As President Obama starts to sound a little more like an incumbent who will wage an aggressive campaign for re-election, the future of his principal legislative achievement thus far in his presidency is becoming a legitimate, if not yet fully appreciated, issue.                 I am referring, of course, to the 2010 Patient Protection and […]

            In the lead column in last Sunday’s New York Times “Review” section, Professor Drew Westen of Emory University asked, “What Happened to Obama?”  But the lengthy essay did far more than raise a question about the current president.  It indicted Obama’s leadership qualities and his record as president.             And, while it didn’t call […]

            “Our Constitution is in actual operation.  Everything appears to promise that it will last; but in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” -Benjamin Franklin (1783)             That Franklin quote has held up for over two hundred years, but much about it may be in question now that the deal has been […]

            With August 2 looming, the debate over raising the debt ceiling has become almost passé.  Economists of all political stripes have issued their dire warnings, with few dissents from any legitimate experts.  Political commentators have provided blow-by-blow descriptions of the behind-the-scenes drama, such as it is.  Pundits have offered their explanations of why the […]