Mona Charen

Mona Charen

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Spitzer Wants to Focus on Economy. Really?

By Mona Charen (May 15, 2012)

Appearing on ABC's "This Week," former Gov. Eliot Spitzer (why do they give him a forum?) offered the Democratic Party's defense of the Obama economy. The Republicans,... more

To Bigotry No Sanction

By Mona Charen (May 11, 2012)

Now that President Obama has "evolved" on the matter of same-sex marriage to the position favored by "enlightened" Americans, this would seem to be a... more

Extremism in Defense of the Welfare State

By Mona Charen (May 08, 2012)

The theme song of a popular TV show from the last decade featured the lyric "I worry all the time. If you paid attention, you'd be worried, too." It's a... more

Obama's Disgraceful Abandonment of Chen Guangcheng

By Mona Charen (May 04, 2012)

It's hard to know which is worse: one's grief over Chen Guangcheng's fate or the fury over the Obama administration's abandonment of him to that... more

Was the Secret Service Pornified?

By Mona Charen (May 01, 2012)

What do you suppose are the chances that the Secret Service agents who embarrassed themselves, possibly endangered the life of the president of the United States, and very... more

Carter Redux?

By Mona Charen (Apr 27, 2012)

Every new datum on economic stagnation -- such as Thursday's Labor Department announcement that unemployment claims remain at a three-month high -- increases the... more

Cuddly Symbols Not Cooperating in Climate Panic

By Mona Charen (Apr 24, 2012)

In a better world, debates about science -- and nearly everything else -- would be conducted without resort to demagoguery, sentimentality, cynical manipulation, or hysteria.... more

If CAIR's Attacking You, You Must be Good

By Mona Charen (Apr 20, 2012)

"Where are all the moderate Muslims?" It's a question often posed by Americans who watch with disgust as the Council on American-Islamic Relations and other apologists for... more

Don't Be Cowed By The New York Times

By Mona Charen (Apr 17, 2012)

"Romney Camp Stumbles on Pay Equity Question" crowed The New York Times last week. "The Caucus" blog was referring to a conference call in which Romney top aides "seemed... more

You Pay for Warren Buffett's Medicare

By Mona Charen (Apr 13, 2012)

The president is barnstorming around the nation hoping to enrage voters at the injustice that the wealthy pay fewer taxes than the middle class. "Now that's... more

Obama's Contempt for Law (Chavismo Comes to Washington)

By Mona Charen (Apr 10, 2012)

Last month the Obamas hosted a White House conference on bullying. It was intended as a show of support for victims, but watching this president in action, it might just as... more

Why Not Junk the Nobel Peace Prizes?

By Mona Charen (Apr 06, 2012)

When the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Barack Obama, many, myself included, felt that the Norwegian committee had so embarrassed itself as to devalue the prize... more

If Obama Had a Son

By Mona Charen (Apr 03, 2012)

When he was first sworn in as Attorney General, Eric Holder made one of the more obtuse comments in political history. When it comes to issues of race, Holder declared, we... more

Trayvon and the Good Victim

By Mona Charen (Mar 30, 2012)

Just as Rahm Emmanuel didn't want to let a good crisis go to waste, the national press doesn't want to let a good victim go to waste. The death of Trayvon Martin is a... more

Priscilla Buckley, RIP

By Mona Charen (Mar 27, 2012)

When I see Priscilla Buckley, who died over the weekend at age 90, in my mind's eye, she is roaring with laughter. That's how you would find her much of the time during her... more

It Does Matter How You Vote

By Mona Charen (Mar 23, 2012)

A recent weeknight found me among a group of about a dozen unhappy parents meeting with the principal of our kids' high school. The issue: An incompetent teacher who we had... more

Obama and the Future Fallacy

By Mona Charen (Mar 20, 2012)

Speaking to students at a Maryland community college, President Obama indulged one of the left's favorite vanities -- the claim to represent "the future."... more

Is Liberalism Lazy and Immoral?

