Bob Herbert
10/5/2010

The fact that John Boehner has a real chance to be Speaker of the House of Representatives is astonishing, Herbert says, because he is one of the more sleazy politicians in Washington. In the 1990s he was doing the bidding of big tobacco and funneling money to his colleagues when it was legal. In addition, he is known to be at the bidding of several corporations, which Herbert lists. He says Boehner has always been willing to stick his neck out for the elite, and he is one of the people responsible for the state of affairs today, where ordinary working Americans have been left behind in the recession.

Herbert is a New York Times columnist.

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Richard Cohen
10/5/2010

The tragedy of the Kent State shootings was preceded by hateful rhetoric from Ohio governor James Rhodes. He compared the protestors to communists and Nazis, agitating and poisoning the political atmosphere until American soldiers chose to shoot American students. The current political atmosphere is no less charged, with Glenn Beck calling the president a racist and conservative commentators engaging in anti-Muslim and anti-homosexual bigotry. We would do well to pause and consider where this path has already led so we do not repeat the sins of a previous generation.

Cohen is a weekly columnist for The Post, writing on domestic and foreign politics.

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Arthur Laffer
10/5/2010

If voters in Washington state pass Initiative 1098 (creating a new income tax on high-income earners), it will go from being one of the fastest-growing in the country to one of the slowest-growing. Those who want to punish the rich for their success should bear in mind that states with the highest tax rates and those that have introduced state income taxes have seen standards of living substantially underperform compared to their no-tax counterparts. If Washington’s most famous billionaires are really worried about their state’s finances, they’d write personal checks to the government and leave everyone else alone.

Laffer is the chairman of Laffer Associates and co-author of “Return to Prosperity: How America Can Regain Its Economic Superpower Status” (Threshold, 2010).

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Donald Luskin
10/4/2010

Thankfully, we’re not repeating all the mistakes of 1937, but Congress and the Obama administration are flirting dangerously with one of them by failing to extend the expiring low tax rates for all Americans. What’s worse, we’re close to repeating the mother of all policy errors, the one made not in 1937 but in 1930, the one that started the Great Depression. We’re on track to resurrect the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. Once the election has passed, Luskin hopes cooler heads will prevail on both sides of the aisle. But sometimes in the heat of politics cooler heads do not prevail. If that happens now with issues as critical as those we face, then the economy and the stock market will be doomed to repeat the tragedies of the 1930s.

Luskin is chief investment officer at Trend Macrolytics LLC.

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Paul Krugman
10/4/2010

Every major contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination who isn’t currently in office other than Mitt Romney is a paid contributor to Fox News, Krugman says. He decries the practice of media moguls cutting checks to their political favorites as blatant buy-offs. He looks at the evolution of Fox over the years, saying these days it does not even pretend to be “fair and balanced” as its moniker states, and it doesn’t try to hide the fact that it is part of the Republican machine. In addition, it has gone from reporting on Republican candidates to anointing them. Krugman says it is all about business interests and what is best for Fox and billionaires like Rupert Murdoch who run the media empire.

Krugman is a New York Times columnist.

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Fred Hiatt
10/4/2010

The cause for democracy seems to be growing weaker as dictatorial regimes succeed in exporting their brand of government. With democracy on the defensive, President Obama’s pro-democracy speech to the UN General Assembly wherein he spoke of standing up for “universal values” and “for the freedom of others” was indicative of a commitment to the cause of democracy. The president’s upcoming trip to Asia is intended to flesh out his rhetoric, but time will show whether Obama’s actions follow his words. Heretofore the Obama administration has not made a strong stand for democracy in foreign affairs, and the administration’s stance on the war in Afghanistan–namely, that Afghanistan can never be a real democracy and that the war was never about freedom for the Afghan people–undermines Obama’s current message.

Hiatt is the editorial page editor of The Post.

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Kimberley A. Strassel
10/1/2010

While the Obama White House is getting gripes from party members about how its agenda may cost Democrats the House or even the Senate, this fall, come Nov. 3, the bigger criticism may be the extent to which the White House has cost Democrats their grip on the electoral map–not just this cycle but for some time to come. Republican gains on the state level could change the political map for years to come. This is more humiliating for Democrats because the Republican Party had indeed lost its way. With each election the GOP resorted more to rallying a shrinking base. Had the president abided by his own campaign rhetoric–to act as a consensus-oriented bridge-builder–the GOP would have struggled to change the dynamic.

Strassel writes ‘Potomac Watch’ for the Journal.

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Mackubin Owens
10/1/2010

The strain of a prolonged conflict has led some military officers to believe they’re better than the society they’re serving, warns Owens. The lack of trust between the civilian leadership and the military has its most detrimental effect on strategy making and military effectiveness. Success in today’s conflicts requires healthy civil-military relations. The good news is the new military tandem in place in the aftermath of Gen. McChrystal’s sacking–commander of US Central Command Gen. Mattis and Afghanistan commander Gen. Petraeus–understands the importance of professionalism and trust in fostering healthy civil-military relations.

Owens is professor of national security affairs at the US Naval War College in Newport, RI, and editor of the journal Orbis.

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David S. Broder
9/30/2010

Gallup poll research by the political group Third Way is helping to explain why more Americans since 1992 are identifying themselves as conservative and the number of those who call themselves liberal is decreasing. Assuming voter turnout rates similar to 2008 and assuming Democratic candidates will carry the same national popularity as Obama, Third Way predicts that it is moderate voters who will determine the fate of the Democratic majority in 2010. Building on Third Way’s research, Broder concludes that there simply are not as many liberal votes to be won this election.

Broder is a twice-weekly columnist for The Post, writing on national politics.

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