Terence Samuel

If, as a result of a Democratic filibuster, John Bolton is not confirmed by the Senate to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, there are two things that will happen in very short order. First, in a town that lives on irony, it will be noted ironically that the troubled nomination came to […]

The durability of the eleventh-hour deal that derailed the filibuster cataclysm in the Senate late Monday was called into question not just by opponents of both sides of the issue but also by — as they say in combat — facts on the ground. The culture wars leave almost no room for compromise, and the […]

The rules of the U.S. Senate are arcane and layered; these days, they are being applied in political climate that is rigidly partisan, so it is difficult to envision any outcome that does not seem preordained. As a result, even the smallest surprises can assume epic proportions. In general, senators speak in turn. They address […]

The fourth-floor hearing room in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, where the Senate Foreign Relations Committee meets, is all shiny wood and heavy drapes. The ceiling is arched with recessed lighting, and along the paneled walls are eight-winged brass torches. There is little doubt that the debate that takes place there has profound implications for […]

A couple of months ago, Americans seemed so decidedly against George W. Bush’s proposal to include private accounts in a reformed Social Security system that the president decided to go on the road to drum up a little support for the idea. His chances seemed dim then, and they look even dimmer now. But right […]

Suddenly the Democratic Party wants to duke it out on everything, from Tom DeLay to John Bolton to everything in between. Despite the beating that Bolton is taking at the hands of Democrats, there remains a better than even chance that he will be confirmed as ambassador to the United Nations — as long as […]

In the last few months, and certainly in the weeks since the Terri Schiavo fiasco on Capitol Hill, Democrats have been making steady strides by doing nothing. As the Republicans score points against themselves on issue after issue, Democrats have touted the idea that doing nothing is a more reasonable alternative to whatever the GOP […]

It can’t be good for Tom DeLay that the president of the United States is allowing the White House spokesman to begin qualifying the friendship between the two powerful Texans. It’s not good for Tom DeLay that Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who was once upon a time something of a DeLay ideological clone, is saying […]

This week, President George W. Bush went to the Bureau of Public Debt, in Parkersburg, West Virginia, to make the point that there is no Social Security trust fund — nothing there that can be really counted on. All it is, he said, was a bunch of IOUs. Parkersburg is a river town near the […]

I spent the last week marveling at the reasonableness of the American people, and feeling bad for all the people close to Terri Schiavo. They seem trapped in an especially hot ring of hell. But as the case dragged on, I began to feel sorry for the American people and to wonder at the relatives. […]