By Mona Charen (Mar 16, 2012)

The best advocates are often converts. So it is with Arthur C. Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute.Brooks has an important forthcoming book, "The Road to... more

Thanks President Obama, but I Need More

By Mona Charen (Mar 13, 2012)

Dear President Obama, As a certifiable member of the female sex, I want to thank you for preventing the Republican Party from conducting a "war on... more

Gender Specific Writer

By Mona Charen (Mar 09, 2012)

Apple Inc. makes dazzling, life-enhancing products, so God bless them ... to a point. Having recently upgraded my computer to OS X 10.7.3 or Lion, I discovered that... more

Genius for Subject Changing

By Mona Charen (Mar 06, 2012)

The Obama administration issues an edict regarding birth control that is 1) blatantly unconstitutional, 2) economically absurd, and 3) completely unmatched to any national... more

Who's the True Conservative?

By Mona Charen (Mar 02, 2012)

The theme for this year's primary season was set back in May 2011. Recall that the Republican-dominated House of Representatives had just done something that cynics said... more

Assad's Useful Idiots

By Mona Charen (Feb 28, 2012)

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a firm statement to the Syrian elite this week, urging them to overthrow the regime of Bashar al-Assad. "The longer you support the... more

Now We Know Why Not Santorum

By Mona Charen (Feb 24, 2012)

Wish I had a nickel for every conservative who confidently predicted that the Arizona debate would, of course, feature obnoxious questions about birth control and the... more

The Great Obama Kowtow

By Mona Charen (Feb 17, 2012)

Wikipedia defines "kowtow" as "kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground. ... (Chinese history scholar) Immanuel (Hsu)... more

The Free Lunch Is Back

By Mona Charen (Feb 14, 2012)

Leaving aside the blatant assault on religious liberty that the Obama administration's contraceptive mandate represents (a number of commentators have ably elucidated the... more

Do You Speak Conservative?

By Mona Charen (Feb 10, 2012)

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... more

Removing Planned Parenthood's Fig Leaf

By Mona Charen (Feb 07, 2012)

Planned Parenthood would appear to have won this latest skirmish in the abortion wars. The Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation having first decided to withdraw future... more

Drop the Middle Class Talk

By Mona Charen (Feb 03, 2012)

In 1992, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton built his campaign for the White House on doing more for the "forgotten middle class." Calling it the "new... more

Social Pressure to Marry Is Dead

By Mona Charen (Jan 31, 2012)

The advice columns of newspapers are good windows into the conscience of a culture. There you will find a field guide to what is considered socially acceptable and... more

Romney Should be Proud

By Mona Charen (Jan 27, 2012)

It's as predictable as vultures at a carcass. When a wealthy Republican is running for office, the press will make his wealth a handicap. Recall that when George H. W.... more

Just Attack the Media and We're At Your Feet

By Mona Charen (Jan 24, 2012)

So the message South Carolina voters sent was -- "Anything goes so long as you attack the media."Whatever you think about Mitt Romney's shortcomings as a candidate -- and I... more

The Return of the Weak Horse

By Mona Charen (Jan 20, 2012)

If you wish for peace, prepare for war. -- Latin adage     In the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, a rough consensus emerged about the messages the... more

Yes to Downton Abbey

By Mona Charen (Jan 18, 2012)

Simon Schama holds a place of honor in our home. Preparing for a trip to London in 2005, we watched his video series "A History of Britain" over the course of several weeks.... more

It Isn't Just the Mandate

By Mona Charen (Jan 13, 2012)

Most people have heard that Obamacare is being challenged as unconstitutional because it contains an individual mandate forcing people to purchase health insurance. That... more

Family History Haunts Romney

By Mona Charen (Jan 10, 2012)

At the 757th Republican debate over the weekend, Newt Gingrich zinged Mitt Romney for attempting to portray his decision to forego a re-election race in Massachusetts as... more

Dinner With Terrorists

By Mona Charen (Jan 06, 2012)

If you were running the Illinois Humanities Council and a famous terrorist offered to help in your fundraising drive, what would you do? If you said, "slam down the phone" or... more

What Establishment?

By Mona Charen (Jan 03, 2012)

Campaign season is not a time for truth. It's a time for the candidates, the press and the voters to tell themselves fables. The Democrats' fable this year is... more