RealClearPolitics - Articles

Romney Personalizes His Conservatism in CPAC Speech

Erin McPike — 2012/02

Mitt Romney's speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday had two objectives: Demonstrate his conservative credentials and make himself more relatable. And so, even after...

The Galileo of Global Warming

Robert Tracinski — 2012/02

I have written before about how the left loves to invoke the example of Galileo in order to present themselves as the great defenders of science against all of those knuckle-dragging religious bigots...

Can We Get to a Brokered Convention?

Jonah Goldberg — 2012/02

Okay, I give up. About a week ago, I wrote a column making a case for Mitt Romney as the GOP nominee. My argument was aimed at fellow conservatives who just can’t get their minds...

At CPAC, Santorum Taps Conservative Fears About Romney

Erin McPike — 2012/02

Rick Santorum sought to win over conservatives wary of Mitt Romney in a speech before the Conservative Political Action Conference Friday morning. "Why would an undecided voter vote for a...

Gender, Religious Divides Cloud Contraception Debate

Erin McPike — 2012/02

A cadre of Democratic officeholders in Washington -- mostly women -- is taking to the microphones this week to frame as a women's heath issue the Obama administration's requirement that...

America Deserves a Choice

Rep. Paul Ryan — 2012/02

It’s getting late, so I’ll get right to the point: We only have nine months to defeat Barack Obama – nine months to reject his agenda of debt, doubt, and decline. And...

Little Enthusiasm for Romney at CPAC

Caitlin Huey-Burns — 2012/02

Skim through the crowds that have descended upon the nation's capital for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference this week and you'd be hard-pressed to find support, never mind...

Romney's Overriding Ambition

Eugene Robinson — 2012/02

WASHINGTON -- Criticism of Mitt Romney for lacking a coherent message is grossly unfair. He has been forthright, consistent and even eloquent in pressing home his campaign's central theme: Mitt...

Obama's Trampling on God's Turf Now

Pat Buchanan — 2012/02

Yes, Virginia, there is a religious war going on. It is for the soul of America. And traditional Christianity is besieged. In a January visit to the Vatican, American bishops were warned by Benedict...

The Catholic Tribe Closes Ranks Against Obama's Intrusion

Maggie Gallagher — 2012/02

President Obama's attack on Catholic organizations has managed to do what the bishops have been unable to do, as Peggy Noonan points out: Unite the Catholic right and the Catholic...

Family Values Without the Wink

Suzanne Fields — 2012/02

Every campaign has a storyline, a theme -- one written by the candidate's spinners, another by the opposition's trimmers and one, usually the accurate one, hidden in plain sight. Mitt...

Do You Speak Conservative?

Mona Charen — 2012/02

Newt Gingrich knows the lingo. He makes conservative audiences roar with approval when he compares the efficiency of FedEx and MasterCard to the post office and Immigration and Customs Enforcement....

Freedom From Religion

Oliver North — 2012/02

WASHINGTON -- "We don't need you, so shut up!" That's the message the Obama administration has sent loud and clear to America's Roman Catholics. And it's a message now...

Sarah Palin Set to Re-emerge at CPAC

Scott Conroy — 2012/02

At last year's CPAC gathering, the mere sight of a Sarah Palin impersonator was enough to throw some attendees into a star-struck frenzy. Such was Palin's clout among conservative activists...

Playing the Anti-American Card

Michael Gerson — 2012/02

WASHINGTON -- Recent provocations by Egypt are both serious and mysterious. In December, its government conducted a series of armed raids on respected human rights and democracy organizations....

"To Stop the Multiplication of the Unfit"

Michelle Malkin — 2012/02

If you aren't creeped out by the No Birth Control Left Behind rhetoric of the White House and Planned Parenthood, you aren't listening closely enough. The anesthetic of progressive...

Obama's Remarks on the Housing Settlement

Barack Obama — 2012/02

12:28 P.M. THE PRESIDENT: All right, good afternoon, everybody. Before I start, I just want to introduce the folks on stage here, because the extraordinary work that they did is the reason that a lot...

