Sarah Palin and the inflation myth

Sarah Palin is in the current Newsweek griping that the price of a Slim Jim snack has gone from 99 cents to $2.69, proving that, as her...

Obama's jobless economy

Today is the day that Barack Obama's presidency officially plunged into deep muck. For a couple of years, administration officials could blame high unemployment on mistakes of the Bush years, while holding out hope...

Romney on Obama's 'worse' economy

After repeatedly saying President Obama had taken over during a recession and made it worse, Mitt Romney now denies making that statement, which makes him look silly. He'd have been better off sticking to his...

Pawlenty's 'global cooling' myth

In backtracking from his onetime support of a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions, Tim Pawlenty apparently is willing to pull out all the stops. Appearing on Fox News, he said he changed his mind...

Justice for Blagojevich

Corruption has been a plague on Illinois politics and government for decades, and most of the practitioners have gotten away with it most or all the time. Voters have only modest means to clean up the system, because...

Cigarette warnings are a waste of time

From the time they know what smoking is, kids are told that it's a filthy, dangerous habit that they should avoid at all costs. Yet some of them go on to take it up anyway. So the FDA has an idea: Beat them over...

On Afghanistan, Obama the moderate

Barack Obama's detractors see him as a closet radical with a sweeping agenda to transform the country. But his address tonight confirms his central -- and often his most aggravating -- characteristic: his stubborn...

Race and the 'flash mob' attacks

Steve Chapman: Weiner's confession and apology

Anthony Weiner behaved like a prize idiot in sending out risque photos of himself to women he didn't know, and he compounded that giant mistake with his brazen lying about it when it came to light. But give the guy...

Sarah Palin and Lady Gaga

What it means if Blagojevich testifies

I haven't attended any of Rod Blagojevich's second trial, so I can't judge firsthand how it's going. But if the former governor decides to testify, as his lawyers suggest he will, I have to assume it's going very badly...

Newt's comical delusions

If Donald Trump had any real desire to run for president, I suspect it evaporated at the White House Correspondents' dinner, when he found himself not just a target of jokes but THE target of jokes. The tycoon...

The gay rights majority

Same-sex marriage is not really just a possibility anymore. It's a near-certainty, and the only question is how soon it will arrive in most of the country. Public sentiment has shifted radically, and it's not going...

The illusion of inflation

For anyone who drives or buys groceries, it's not hard to find signs of inflation. A gallon of gas goes for well over $4 in the Chicago area, and food prices are up as well.

Why Gingrich has an uphill climb

Ever been stuck on an airplane or at a dinner party next to a humorless, opinionated know-it-all who won't shut up? If you enjoyed that, I imagine you'll be voting for Newt Gingrich. And I'm guessing you won't...

No-ride list makes no sense

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., wants to create a "no-ride" list for Amtrak, which makes even less sense than the "no-fly" list for airlines. And that's saying something.

The doubtful danger of inflation

The selloff in commodities ought to be welcome news to anyone who hasn't sunk a fortune in gold or other hedges against a debased currency. It suggests that the previous run-up in the prices of these commodities...

The Republicans debate freedom

Many Republicans think of themselves as followers of Milton Friedman and Ayn Rand. But at the South Carolina debate, they came face to face with someone who really is -- and they seemed bewildered.

Obama withholds the bin Laden photos

Barack Obama had to know in approving a plan to bury Osama bin Laden at sea that it would fuel suspicions whether we actually got him, and he took the appropriate position: Too bad. The president weighed...

What difference bin Laden's death makes

The killing of Osama bin Laden is occasion for many legitimate emotions here at home -- satisfaction that at last he got what he deserved, relief that he will no longer threaten us, pride in the prowess of...

Stalemate in Libya: Obama's dilemma

Haley Barbour opts out

Haley Barbour has a full complement of shortcomings and defects, so the nation will survive without him as president. But his withdrawal removes one of the few prominent Republicans who has been realistic and...

Why are Americans so pessimistic?

Unemployment is falling, the stock market is rising, and the economy has grown for seven straight quarters. So why are Americans "more pessimistic about the nation’s economic outlook and overall direction than they have been...

Trump and his Republican rivals

Donald Trump imagines that he's "the last person" Barack Obama wants to run against, when he's probably more like the first. If the GOP nominated Trump, the president could spend the campaign at a mosque in Kenya and...

'Atlas Shrugged,' the movie

When I was in college, and fresh from reading a lot of Ayn Rand, I was happy to hear that a movie would be made of “Atlas Shrugged.” Well, it's been 35 years, and here one is, opening on Friday.

Trump vs. Obama

If Donald Trump seriously believes he's "the Democrats' worst nightmare" in the 2012...

Sarah Palin's self-destruction

Back when boxer Evander Holyfield was in his prime, SportsCenter had a humorous spot in which he was informed that an ESPN anchor had ranked him "the 50th best heavyweight." Holyfield, shocked, asked: "In the world?"...

Mayor Daley vs. concealed handguns

Mayor Daley can't resist an opportunity to express his...

When Cubs fans shun Wrigley

If you're a Cubs fan, you may be dispirited to see the pathetic attendance in Wrigley Field at this week's games. Don't be. It may be the best thing that ever happened to the Cubs.

No public money for Wrigley Field

It can't have come as a surprise to Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts that the incoming mayor has no more interest than the old one in spending public funds to renovate Wrigley Field. Rahm Emanuel has a lot of tough budget...

The next step in Libya?

After making the mistake of going to war in Libya, the Obama administration deserves some credit for making clear that our commitment is limited. We're in, but we're not all in. The implication is that if...

Obama's plan to reduce oil imports

President Obama has called for reducing U.S. oil imports by one-third...

Obama's war speech sounds like Bush

What struck me about the president's address on Libya is how much of it could have been lifted from one of George W. Bush's speeches. For example: "But let us also remember that for generations, we have done the hard...

Robert Gates and our 'interest' in Libya

Robert Gates is generally a hard-headed realist when it comes to international affairs. Realism dictates that you don't use military force except when important national interests are at stake. But as President Obama's...

Roland Burris, world traveler

I wasn't disgusted this morning to read that Illinois' senior U.S. senator, Dick Durbin, traveled to 14 different countries, mostly on the taxpayer's dime, in 2009 and 2010. Durbin is the No. 2 Democrat in...

Obama's 'abdication' on Libya

Why we can't win in Afghanistan

Gen. David Petraeus will testify today before Congress on the war in Afghanistan, and he'll probably echo the cautious optimism recently voiced by Defense Secretary Robert Gates about how it is going. But it's hard to see how this war can end well...