Terence Jeffrey from Creators Syndicate

What Does Obama Believe? for 04/16/2008

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

We now know that there are at least two forms of religion that Barack Obama does not believe in: the religion preached by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who baptized his children, and the religion clung to by the bitter people of Pennsylvania, whose votes he hopes will help make him president of the United States.

This raises a fundamental question: What does Barack Obama believe?

This ...

Updated: Wed Apr 16, 2008

Can McCain Win a Third Bush Term? for 04/23/2008

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

One of the most surprising things about the presidential election four years ago is that the already unpopular war in Iraq was not the top issue in voter's minds. Nor was it the top national security issue.

To get elected, Sen. John McCain needs something similar to happen this year. To construct such a scenario, it is helpful to reconstruct what happened four years ago.

By Electi ...

Updated: Wed Apr 23, 2008

The Pastor Parses Obama for 04/30/2008

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Given his 20 years of pastoring to Barack Obama, you would have to assume that if any of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's declarations have a particular claim to credibility it would be his repeated assertion over the past week that Obama does not always say what he means.

"He's a politician," Wright explained to Bill Moyers on PBS. "And he says what he has to say as a politicia ...

Updated: Wed Apr 30, 2008

Should We Impoverish the Persian Gulf? for 05/07/2008

Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A curious consensus has formed among the presidential candidates that promoting the use of alternative fuels should not only be the policy of the United States in fighting "climate change" but also — insofar as it would diminish the wealth of Persian Gulf states — in fighting terrorism.

The argument has visceral appeal. Barack Obama may never find bitter people clin ...

Updated: Wed May 07, 2008

Is There a Veep in the House? for 05/14/2008

Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Three years ago, Republican Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin did an interview with National Public Radio, which for a conservative like Ryan must have been like an expedition behind enemy lines.

Ryan did a good job explaining on the program why his home state — where President Bush lost by a narrow margin to Sen. John Kerry in 2004 — had been increasingly targeted by presidential ...

Updated: Wed May 14, 2008

The Great Polar Bear Population Puzzle for 05/21/2008

Wed, 21 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Before anybody tries to change the world to save polar bears, which the Department of Interior listed as "threatened" last week, somebody should figure out how many polar bears there are.

When the world's foremost polar bear scientists gathered in Alaska in 1965 for their first international meeting, they confronted a cold fact: They did not know.

Edward Carlson, then-ch ...

Updated: Wed May 21, 2008

How Obama Got 'Ahead of the Curve' on Same-Sex Marriage for 05/28/2008

Wed, 28 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

When presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke last month with Advocate.com — which describes itself as an "LGBT" (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) news site — he took a different approach to same-sex marriage than he took in 2004, when he was running for the U.S. Senate.

"I'm a Christian," Obama said then, "and so although I try not to have my ...

Updated: Wed May 28, 2008

Our Own Oil Cartel for 06/04/2008

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Contemplate this the next time you spend $60 or more filling up your tinny little car with gasoline made from imported oil: The U.S. government knows where it can get its hands on more untapped petroleum than exists in the proven reserves of Iran or Iraq, which have 136 billion barrels and 115 billion barrels, respectively.

This unexploited stock of crude is greater than what the U.S. En ...

Updated: Wed Jun 04, 2008

The Threat to the Car for 06/11/2008

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Recent evidence that automobile use is declining in America and that some Americans are making significant — and in some cases not readily reversible — changes in their lives because of escalating gas prices should be worrisome signs for those who love liberty.

No device is more in keeping with the American spirit than the automobile. Privately owned cars and trucks allow us ...

Updated: Wed Jun 11, 2008

It Is Always Halloween at the Border for 06/18/2008

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

It was as frightening as a Halloween trick can be: It happened in broad daylight. It was caught on camera. The government says it really happened.

On Oct. 31, 2006, a covert agent of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) pulled to the side of a Canadian highway that runs along the U.S. border.

Greg Kutz, GAO's managing director of forensic audits and special investigations, e ...