Interview with Presidential Candidate Ron Paul

The Situation Room — 2012/02

BLITZER: Gloria, thanks very, very much. Stick around. I want you to listen to this interview. Joining us now is the Republican presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul. He's in his home...

Interview with Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum

John King, USA — 2012/02

KING: Rick Santorum is riding high, raising a quick million dollars after his stunning Tuesday sweep of Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado and now setting his sights on proving those wins are no...

Obama Has Picked the Wrong Fight

Cathy Young — 2012/02

The firestorm over the Obama Administration requiring religiously affiliated institutions to provide employees with health benefits that cover birth control rages on, as Catholic leaders mobilize the...

Path to a Brokered GOP Convention Emerges

Sean Trende — 2012/02

For many conservative Republicans, the dream outcome of the primary season is a brokered convention. Disappointed in the four remaining choices, they hope to change horses in August, and draft their...

The Anti-Romney Vote

Thomas Sowell — 2012/02

A funny thing happened to Mitt Romney on the way to his coronation as the inevitable Republican candidate for President of the United States. Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado happened. Rick Santorum...

The Chaos in Cairo

David Ignatius — 2012/02

WASHINGTON -- What kind of democratic revolution in Egypt is it that brings charges against 19 American NGO workers who have been advocating democracy? The answer is that it's a confused...

GOP Must Convince Young People It's the Party of Options

Michael Barone — 2012/02

The Republican presidential candidates, except for Ron Paul, haven't been paying much attention to young voters in the primaries and caucuses so far. But any Republican nominee -- which is to...

Big Brother Is 'Sharing'

Froma Harrop — 2012/02

My, how you've changed, Big Brother. What happened to the sourpuss in "1984," George Orwell's grim novel about a thought-controlled future? Gone are the piercing eyes and the...

Appease This!

Steve Chapman — 2012/02

On April 1, 2001, a U.S. spy plane and a Chinese fighter collided over the South China Sea, forcing the Americans to make an emergency landing on Chinese soil. But the Chinese government said it...

Iran 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0

Victor Davis Hanson — 2012/02

On the campaign trail, presidential candidate Barack Obama once called for a "reset" policy with Iran. Supposedly, the unpopularity of the Texan provocateur George W. Bush and his...

Clint, Rick and the Limits of Pessimism

E.J. Dionne — 2012/02

WASHINGTON -- What do Rick Santorum and Clint Eastwood have in common? Sorry Rick, you haven't made it yet as an Eastwood-style make-my-day cultural icon. But in different ways, Santorum and...

Aren't Republicans Supposed to Be Colorblind?

Larry Elder — 2012/02

"Which of our Hispanic leaders would you consider to serve in your Cabinet?" A woman attending the last Republican debate in Florida asked this of the four Republican rivals. Oh, for crying...

Interview with Presidential Candidate Newt Gingrich

The Situation Room — 2012/02

BLITZER: Meanwhile, the Newt Gingrich campaign certainly has lost its momentum, but the candidate himself has some ideas on how he can push forward to victory. My interview with Newt Gingrich is...

Interviews with John McCain and Michele Bachmann

John King, USA — 2012/02

KING: As we reported a few moments ago, CNN has learned the Pentagon is compiling contingency plans for humanitarian assistance and possible, possible military options. But the U.S. ambassador to the...

White House Lays Low as Birth Control Dispute Heats Up

Alexis Simendinger — 2012/02

If the White House had been searching for an issue that could draw sharper contrasts with Republicans over women's health, economic opportunities and freedom, a skirmish with Catholic bishops...

Obama Leads Republican Rivals in Virginia

Caitlin Huey-Burns — 2012/02

President Obama is seeing signs of life for his re-election campaign in the critical battleground state of Virginia, where a new poll shows him leading all of the Republican presidential...

Santorum Wins Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri

David Espo and Philip Elliott — 2012/02

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A resurgent Rick Santorum won Minnesota's Republican presidential caucuses with ease Tuesday night and was declared the victor in Colorado as well, a stunning sweep that...

