There's a natural temptation to look the other way as the John Edwards story plays out. Don't. This story matters. To use a time-honored phrase, "it's not just about the sex." The preternaturally pretty and youthful Edwards is the Dorian Gray of American politics. His story has a lot to...

In light of today's terrible job numbers, it's a bittersweet experience to re-read a recent report from Wells Fargo Bank which argues that high unemployment is "the new normal." While it's comforting to find Wells Fargo employees who aren't laundering money for the Mexican...

An email entitled "Lies of Eskov in HP AOL Ariticle" (sic) was received this morning by the Campaign For America's Future and forwarded with the comment, "Here's a nice complimentary one... geez." Hate mail comes with the job and this note was unexceptional, but it got me thinking anyway.

What...

On Monday we'll hear a lot of Memorial Day speeches about honoring our fallen soldiers and their disabled comrades. On Tuesday some of the politicians giving those speeches will try to cut benefits for them and their families.

In the words of Ben Franklin, "Well done is better than well...

On Wednesday forty radicals in the United States Senate took an extremist position by voting to end Medicare.

That simple sentence will be challenged by a lot of political and media people. They'll say I don't understand the popular mood, and that I'm applying my own values to Wednesday's vote....

"Money doesn't talk," sang Bob Dylan, "it swears." Rep. Patrick McHenry gave the week's most famous seventy year old a dark birthday gift on Tuesday by proving that those lyrics still ring true after nearly half a century.

McHenry's savage attack on Elizabeth Warren and the Consumer Financial Protection...

Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced his candidacy today by setting a tone that could resonate with the American people. A lot of people assume that President Obama's above-the-fray campaign strategy will ensure his re-election, no matter what happens to the rest of his party's candidates. But I'm feeling a sense of...

A group of Democratic representatives has joined consumer groups -- along with prominent figures like Dr. Phil (yes, that Dr. Phil) -- in calling on the president to make a "recess appointment" of Elizabeth Warren. That will allow her to get to work running the new bureau charged with protecting...

The word for today is "choice," not "crisis."

It's time to stop saying the country "can't afford" Medicare, Social Security, or other programs that benefit the middle class. If I told my mother that I "can't mow the lawn" or "I can't do all that homework" when I was a...

In a piece called "Wall Street: Not Guilty," financial columnist Roger Lowenstein attempts to defend Wall Street against allegations that it's a viper's nest of rampant criminality. His mischaracterization, mockery, and vague suggestions of McCarthyism are strident, flat, and fail to get the job done. But Lowenstein's piece...

Some of the headlines about the conviction of hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam are misleading or just plain wrong. The Rajaratnam guilty verdict won't "change the way Wall Street does business" - not where it matters most. Too Big to Fail banks will continue to endanger the economy...

Bernie Sanders may represent Vermont and have a New York accent, but right now he looks a little like a Texas Ranger. The motto for those Lone Star State lawmen -- "One Riot, One Ranger" -- comes from their legendary ability to face down a hostile crowd single-handed. Bernie just...

This country has been divided into two economies. One's the economy of Wall Street and corporate Manhattan, along with Washington's thriving economy of lobbyists, politicians, ex-politicians, national security contractors, and assorted hangers-on.

Call that one the "Acela Economy," since Amtrak's Acela Express links the two urban areas.

Then...

The post-bin Laden afterglow is fading. Those video clips of his home movies seem like scenes from a reality show, not glimpses of an Existential Threat. It's the master terrorist as an addled Ozzy Osbourne, minus the Beverly Hills couturiers and groomers. And while a few people might wait for...

"If I had a world of my own," said Alice, "everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn't."

The rabbit hole's got nothing on this place."Let's save Social Security from a 25% cut in 27 years," they told Alice,...

Big banks and credit card companies have made a PR misstep in the fight over debit card charges. They're trying to use the Bush administration's anti-terror team to convince Americans that exorbitant debit card fees are needed for our nation's security. The timing couldn't be worse. Just as bin Laden...

We let him define us for a decade, and now he's gone. After a very American party, the crowds have gone home. Here's one of the more printable Twitter quotes from an online news item entitled "Pornstars Respond to Bin Laden's Death": "Bin Laden is dead. @dirtjunior666 and...

As more details of Bin Laden's life "in hiding" take shape, we may find ourselves with more questions than answers. A quick round of Internet research reveals that he lived in a beautiful climate, in a town along a well-traveled tourist route, near some military sites that included an advanced...

Only two budget proposals are being 'taken seriously' in Washington right now. One adopts the rhetoric of "austerity economics," that grab-bag of right-wing misconceptions that's weakened the British economy and wounded its ruling coalition.

The other comes from the Republicans.

There's a third budget plan, too. It reflects...

Suddenly Washington is filled with proposals for 'debt triggers,' policy devices that would force spending cuts if arbitrary targets aren't met in the future. Everybody's either got one or wants one: the president, the Republicans, the Gang of Six, and all the usual suspects from the austerity crowd.

Let's...