Personal Well-being Overshadows Income Inequality By Michael Barone
Consider one conundrum in American politics. Income inequality has been increasing, according to standard statistics. Yet most Americans do not seem very perturbed by it.
Commentary by Michael Barone
Most Recent Releases
January 3, 2011
December 27, 2010
Even After Shellacking, Obama Looks OK in 2012 By Michael Barone
On the day after Boxing Day, it's worth noting that Barack Obama is down but not out.
December 24, 2010
Census: Fast Growth in States With No Income Tax By Michael Barone
For those of us who are demographic buffs, Christmas came four days early when Census Bureau Director Robert Groves announced yesterday the first results of the 2010 Census and the reapportionment of House seats (and therefore electoral votes) among the states.
December 20, 2010
Reid and Pelosi Finally Get Mugged by Public Opinion By Michael Barone
Elections have consequences. The consequences of the November 2010 elections -- and one might add the November 2009 elections in New Jersey and Virginia and the January 2010 special Senate election in Massachusetts -- became clear as lights shined over the snow at both ends of the Capitol on Thursday night.
December 13, 2010
Obama Riles Dems by Spurning New Deal Complacency By Michael Barone
"The single most important jobs program we can put in place is a growing economy." So said Barack Obama at his surly press conference last week defending the tax deal he made with Republicans.
December 9, 2010
While His Base Rages, Obama Faces Tax-cut Reality By Michael Barone
Reality strikes. Barack Obama spurned the advice of columnists Paul Krugman and Katrina vanden Heuvel and agreed with Republicans to extend the current income tax rates -- the so-called Bush tax cuts -- for another two years.
November 29, 2010
For Tottering States, Bankruptcy Could Be the Answer By Michael Barone
We won't be able to say we weren't warned. Continued huge federal budget deficits will eventually mean huge increases in government borrowing costs, Erskine Bowles, co-chairman of Barack Obama's deficit reduction commission, predicted this month. "The markets will come. They will be swift, and they will be severe, and this country will never be the same."
November 22, 2010
Ways to Come to Grips With American's Fiscal Mess By Michael Barone
Is there any chance we can come to grips with our short-term and long-term fiscal problems -- the huge current federal budget deficit and the huge looming increases in entitlement spending?
November 15, 2010
Bush Had Ups and Downs, but the Surge Counted Most By Michael Barone
George W. Bush is sitting on a hotel sofa in front of a south-facing window on a sunny November morning. His presidential memoir, "Decision Points," is No. 1 on amazon.com and is expected to be No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. "I've got a very comfortable life," he says.
November 12, 2010
GOP Freshmen Will Hold Boehner to His Big Promises By Michael Barone
For political junkies of a certain age, it was a given that the House of Representatives would always be controlled by Democrats. They won the chamber in 1954 and held on for 40 years -- more than twice as long as any party in American history had before.
November 9, 2010
"GOP Poised to Reap Redistricting Rewards" by Michael Barone
Let's try to put some metrics on last Tuesday's historic election.
November 4, 2010
Voters Reject Obama's Big-Government Ambitions by Michael Barone
Uncharted territory.
November 1, 2010
Obama's Economists Missed What Voters Plainly Saw by Michael Barone
Heading into what appears to be a disastrous midterm election, the Obama Democrats profess to be puzzled.
October 28, 2010
Public Employee Unions Funnel Public Money to Dems by Michael Barone
Who is the largest single political contributor in the 2010 campaign cycle?
October 25, 2010
Voters Fed up With Obama's Big, Bossy Government by Michael Barone
Out on the campaign trail, Barack Obama has given us his analysis of why his party is headed for significant losses in the election nine days hence.
October 21, 2010
Tea Party Neophytes Outshine the Dems' Old Pros By Michael Barone
One of the constant refrains of the so-called mainstream media is that tea party candidates are blithering incompetents and weird wackos. They may do well this year, the refrain goes, but when voters come to their senses, the Republican Party will pay a big price for embracing them.
October 18, 2010
Dems Find Careers Threatened by Obamacare Votes by Michael Barone
Seven months ago, Speaker Nancy Pelosi spent a busy week rounding up votes to pass the Senate version of the Democrats' health care legislation.
October 15, 2010
The Democratic 'D' Now Stands for Demagoguery By Michael Barone
I've been in campaign meetings. Sometimes the atmosphere is grim. Your side is down, and you're looking to turn things around.
October 11, 2010
Can Skinflint Mitch Daniels Win the Presidency? by Michael Barone
It's an ornate office in Indiana's beautifully maintained mid-19th century Capitol, but the 49th governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels, is not dressed to match the setting.
October 7, 2010
Dems Turn on Obama Over Iraq, Afghanistan, Gitmo By Michael Barone
It's pretty clear that Democrats are less enthusiastic about voting this year than Republicans. The latest evidence comes from Gallup, which reports that Republicans' 3 percent edge in congressional voting among registered voters increases to 13 and 18 points when you include just those likely and very likely to actually vote.
