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Tim Fernholz on why the conservative rush to judgment on international crises is a bad idea: There’s a pattern developing in the United States’ recent foreign relations. Every time an international crisis of some magnitude comes along, mainstream Democrats led by President Barack Obama, and their allies among realist Republicans, initially offer careful statements, eschewing […]

Paul Waldman on why Sarah Palin’s departure will make political coverage much less interesting: I have a confession: I just can’t get enough of Sarah Palin. I say this as an aficionado of both the culture war – in which Palin was rapidly promoted last year to four-star general – and spectacular political flame-outs. When […]

Dana Goldstein on why reproductive rights are far from assured in the push for health care reform: “I certainly would like to prevent, if I could legally, anybody having an abortion, a rich woman, a middle-class woman, or a poor woman. Unfortunately, the only vehicle available is the ? Medicaid bill.” Those were the words […]

Dahlia Lithwick on how accusations of racism and reverse racism often obscure much deeper–and more pressing–questions: Poke through any lawyer’s bookshelf and you’ll find the beige, dog-eared copy of To Kill A Mockingbird that forever altered the course of their life. I have one too. But the book that has most changed my thinking about […]

Scott Lemieux argues in support of the judicial confirmation hearings process: Like the last four Supreme Court nominees, Sonia Sotomayor is in virtually no danger of being rejected by the Senate. Given this simple truth, one would think that the judicial confirmation process would be relatively uncontroversial. And yet, anyone who follows the Sotomayor hearings […]

Noreen Malone on how the emerging bargain culture comes at a price: Cheap is having a moment. Each day since the financial collapse brings a new story about the countercyclical discount sector. Dollar stores, Wal-Mart, McDonald’s — all are going great guns. But it’s not just acceptable to pinch a few pennies these days, it’s […]

Matthew Yglesias on the importance of Obama’s visit to Russia, despite the fact there wasn’t much drama: In the international arena, cooperation is good and conflict is bad. Unfortunately, conflict is also dramatic, and leaders who engage in it tend to get attention while instances of cooperation often pass unnoticed. A president who fights a […]

Miriam Perez on why home births may be better for women — and better for government’s pocketbook — than hospital births: Michelle Bartlett is not the typical Washington high-stakes health-care player. She’s probably not even on the radar of anyone in Congress or the Obama administration. Bartlett is a midwife in Idaho, but in the […]

Paul Waldman on the often-overlooked benefit of a public option — security: Health-care wonks worth their salt will tell you that the big issue in the current effort to reform our abysmal health-care system is cost control. They say if we don’t do something to rein in the spiraling cost of health-care, it will eventually […]