Barack Obama

Tonight we saw a brilliant performance from Barack Obama. It was Obama at his best, using his command of the English language to inspire and connect on a grand stage as only few politicians can. For sceptics like myself, he surprised. For…

I have been arguing for some time that Barack Obama made a crucial tactical error in bailing out the big banks early in his presidency. His actions have left him vulnerable to populist resentment.  In my view, this weakens his…

While I have come down hard on some aspects of Barack Obama’s legislative agenda, I have not been painting him with a Hitler moustache or accusing him of socialism, that great evil practised only in cheese-loving France.  So I was…

Hat tip Accelerating Future.

There is an effort underway to install the Federal Reserve as super-regulator for all banks and financial institutions, concentrating power in one institution. I find these efforts one of the most disturbing outgrowths of the financial…

While most economists have come out in favor of Barack Obama’s decision to re-appoint Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Stephen Roach has penned an Op-Ed in today’s Financial Times which highlights the case against…

This from the Wall Street Journal’s David Wessel: President Barack Obama will announce Tuesday that he is nominating Ben Bernanke for a second four-year term as chairman of the Federal Reserve, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel…

The bailouts, deficit spending, and debate over health care are having a very nasty negative effect on the electoral fortunes of the Democratic party. Charlie Cook, a well-known and respected election pundit, writes (emphasis added):…

Yesterday I wrote a healthcare polemic which was mostly designed to discuss the politics of healthcare for the President. The essence of my argument was that Barack Obama has not shown enough willingness to fight for specific policies he…

Barack Obama’s health insurance reform initiative is clearly foundering. So, his administration has pulled out the big guns. Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius on the Sunday morning talk shows. Obama himself had a prime time press…