Politics

The Clintons are trying to create the impression that Hillary has the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination sewn up. A more realistic analysis would recognize that she has a lot of baggage in a general election that will stress image, competency and honesty. Hillary is challenged on all three.

Among the disappointing lessons of the budget deal: More spending makes politicians on both sides of the aisle a little more merry.

We’re being told the agreement with Iran is a historic step forward. But will we learn in a few weeks, perhaps through leaked emails or documents, that there are caveats that neither Obama nor Kerry are telling us that dramatically undermines all the happy talk?

Polls regularly put Kennedy in the top 10 U.S. presidents and a recent Politico poll ranking the best presidents since 1950 has him in first place. Like another more-recent, young, telegenic, liberal presidential candidate, JFK may have brought new hope and promise to the White House, but not much more.

Had Obamacare kicked in last year, there’s a good chance that dissatisfied voters would have given the president and some Democrats the boot. Now that the public knows the truth, Democrats are getting increasingly, and justifiably, nervous about 2014. 

Craig Zucker did every thing he was supposed to ensure the public safety of his product Buckyballs—except kowtow to the Obama administration. And now Team Obama wants to teach him a lesson.

House Speaker John Boehner's public image has been badly tarnished. It's mostly been by his own doing.

If Republicans can’t defund Obamacare and can’t eliminate the mandate, they can try to do the next best thing: eliminate the penalties. Or force Democrats to explain why they want to fine the American people.

Wendy Davis has thrown her hat into the gubernatorial ring. IPI's Tom Giovanetti predicts that the Democratic darling will lose — but Republicans might get bloodied in the battle as well, unless Abbott beats her handily. If Davis loses by anything less than 10 percent, Democrats will be able to spin it as a victory of sorts, Giovanetti says — and they’ll be right.

Speaker Boehner said he would return to “regular order”: if he had, the government-shutdown battle over ObamaCare would have had a much smaller impact.