Updated: Wed Jun 18, 2008

Obama's Vision for Government-Run Childhood for 06/25/2008

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

One of the most dramatic changes in American life in the years since World War II involves the way we raise our children.

We used to do it ourselves. Now, convinced we have better things to do, many of us leave the job to others.

Encouraging this flight from parenthood, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has proposed what he calls his & ...

Updated: Wed Jun 25, 2008

The Battle of the Surge Was a Win for 07/02/2008

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Page 12 of a Government Accountability Office report published June 23 features data about the war in Iraq — drawn from the Defense Intelligence Agency — that must be central to the debate about what the United States does next in that country.

It indicates we have started to win a war we cannot afford to lose.

The GAO report is titled, "Securing, Stabilizing and ...

Updated: Wed Jul 02, 2008

Government Guaranteed for 07/16/2008

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Look over old news reports about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and you will repeatedly read that these two corporations were believed to carry an "implicit guarantee" from Uncle Sam.

That would apparently make them distinct from Social Security and Medicare, which most Americans assume carry an explicit guarantee from Uncle Sam.

"Though Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac say ...

Updated: Wed Jul 16, 2008

How Big Can Government Get? for 07/23/2008

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Much attention has been paid in recent months to the mortgage crisis and the difficulty many Americans face because they bought or built a home they cannot afford.

But Americans must soon face a greater crisis: We have a built a government we cannot afford.

Three studies published this year put some perspective on just how big our government has grown, and how much bigger it could ...

Updated: Wed Jul 23, 2008

Obama's War Party for 07/30/2008

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Barack Obama has joined the party of war.

Since it became clear that he would be the Democratic presidential nominee, Obama has left behind his peacenik rhetoric and seems eager to inform anyone who will listen that as president he would escalate U.S. military intervention — in Afghanistan.

Last week, immediately after completing his first-ever trip to Afghanistan, Obama mad ...

Updated: Wed Jul 30, 2008

The Real Competition in China for 08/06/2008

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The eyes of the world will turn to China in the coming days to watch the Olympic Games. Far too few, however, will fix their attention on the greater competition for the soul of that country.

Here is a story about two champions in that contest, whose most dangerous race you did not see on TV.

Their story starts in Rome, in May of last year, when Pope Benedict XVI published a lette ...

Updated: Wed Aug 06, 2008

A Crude October Surprise for 08/13/2008

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Republicans may be planning a crude surprise for Democrats this October. I mean crude in the sense that it will involve unrefined petroleum.

Since the House recessed earlier this month, Republicans have been demanding that Speaker Nancy Pelosi call it back into special session to vote on whether to allow new offshore oil-drilling.

The Republicans know Pelosi won't do that. So, wha ...

Updated: Wed Aug 13, 2008

Obama and Pro-Life 'Liars' for 08/20/2008

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

In an interview with David Brody of CBN on Saturday, Barack Obama leveled a startling charge at the National Right to Life Committee.

Brody brought up the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, noting "there was some literature put out by the National Right to Life Committee. And they're basically saying they felt like you misrepresented your position on that bill."

"Let ...

Updated: Wed Aug 20, 2008

Kennedy's 'Right' Is Wrong for 08/27/2008

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

When Sen. Ted Kennedy, valiantly fighting brain cancer, took the stage at the Democratic convention on Monday night, he made it clear that he is now on a mission that cannot be completed unless he returns to the Senate next year — with Barack Obama in the White House.

Kennedy's quest is to socialize medicine in America.

"For me, this is a season of hope," he said. ...

Updated: Wed Aug 27, 2008

Married Liberals With Children for 09/03/2008

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Suddenly, the liberal establishment is earnestly interested in traditional family life, and there is a good — if cynical — reason for this.

When Michelle Obama, a Harvard Law grad, appeared at the Democratic convention last week, she did not come a la Hillary Clinton, who bragged when her husband first ran for president that if you elected him you would also get her — & ...

Updated: Wed Sep 03, 2008