The New Republic

Another day, another weird idea from Newt Gingrich. Today’s special: The U.S. should consider a return to the gold standard. Gingrich, speaking at a forum in South Carolina (a place that really seems to bring out the crazy in people), admonished the Federal Reserve and declared: “Hard money is a discipline. It means you can’t inflate away your difficulties.” Would a return to the gold standard stop inflation? READ MORE >>

Monday night's debate in Myrtle Beach was an unsettling affair to watch, with a crowd that was arguably more raucous and malevolent than any of the other hopped-up audiences at this year's Republican debates. At moments, one couldn't help but wonder if the Union would've been better off ceding its vanquished opponent in 1865 to Mexico, the mere mention of which drew lusty boos from the spectators on Monday. READ MORE >>

At last night's Republican debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., we heard the candidates talk about whether ex-cons should vote and we heard the candidates talk about the right to bear arms. At the next debate, I'd like to hear the candidates talk about whether ex-cons should bear arms. READ MORE >>

Is the Christian Right still a power in American politics? The lavish coverage which its partisans and their favorite issues have received during the current Republican campaign certainly leave that impression. Yet all this attention is akin to the dazzling glow of a setting sun. In fact, the Christian Right is a fading force in American life, one which has little chance of achieving its cherished goals. READ MORE >>

Most politicians stretch the truth. But few do it as blatantly, and shamelessly, as Mitt Romney has been during this presidential campaign. Romney hasn't simply been fibbing or parsing his answers carefully. He has been saying things that are plainly untrue, over and over again. READ MORE >>

Sorting out cause and effect in political campaigns is not always simple. Some people look at John McCain’s nomination in 2008 and Mitt Romney’s success in Iowa and New Hampshire this year and see highly fortuitous demolition derbies. Others look at the same facts and intone “next-in-line” or some similar Iron Law of presidential politics. READ MORE >>

[Guest Post by Isaac Chotiner]  READ MORE >>

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There is good news and bad news for Mitt Romney out of New Hampshire. The good news is that he won an impressively broad-based victory that did nothing to slow his drive for the Republican presidential nomination. But it also exposed a vulnerability that could soon prove debilitating, if not fatal, to his candidacy. READ MORE >>