We are in the midst of a crisis caused by so many financial institutions borrowing too much money. Somehow, a critical mass of policymakers now believes that the correct response is for the U.S. government to borrow too much money. ...

Tagged with: Barack Obama Congressional Budget Office crisis deficit George W. Bush

If it seems incongruous for elected officials to talk about budget discipline in the same breath as trillion-dollar deficits, it is. President-elect Barack Obama is being encouraged by economists of all stripes to err on the side of doing too ...

Tagged with: Barack Obama budget deficit stimulus

Attorney General-designate Eric Holder called waterboarding a form of illegal torture and promised to restore the credibility of a Justice Department he described as "badly shaken" by "improper political interference." At Senate confirmation hearings, Holder signaled that President-elect Barack Obama will suspend military tribunals used to try suspected war criminals at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The tribunals must be "substantially revamped" to provide defendants with more due process and ensure fair treatment for suspects, he said.

Tagged with: attorney general Barack Obama Eric Holder Guantanamo Bay Justice Department Senate Judiciary Committee torture waterboarding

Missouri Supreme Court Judge Michael A. Wolff and the chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court have asked President-elect Barack Obama to work toward a “major change in state and federal sentencing practices.” The judges mailed their request to Obama’s ...

Tagged with: Barack Obama Michael Wolff Missouri Supreme Court Oregon Supreme Court Paul J. De Muniz sentencing practices

Sprinting furiously to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the radioactive Rod Blagojevich, Democrats for weeks seemed not to notice certain obvious truths. Law trumps politics. Blagojevich remains governor of Illinois. He is an innocent man under ...

Tagged with: Adam Clayton Powell Barack Obama Illinois Supreme Court Patrick Fitzgerald Rod Blagojevich Senate seat U.S. Supreme Court

A new Congress with strengthened Democratic majorities convenes tomorrow with one overriding goal: speed. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other congressional leaders met behind closed doors this week with President-elect Barack Obama to start putting together an economic-recovery package that ...

Tagged with: Barack Obama Congress Mitch McConnell Nancy Pelosi Ross Baker stimulus

Federal Reserve officials are focused on driving down the spreads between U.S. Treasury yields and consumer and corporate loans, after cutting the main interest rate to almost zero failed to revive lending. Credit costs for households and businesses haven’t followed ...

Tagged with: bank Barack Obama Federal Reserve Henry Paulson mortgage TARP Timothy Geithner U.S. Treasury Department

There have been other shocking press conferences, the kind that make you call home and say, “Turn on the TV, quick.” There was former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey coming out of nowhere to declare, “I am a gay American.” ...

Tagged with: Barack Obama Bill Clinton Jim McGreevey Rod Blagojevich Rolan Burris

The year 2008 will be a title for books and movies and a serious subject for historians decades from now. Yet 2009 may be more important, shaping the conclusions those scholars reach and the role the U.S. plays in the ...

Tagged with: 100 days Barack Obama stimulus

If you go to Germany during Spargelzeit – “asparagus time” – you will experience the amazing intensity with which Germans can focus on a good thing. In recent years, energy conservation has probably received more attention from the Germans than ...

Tagged with: Barack Obama energy conservation Germany Spargelzeit

Extension granted in Blagojevich case Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald was granted a 90-day extension to obtain an indictment against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whom he has accused of corruption in a criminal complaint. U.S. District Judge James Holderman in ...

Tagged with: Barack Obama Bill Clinton California corruption Cuba grand jury Guantanamo Bay H&R Block James Holderman lawsuit Patrick Fitzgerald prison Rod Blagojevich settle U.S. Justice Department