In President Obama’s State of the Union address this week, he criticized countries that don’t play by the rules of international trade. He noted that his administration had initiated nearly twice as many trade cases against China as the previous administration. He criticized countries (read China) who let movies, music and software be pirated. And he exclaimed that it is unfair if foreign manufacturers...

It turns that now it has been proven and Newt Gingrich has admitted he was wrong about the witnesses he had to rebut his ex-wife’s allegations and ABC’s response to his purported offer to bring them foward. A slight inaccuracy — but, hey, it allowed him to puff up his big melodramatic moment against the press and hit that good, old hot button that helped him with the South Carolina primary....

Available in print at Amazon.com WASHINGTON – The reason I wrote my book was to tell a piece of history. It was to set the record of events out for people to read and connect. The Hillary Effect gets another big boost from recent reporting that bolsters the case I make, which is backed up by the facts I offer. A memo revealed by Ryan Lizza in “The Obama Memos”, printed in The New Yorker, proves...

How is this story for amazing…. President John Tyler was born while George Washington was President, he served from 1841-1845 and died during the Lincoln years. Yet two of his *grandchildren* are alive today…. Both he and his son had children quite late in life and the grandkids are pretty long lived themselves…

AUSTIN, Tex. — It’s a new, unsettling era for Republicans on many fronts. For instance, take Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Please. Many Texans still love Perry and felt badly about his wipe out on the national political stage. The Dallas Morning News had this big headline: “Perry’s dream dashed…With S.C. out of reach, he bows out, backs Gingrich.” A story underneath that: “After...

While most people weren’t looking, America’s controversial detention facility at Guantanamo Bay turned ten years old a few weeks ago; for some reason, the President didn’t mention this during the State of the Union. I used the occasion of Guantanamo’s birthday party in Washington, D.C. to meet, and to arrange an interview with, retired Air Force Col. Morris Davis, once the Chief Prosecutor...

Here is a clip that will live in political history, to be shown again and again and again. Watch East Haven, CT Mayor Joseph Maturo, asked what he’d do for his city’s Latino community after four police officers were charged for using excessive force against undocumented immigrants and covering up abuses, say “I might have tacos for dinner.” Even worse: his interview is with a reporter...

In the wake of poll results released this morning showing Gingrich pulling ahead of Romney among likely Republican voters in Florida, the mail-in ballots Romney staff have been working for months to help people mail in are looking less like a firewall than a rope to cling to. Now in response to unrelenting demands that he release his tax returns, Mitt Romney finally has done so and it isn’t pretty. Despite...

EDITOR’S NOTE: We ran a post before on a CBS News story we picked off of a highly reliable and must-read site that aggregates news stories and blog posts but it turned out to be a year old. We regret the error. When we get a new news story with polling that is properly dated we’ll run it. We weren’t the only website to run this old story and not realize it was old — but we don’t...

Amid people who are counting finding out that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich drops Ronald Reagan’s name constantly, a Romney PAC has taken this factoid and run with it in this new ad:

Easily the best moment of the night as the chamber gives Congresswoman Giffords a well deserved standing ovation. Fellow Arizona Congressmen Grijavala (a liberal Democrat) and Flake (a conservative Republican) led her into the chamber and helped her stand when she wanted to applaud the President. Perhaps the most touching story though was of Congressman Louie Gohmert, a conservative Republican from Texas. Although...

This is a repost of my commentary from last year on the State of The Union speech. this year of course we will have a slightly different take because of the campaign aspects to the address. Both President Obama and Governor Daniels are likely to add more rhetoric and a bit more of a partisan tilt to their speeches. But overall I think the commentary stands As we move closer to the time for the State of The Union...

A lot of people are confused about the financial mess that Greece is in, and the EU’s attempts to rescue the country’s finances. But it’s really quite simple… Greece’s Present Financial Situation Explained (In Rhyme) Banks lend money to banks To lend to banks to lend to Greece Which uses it to pay the debt On bills unmet To banks that lent to banks Who now have fears Of debt regret. The...

Romney Feeling Deja Vu by Matt Mackowiak He simply cannot believe it may be happening again. Willard Mitt Romney, born to family with a CEO, Governor one-time Presidential candidate father and U.S. Senate candidate mother, grew up around politics. He’s entered into it throughout his career, first in 1994 when giving Ted Kennedy a run for his money, then again in 2002 when he won election as Governor of...

Though the Republican primaries and the presidential race now dominate the news, the disgust over governmental dysfunction and disdain for the two current parties remains. Polls have shown approval of the Republicans and Democrats at their lowest levels ever, along with ratings for Congress in the single digits. There is also a lack of enthusiasm for the presidential candidates of both parties. Americans may...

Be sure to check in with TMV tonight as we live blog the Republican Presidential debate beginning at 9 p.m. EST. We’ll also likely have posts by various TMV writers on their impression of the debate — and we invite your reaction in comments.

In these days of ideology and partisan-based new and old media commentary, it’s extremely hard to find a book that lays out solid information, is packed with research that recounts and analyzes current events, is reliable as a valuable reference tool for anyone of any party or ideology, and is written in a style that’s lively but as seriously and skillfully as columns by the Washington Post’s...

Word breaking this morning that Illinois Senator Mark Kirk (R) has suffered what is being described as a mild stroke. The senator reportedly checked himself into the hospital and underwent surgery to relieve swelling in his brain. The doctors also diagnosed a carotid artery dissection. Due to his youth the doctors are hopeful about his recovery but the condition is still quite serious. As with Congresswoman...

WASHINGTON – Newt Gingrich is toxicity personified, but his political ear has perfect pitch, as you might have seen yesterday on Meet the Press. Without a hint of shame, Gingrich presented himself as the anti-Washington outsider, even throwing a nod to the Ron Paul crowd on the Fed, while delivering a populist, the Republican and elite elite don’t like me, so I’m your guy pitch that would be remarkable...

There’s no constitutional requirement that the Supreme Court have nine justices. In fact, through much of the nineteenth century, this number fluctuated between six and nine several times. FDR’s Judicial Reorganization Bill in 1937 sought to increase that number dramatically in order to fill the court with more liberal justices, a notorious “pack-the-court” effort that went down in flames...