The New Republic

It's one of those days when the news cycle is moving faster than I can write about it. As of Wednesday afternoon, the chatter online is all about the Romney campaign's unexpected decision to cite his Massachusetts health reforms as proof that he cares about average Americans facing financial hardship. READ MORE >>

The latest sign of rightward drift in American politics, or at least the Republican Party, came this week when Politico reported that Mitt Romney had asked Michael Leavitt to begin preparing for the transition, in case Romney wins. READ MORE >>

Today is tax day. I was all set to write something about the importance of taxes and why, in the long run, most Americans need to pay more of them. Then I remembered I'd written that before—on last year's tax day. So here's what I wrote then. It seems no less relevant today. READ MORE >>

What other folks are saying about the first day of oral arguments in the lawsuits challenging the Affordable Care Act: - Lyle Denniston, of SCOTUS blog, provides his typically thorough and insightful analysis of what was really happening in Court today. READ MORE >>

Happy Tax Day. And I mean that sincerely. I don’t like parting with my money any more than you do. But I like what my tax dollars buy. Public schools. Safe food and consumer products. National security. The post office. Guaranteed income and health insurance for my aging parents, plus (soon) a guarantee of health insurance for my immediate family. READ MORE >>

Name recognition is not an asset in presidential campaigns. I mentioned this last week, but I stuck it at the end of a longer post, so I'll repeat it here. Name recognition is, in fact, important in American politics. But its importance is limited to contexts in which there are significant gaps between how well candidates are known. That happens all the time in House contests, and even in elections for Senate or governor, and it certainly happens in downballot races.  READ MORE >>

This isn't going to help the Mittster: Jon Kingsdale, the executive director of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, the state agency that helps people in Massachusetts find health insurance, is leaving his job, Gov. Deval Patrick has announced. READ MORE >>

From the Horse’s Mouth: Petraeus on Israel Posted by Max Boot on March 25, 2010 READ MORE >>

The story had some wings for a few days. But, like the tale of Icarus, Mark Perry's fabrication in Foreign Policy about David Petraeus collapsed into the tempestuous sea of truth. READ MORE >>

RCP's list of afternoon headlines includes this sequence:       Obama's Heavyweights to Fix Health Care - Ezra Klein, American Prospect       The March to Socialized Health Care - Philip Klein, American Spectator --Michael Crowley READ MORE >>