Columns
Romney’s Fuzziness May Weigh on General Election: Albert R. Hunt
There is a possible scenario under which Mitt Romney could lose the Republican presidential nomination.
Hillary Clinton Over Biden for VP? Possible: Jonathan Alter
When does “no” not really mean no? When politicians say it. Reporters understand that if the circumstances are right, the answer can always change.
Romney Offering Management Consulting We Can Believe In: Michael Kinsley
How great a leader can you be if you go on and on about what a great leader you are?
What Do You Call a Jobs Bill Minus the Jobs?: Caroline Baum
When President Barack Obama “pivoted” to jobs a few months back (from what, the White House didn’t say), he said he was going to take his plan to rebuild the U.S. economy directly to the American people.
Reid’s Senate Rule Change Was Purely Partisan: Stephen L. Carter
Unless you follow chess, you probably missed the news that Hikaru Nakamura, the most talented player America has produced in a generation, lost a game in Bilbao, Spain, the other day when he overstepped the time limit.
Nobels Give Econometrics Pioneers Their Due
Thomas J. Sargent and Christopher A. Sims richly deserve the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences they were awarded this week for their seminal work in the fields of macroeconomics and time series econometrics.
Health Care’s Brave New World of Compulsory Wellness: Ezra Klein
The Cleveland Clinic is best known for providing excellent health care. A bustling, brisk medical campus, the clinic has been ranked the top hospital in the country for cardiac care for 16 years.
Wall Street Protesters Should Remember Stones Tune: Amity Shlaes
What do they want, and what do they need? That’s the question about the protesters who now occupy Wall Street, Washington and just about everywhere else. Theirs is what might be called a Rolling Stones situation: They can’t always get what they want, but if somebody tries, some time, they may get what they need.
When No. 1 Financial-Strength Ranking Spells Doom
Less than three months ago the European Banking Authority said Dexia SA had passed its so- called stress test with ease. The French-Belgian lender’s July 15 news release carried this headline: “2011 EU-wide Stress Test Results: No Need for Dexia to Raise Additional Capital.”
Romney Victory, Looks Presidential and Human: Margaret Carlson
A cardinal rule of politics -- that endorsements are not worth the backslap they come with -- was broken Tuesday night during the Bloomberg-Washington Post debate at Dartmouth College, where Mitt Romney owned the night.
Do Men Have a Problem With Elizabeth Warren?
Some women just bug men. Hillary Clinton did (and still does). Nancy Pelosi, who has replaced Clinton as the Scary Democratic Woman in Republican fundraising appeals, surely does. And now Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren has joined the club.
Euro’s Affordable Salvation, in Five Steps: Laurence Kotlikoff
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are in a terrible bind. They don’t want financially distressed European governments to default. But they can’t afford to keep them solvent.