As a new Congress convenes, it has become an unquestioned truth among Republicans that their party has as much of a mandate as President Obama because voters returned them to power in the House. The mantra has been intoned by John Boehner, Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist […] Read more »
Five myths about the 112th Congress
When we set out to write a book about the growing extremism in American politics about 18 months ago, we thought that the 112th Congress was the worst we had seen in our four decades in Washington. However, the fights over the debt limit, the “fiscal cliff” and the farm […] Read more »
The 2012 Election: What Happened, What Changed, What it Means
In the fall of 2011, Barack Obama’s prospects for reelection did not appear bright. After the failure of his “grand bargain” talks with House Speaker John Boehner, his approval rating plunged to a new low. Economic growth was mediocre, unemployment remained stubbornly high, and the public’s confidence in the future […] Read more »
Biggest moves in religion and politics in 2012
Considering that 2012 saw the first presidential contest in which there was no white mainline Protestant anywhere on the presidential ticket, religion played a surprisingly subtle role in the election cycle. But even if religion played more of a supporting than a leading role in the election, the religion factor […] Read more »
2013? Poll finds Americans weary and wary
… Battered by an economy that is only slow recovering — and soured by the spectacle of Washington dysfunction in the “fiscal cliff” debate — views of the nation’s future and its fundamental promise have darkened in the four years since Barack Obama’s first inauguration. Then, even during an unfolding […] Read more »
My 2012 polling predictions with hindsight: a few mea culpas
The new year is nearly upon us. This past year, I’ve contributed a fair share of columns that I think were quite good, but I’ve also written some columns that could have been better. I believe that any good analysts must learn from his or her errors. So here, without […] Read more »