Eugene Robinson's Blog, page 104

The Bush legacy lives on

Jeb Bush’s highly anticipated speech on foreign policy reminded me of the joke in which two senior citizens complain about a restaurant. “Terrible food at that place,” says one. “Yes,” says the other, “and such small portions!” Read full article >>

Republicans are holding the Department of Homeland Security hostage

The House of Representatives seems to be trying mightily to make itself irrelevant, with Speaker John Boehner leading the effort. I can’t help but think of the old proverb: “The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.” Read full article >>

Obama’s confusing war plan

President Obama’s request to Congress for authority to use military force against the Islamic State explains his view of why to fight this war. But it doesn’t really tell us how.Obama has asked to be liberated and constrained at the same time. He wants no geographical boundaries placed on his ability to go after the Islamic State and “associated persons or forces.” But he also asks that Congress rule out “enduring offensive ground combat operations” and wants the war authority to expire after three years. Read full article >>

At the prayer breakfast, President Obama struck a patronizing tone

There is no doubt that President Obama’s remarks about Christianity at the National Prayer Breakfast last week were historically accurate. But they were also — let’s face it — glib, facile and patronizing.Read full article >>

A juvenile GOP

Bang. Bang. Crash. That was the sound of the Republican majority in Congress shooting itself in both feet, then tripping over them.At a moment of heightened concern that terrorists in the Middle East might stage or inspire attacks on U.S. soil, the GOP-controlled House and Senate are unable to agree on a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security. If the party’s aim is to show Americans it is ready to govern, we are witnessing an epic fail. Read full article >>

Obama’s budget offers a golden opportunity for GOP deal-making

To understand why the centerpiece initiative of President Obama’s budget makes so much sense, imagine that U.S. corporations decided to bring home — in cash — the estimated $2 trillion in profits they are stashing overseas to avoid paying U.S. taxes.Read full article >>

Boehner’s invitation to Netanyahu backfires on them both

The political ramifications are clear: House Speaker John Boehner and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a colossal mistake by conspiring behind President Obama’s back, and the move has ricocheted on both of them.Read full article >>

Hillary stands alone

And now for a look at the Democratic presidential field for 2016 — hey, hold on, where’d everybody go? All right, at the moment there’s little suspense. Make that no suspense. If Hillary Clinton wants the nomination — and there’s no indication to the contrary — she can have it. Winning the general election is another story, but the Republican Party seems willing to be more of an aid than an impediment.Read full article >>

What is the GOP thinking?

There they go again. Given control of Congress and the chance to frame an economic agenda for the middle class, the first thing Republicans do is tie themselves in knots over . . . abortion and rape.I’m not kidding. In a week when President Obama used his State of the Union address to issue a progressive manifesto of bread-and-butter policy proposals, GOP leaders responded by taking up the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” — a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. But a vote on the legislation had to be canceled after female GOP House members reportedly balked over the way an exception for pregnancies resulting from rape was limited.Read full article >>

Two very different States of the Union

We got two State of the Union speeches in one tonight. One, laying out President Obama’s domestic policy initiatives, was detailed, specific, fact-filled, forward-looking, ambitious and replete with a certain swagger. The other, on foreign affairs, not so much.Read full article >>