Nov

12

$250 Million Worth of Fuss

Posted by: Alan J. Borsuk | November 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment

The U.S. Department of Education released the final rules Thursday for the high-stakes competition called the Race to the Top. That’s the $4.35 billion in grants to be given out in the next year to spur states to take major steps aimed at improving a host of aspects of schooling, including the quality of teachers [...]

Nov

5

Obama’s Applause Lines on Education

Posted by: Alan J. Borsuk | November 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment

President Barack Obama’s 35-minute speech on education at Wright Middle School in Madison on Wednesday was interrupted by applause at many points, but most of the reaction was pretty low-key. Three lines drew what seemed to be more enthusiastic responses from the crowd of more than 500, most of them teachers, parents, and students at the 250-student school. Each of [...]

Oct

14

President Chester A. Arthur and the Birthers, 1880’s Style

Posted by: J. Gordon Hylton | October 14, 2009 | 1 Comment

The Obama citizenship “debate” has surprisingly brought former president Chester A. Arthur (1829-1886) back into the pages of American newspapers, which is no small feat.  Unlike President Obama, who is clearly eligible to hold the nation’s highest office, Arthur, the twenty-first president (1881-84), may well have been an “unconstitutional” president.
Although Arthur is frequently seen as Millard [...]

Oct

6

President Obama Behind in the Count in the Sports Arena

Posted by: J. Gordon Hylton | October 6, 2009 | 1 Comment

Whatever success he may have in regard to health care reform, economic recovery, or the war in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama has already demonstrated that his ability to influence the world of sport is quite limited.  His unsuccessful efforts to convince the International Olympic Committee to award the 2016 Summer Olympics to his adopted hometown [...]

Jan

23

Taking Oaths Seriously

Posted by: Daniel D. Blinka | January 23, 2009 | 2 Comments

 
Most presidents take the oath of office twice in their lives only if reelected.  Yesterday night, Barack Obama took the oath – again –  from Chief Justice John Roberts because of the miscues during the inauguration ceremony the day before.  The media’s take, thus far, is to poke fun at what is called the “do [...]

Jan

21

Tuesday’s Gone

Posted by: Nathan Petrashek | January 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Inauguration day has come and gone, but the euphoria of a historic election will likely remain for some time.  For President Obama and the 110th Congress, the work is just beginning.  The economy continues to show signs of weakening, even amidst hope that the downturn will be neither as severe nor as prolonged as some [...]

Nov

23

“The Power That I Have On You Is To Spare You”

Posted by: Andrew Golden | November 23, 2008 | 2 Comments

While instant messaging a high school friend yesterday, she mentioned that she had just seen the final episode of The West Wing on DVD (in which outgoing president Josiah Bartlett pardons ex-Director of Communications Toby Ziegler from a conviction for leaking national security secrets to The Washington Post), and then linked me to a recent [...]

Oct

29

Priorities for the Next President: Antitrust Law

Posted by: Michael P. Waxman | October 29, 2008 | 2 Comments

The priority of the new administration in the field of antitrust law will be to undo the damage wrought by Chicago School dogmatists. This does not mean that the economic theories that form the basis of Chicago School economics or its application are incorrect. But, the broad assault by academic, bureaucratic, and juristic theorists over [...]