Government Can't Make Us Happy

John Stossel — 2012/02

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson called the pursuit of happiness an unalienable right. This was a radical idea. For most of history, most people didn't think much about...

Super PAC-Men: Obama Bundlers Gone Wild!

Michelle Malkin — 2012/02

The White House didn't blow a dog whistle for deep-pocketed liberal donors on Monday. No, the administration whipped out a supersized vuvuzela. Blaring message: Let loose the campaign...

Syria: World War I Continues

Austin Bay — 2012/02

In a Feb. 1 Wall Street Journal essay, the always eloquent and astute Fouad Ajami characterized Syria's bitter and bloody struggle as the Cold War's last battle. Ajami's Cold War frame...

Foreign Policy Team Preps Romney for World Stage

Scott Conroy — 2012/02

On paper at least, Mitt Romney has a long way to go before he can even think about sealing the Republican nomination. But with several world trouble spots flaring up in recent weeks, Romney's...

Shaky Grounds for Prop. 8 Ruling

Debra Saunders — 2012/02

Two of three judges on a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel on Tuesday found Proposition 8 unconstitutional. Judge Stephen Reinhardt stipulated that the ruling skirted the larger issue of...

Obama's Halftime Hypocrisy

David Harsanyi — 2012/02

On Super Bowl Sunday, America was treated to the most expensive political commercial in history -- brought to you by Chrysler -- called "It's Halftime in America." In a series of vapid...

Obama's Remarks at the White House Science Fair

Barack Obama — 2012/02

11:53 A.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you so much. Thank you, everybody. Everybody have a seat. Well, welcome to the White House Science Fair. (Applause.) It is -- I just spent...

Interview with Presidential Candidate Newt Gingrich

CNN — 2012/02

BLITZER: We're only eight minutes away. You can see from the top of the hour, that's when the caucuses will start. We got three battleground states competing tonight. We're going to --...

Rick Santorum's Victory Speech

Rick Santorum — 2012/02

St. Charles, Missouri RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Wow! Conservatism is alive and well in Missouri and Minnesota. Thank you all so very, very much. It is great to be here. I just...

In Reversal, Obama Embraces Super PAC

Alexis Simendinger — 2012/02

President Obama wants to bring more knives to a knife fight, judging from the announcement Tuesday that White House and administration officials will join senior campaign aides to support super PACs...

Bob Kerrey Won't Run for Senate in Nebraska

Caitlin Huey-Burns — 2012/02

Democrat Bob Kerrey opted Tuesday not to run for Nebraska's open Senate seat, virtually clearing the way for a Republican win in the Cornhusker State. Kerrey, a former senator, governor and...

Poll: Romney Leads in Colorado, Santorum Up in Minnesota

Kyle Adams — 2012/02

A new poll shows Mitt Romney with a double-digit lead over his GOP rivals in Colorado while Rick Santorum leads in Minnesota as those states' voters prepare to caucus on Tuesday. The Public...

Romney Support Falls Back in States He Won

Erin McPike — 2012/02

Under the original election calendar, the Romney campaign foresaw victories in New Hampshire and Nevada as a firewall protecting the candidate's path to the GOP nomination: Post big wins in both...

A Defining Moment

Thomas Sowell — 2012/02

Governor Mitt Romney's statement about not worrying about the poor has been treated as a gaffe in much of the media, and those in the Republican establishment who have been rushing toward...

The Uninspired GOP Electorate

Eugene Robinson — 2012/02

WASHINGTON -- OK, now it's settled, right? I mean, it must be settled by now. Mitt Romney is going to be the nominee. Eat your peas, Republicans, and then fall in line, because Romney's the...

Romney Told Catholic Hospitals to Administer Abortion Pills

Terence Jeffrey — 2012/02

A defining moment in Mitt Romney's post-pro-life-conversion political career came in his third year as governor of Massachusetts, when he decided Catholic hospitals would be required under his...