tops out at 3,000 calories, according to a website that has tallied up the luxurious menu of lobster, bison and apple pie.

January 21, 2013
President Obama is officially sworn in by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. in the Blue Room of the White House during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Brendan Smialowski, Pool)

Inauguration 2013: Obama faces a daunting 4 years as he takes the reins for second term

Barack Hussein Obama took the presidential oath at 11:55 Sunday morning in a small ceremony at the White House, gripping the reins of office for another four-year term and a chance to build on his already historic legacy — though unlike the beginning of his first term, he now faces a divided Congress capable of thwarting him.

January 20, 2013
Vice President Joseph R. Biden takes the oath of office, administered by Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor at the residence of the vice president at the U.S. Naval Observatory as Jill Biden looks on, on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2012, in Washington. (AP Photo/New York Times, Josh Haner, Pool)

Biden officially sworn in to second term

Vice President Joseph R. Biden was officially sworn in to a second term of office Sunday morning at a small ceremony at the Naval Observatory, hours ahead of President Obama's expected inauguration in a similar ceremony at the White House.

January 20, 2013
"I think at the federal level and at the state level, get rid of these mandatory minimum sentences. Let judges act as judges and make up their own mind what should be done. The idea that we protect society by one size fits all, or the idea that we can do this kind of symbolism to make us safer — it just does not work in the real world," said Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the senior Democrat in the Senate. (Associated Press)

Leahy: Abolish mandatory minimum sentences

The longest-serving Democrat in the Senate on Wednesday called for scrapping mandatory minimum sentences at both the federal and state levels, and said he wants Congress to take a critical look at the way U.S. law enforcement agencies use drones.

January 16, 2013
**FILE** President Obama, accompanied by Vice President Joseph R. Biden and children who wrote the president about gun violence following last month's shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., signs executive orders to reduce gun violence on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in the South Court Auditorium at the White House complex in Washington. From left are Mr. Biden; Hinna Zeejah, 8; Nadia Zeejah, Hinna’s mother; Taejah Goode, 10; Kimberly Graves, Taejah’s mother; Julia Stokes, 11; Dr. Theophil Stokes, Julia’s father; and Grant Fritz, 8. (Associated Press)

Obama using gun issue to advance health law

President Obama is using the national debate over gun violence to push for further action on his health care law, including insisting on the kind of mental health coverage states must provide under their Medicaid programs.

January 16, 2013
** FILE ** Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Democrat (Associated Press)

Top Senate Democrat warns against police use of drones

The senior Democrat in the Senate on Wednesday called for scrapping mandatory minimum sentences at both the federal and state levels and said he wants Congress to take a critical look at the way police agencies in the United States are using drones.

January 16, 2013
Rep. Harold Rogers (Associated Press)

Sandy funding passes House; GOP is denied cost offsets

The House on Tuesday approved $50 billion in emergency funds for Superstorm Sandy relief, rejecting conservatives' plea to offset the spending with cuts as most lawmakers said worries about the deficit need to take a back seat when natural disasters strike.

January 15, 2013
**FILE** House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (Associated Press/The Roanoke Times, Stephanie Klein-Davis)

Congress has a Constitution problem — many don’t understand document

Each of them takes an oath to defend the Constitution, but many House lawmakers either don't understand the founding document or don't take its precepts seriously, according to an analysis by The Washington Times that studied the constitutional backing that representatives submitted for each of the more than 3,000 bills they introduced in 2011.

January 14, 2013

GOP recalls Obama, Biden opposed debt-limit hikes

President Obama's vow not to negotiate on the debt limit this year is a stark reversal for an administration whose two top officials both have a history of balking at debt hikes.

January 14, 2013