A consistent media meme since Election Day has been that Barack Obama was inheriting a recession that some believe began as far back as December 2007. Since then, despite various rescue plans from his Administration, and the passage of a $787 billion stimulus package, the stock market has continued ...

Who are considered the best and worst Presidents of all time? Some of the results might be a surprise, and some no surprise. The Times Online asked 8 of its international and political commentators to take on this task. "The Collins English Dictionary definition of great reads thus: relatively large...

Jimmy Carter has published a new book, WE CAN HAVE PEACE IN THE HOLY LAND: A Plan That Will Work and the New York Times gave it to leftwinger Gershom Gorenberg to review. Here's something I want to comment on: A beginning student of the Middle East should not learn diplomatic history from this text....

"Half-Smart Herman" is Arthur Herman, author of "Gandhi and Churchill: The Epic Rivalry That Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age" and the person who penned this op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on Camp David and the foilbles of Jimmy Carter from which I've selected this on which to comment: Yet f...

Meet the new boss — same as the old boss: In a closely watched case involving rendition and torture, a lawyer for the Obama administration seemed to surprise a panel of federal appeals judges on Monday by pressing ahead with an argument for preserving state secrets originally developed by the ...

From a recent interview with indefatigable Jimmy Carter: Q. Are you surprised that more progress has not been made since Camp David? A. I was really disappointed when President Reagan dropped the ball completely. He showed no interest in the Mideast peace process after I left office and we were righ...

Andrew Sullivan has a powerful piece on the state of American conservatism, especially its alliance with the Republican Party.  Two key excerpts from a very long piece: In contemporary America, the right is now in an almost parodic state of ideology. There isn’t just a rigid set of beliefs, i...

I’ve been busy on other projects of late and missed yesterday’s 7th anniversary of the kidnapping and brutal murder of Daniel Pearl . Pearl was a journalist living in in Karachi, Pakistan, writing for The Wall Street Journal . Daniel Pearl Daniel’s father, Judea Pearl wrote a brill...

Thursday, Jon Stewart was a guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Not surprisingly, it was a Barack Obama love fest. That's nauseating, but I manage to deal with the incessant yapping by celebrities about this golden age of Obama. I marvel that celebrities are willing to expose how starstruck they...

Can one criticize Israel without being perceived as criticizing Jews? Is it political suicide to criticize Israel? Former President Jimmy Carter on Larry King Live the other night stated that Israel receives $10M per day from the USA. That's more than $3.5B a year. He also went on to say Israel's di...