RECENT ARTICLES
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The News Media Vs. the Innocent
Years ago, Ray Donovan, Ronald Reagan’s Labor Secretary, was prosecuted for corruption, only to be acquitted. After the verdict, Donovan asked plaintively, "Which office do I go to to get my reputation back?" Steven Hatfill knows where to go to | Read More »
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The Wright-Obama Divide
The important thing about Jeremiah Wright, the inflammatory former pastor of Barack Obama’s church, is not that he thinks America is "controlled by rich white people," that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were the result of our "chickens are coming home | Read More »
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Why Would Any President Want A Second Term?
Editor’s Note: Steve Chapman is on vacation. The following column was originally published in April 2004. Calvin Coolidge was probably not the smartest president this country has ever had, but he once composed a statement that in retrospect can only | Read More »
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In the Fiscal War, AWOL Candidates
For some time now, the three presidential candidates have been striving to outdo each other on what Hillary Clinton calls "the commander-in-chief" test. She says that she and John McCain have passed it. McCain’s response has been on the order | Read More »
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The Other Prostitution Scandal
Politicians take people’s money with a promise to fulfill desires that supposedly can’t be attained any other way. Prostitutes do the same, though by reputation, they are more reliable in delivering. It’s not surprising for people in the same line | Read More »
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McCain’s Consistent Folly on Iraq
On the campaign trail, John McCain has retreated on immigration, changed his mind on tax cuts and admitted economics is not his strong suit. But all that’s unimportant, we are told, because he was Right On Iraq — back at | Read More »
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The Democratic Trade Myths
Democrats often pillory Republicans for their economic errors. From the 1930s on, they reminded Americans of Herbert Hoover’s Great Depression. In 1960, they blamed Dwight Eisenhower for slow growth. In the 1980s, they decried the "trickle-down" policies of Ronald Reagan. | Read More »
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The End of the Republican Split
A couple of weeks ago, John McCain was straining to ingratiate himself with the activists gathered at the Conservative Political Action Conference. It was an uphill climb: By that point, some movement icons had publicly renounced the presumptive Republican nominee, | Read More »
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The Future of the Imperial Presidency
After the United States won its independence from Britain, some soldiers had the idea that America should have a king of its own — namely George Washington, their commander. Washington promptly scotched the idea. But if he were to see | Read More »
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Why Don’t We Incapacitate Drunk Drivers?
As a rule, it’s a bad idea to let pedophiles baby-sit, to hire embezzlers as tax collectors, or to give a pyromaniac a key to the fireworks factory. We generally try to avoid inviting dangerous people into situations that encourage | Read More »
