… The appropriate test for public policy is whether it maximizes our chances of achieving the outcomes we want as a society. And when it comes to preventing gun violence, including mass shootings, it’s impossible to argue that we are doing that. … Like other issues rooted in cultural affinities, […] Read more »
Barack Obama and Bill Clinton: Complementary Strengths
The Democrats can use all the assets they can find as they approach a midterm election that grows increasingly challenging. The polls are daunting. The electoral map for both the Senate and House is unfavorable. And history is rarely kind to the president’s party in midterm voting. But the Democrats […] Read more »
The Politics of White House Firings
When presidential popularity sags, the predictable calls begin: Off with their heads! The heads, of course, belong to key administrators and Cabinet officials who are perceived to have contributed to whatever woes are besetting the president. … What effect do firings have on public opinion? Does it help a president’s […] Read more »
Politics Is More Broken Than Ever—Political Scientists Need to Admit It
The widespread public belief that our political system is dangerously broken is often met with skepticism among longtime students of American politics. “We’ve seen it all before,” “this too will pass,” “nothing can do done about it anyway” say the scholars. … But I believe these times are strikingly different […] Read more »
Campaign 2014: A fight for power. Then what?
… Americans remain gloomy about the country and express a sourness toward Washington and their elected representatives. Everyone working in politics claims to know that, but the campaigns that individual candidates are running seem designed mostly to make that problem worse. CONT. Dan Balz, Washington Post Read more »
Racists are likelier to oppose health reform when they think about Barack Obama
On Wednesday, Sen. Jay Rockefeller argued that some of the opposition to Obamacare is motivated by race. Rockefeller wasn’t particularly artful in his comments and it’s easy to see why Sen. Ron Johnson was offended. But Rockefeller is right. Michael Tesler, a political scientist at Brown University, studied this question […] Read more »