Politics
What Barack Obama Can Learn From His High School Self
Flattery, Chutzpah, and Underhandedness
This spring, when Barack Obama failed to get the gun legislation passed that had been such a public priority for his administration, the Internet and airwaves were full of barbed historical comparisons. Why couldn’t he be more like Lyndon Johnson, wheeling and dealing and getting in Congress’s face until he got something done? Was he inherently unsuited to the messy business of actually getting his way? READ MORE >>
Apple's Tax Hypocrisy
Tech says there's a shortage in homegrown talent—but tax avoidance only makes it worse
It’s remarkable how quickly the storm of outrage over Apple’s epic tax avoidance has passed over Washington. All it took was for Apple CEO Tim Cook (2011 compensation: $378 million) to share some yuks with senators about their love for his company’s products (“I love Apple. READ MORE >>
Hunger Games
The conservative plan to starve government has paid off with the IRS scandal
The more we learn about the IRS vetting of conservative groups, the less it looks like an abuse of power than something much more mundane—a beleaguered agency with too few resources to handle its work-load. READ MORE >>
What Did Republicans Know, And When Did They Know It?
The real reason conservatives should be outraged: Their party didn't politicize it sooner.
For Republicans attempting to make hay over the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of small groups with conservative-sounding names, there is no bigger prize than President Barack Obama. READ MORE >>
It's possible that no chief executive going before the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has had a more friendly hearing room than Apple CEO Tim Cook. READ MORE >>
The Bad Lieutenant
E.W. Jackson could spell trouble for Ken Cuccinelli's gubernatorial run
Political conventions, like the one that the Republican Party of Virginia held in Richmond on Saturday, exist for hardcore partisans and speechifying. So it follows that E.W. Jackson, a far-right reverend with a little YouTube cachet, delivered a thundering address on Saturday that won him the party nod for lieutenant governor. READ MORE >>
Weaseling Out of Obamacare
Nursing homes, fast-food restaurants think up ways to shirk employer responsibility
Have nursing homes, fast-food restaurants, and other low-wage industries found a way to wriggle out of some Obamacare requirements? Maybe. READ MORE >>
Just the Facts for J. Russell George
The "low key" IRS watchdog explains the limits of his job
If you've tried and failed to avoid taxes over the past decade or so, blame J. Russell George. President George W. Bush nominated him as the Treasury inspector general for tax administration in 2004, just six years after President Bill Clinton created the position. Every year, his 800-person agency generates hundreds of audits, saving the Treasury billions of dollars in taxes that might otherwise go uncollected. READ MORE >>
Did you hear the news? President Obama and John McCain are now chummy. To the point where McCain, according to Politico, is now "President Obama's newest ally." Apparently Saxby Chambliss' hole-in-one while golfing with the President wasn't impressive enough to earn him that title. READ MORE >>
How Republicans Can Raise Millions in Silicon Valley
Chris Christie's template for milking the tech sector
Silicon Valley is raising its voice in Washington these days. The tech industry has been interested in the federal government for decades, but now it’s demanding things more loudly: Google spent $18.2 million lobbying in 2012. Mark Zuckerberg and a pack of executives launched an advocacy group that’s tackling immigration reform. READ MORE >>
