At this point, since it seems the absolute best case scenario for Democrats in this budget fight is that, by the end of today or the beginning of Monday, Congress passes a budget containing around $38 billion in immediate cuts to domestic programs over the next few months, but is free of any major policy [...]

There are two negatives that stop a hostage taker from shooting a hostage. One is that once the hostage is dead, they lose the leverage to make demands; the other is that without the hostage, the police will come at them without restraint and with the intent to punish them even more severely. Thanks to [...]

Overwhelmingly, the American people think the war in Afghanistan is not worth fighting, and 73 percent of the country wants us to withdraw substantial numbers of troops soon. Yet a majority of Americans, 53 percent, doubt President Obama and Congress will listen to the electorate about the war. From ABC News: Indeed, with Gen. David [...]

Much of the political debate in Washington over the next year is going to be dominated by two potential pending crises: a government shutdown and a failure to raise the debt ceiling. If Congress fails to actively and regularly avert them, these crises could significantly disrupt our society, cost money and hamper the economy. Yet [...]

It is the nature of American politics and our modern media environment that presidents almost always win political standoffs with Congress, especially when their very public stands seem principled and have popular support. This is why it pains me when people pretend that Obama got the best deal he could on the Bush tax rates. [...]