Marie Diamond

Of all the newsworthy aspects of Joe Biden’s Eastern Europe trip, the press chose to seize on the part of the story that conforms to the narrative they’re most familiar with: the VP’s “Russia gaffe” in a Wall Street Journal interview. The interview came at the end of a four-day trip intended to reassure allies […]

A steady stream of news reports in recent weeks have sought to cast new light on the decisions and inner-workings of the Bush administration (see here, here, and here). Have they told us anything new about the dynamics of the administration or its colorful cast of characters? The short — and somewhat unsatisfying — answer […]

Yesterday, California lawmakers reached an agreement to close the state’s $26 billion deficit, primarily through deep budget cuts. Education took the biggest hit by far: $6 billion in cuts to K-12 education, with another $2.8 billion from the state’s colleges and universities. While Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislators alike have tried to paint the […]

Photo of Gov. Rick Perry by Flickr user eschipul. While the economic downturn has been an unmitigated disaster for state budgets, Texas has repeatedly been singled out for its apparent resilience to the recession. Last week the Economist became the latest publication to applaud the state, contrasting its “booming” economy with that of reeling California. […]