Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry

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A Bailout To Save Capitalism

By Rich Lowry (Sep 30, 2008)

Opponents of the Henry Paulson bailout plan are prepared to try an economic experiment: Is it possible to have capitalism without capital? The massive government... more

John McPerot

By Rich Lowry (Sep 25, 2008)

All year, John McCain has been like the proverbial cartoon character over the edge of the cliff, in midair, desperately flapping his arms and somehow maintaining... more

Is Phil Gramm to Blame?

By Rich Lowry (Sep 22, 2008)

Who's responsible for the panic of 2008? In the gathering legend, it's one man, former Sen. Phil Gramm, the ex-John McCain adviser who lamented "a nation of whiners" a... more

The End of Illusion, Part Two

By Rich Lowry (Sep 18, 2008)

The Bush years will be remembered for the cruel triumph of realism over illusion. One of the era's great illusions was spun by President Bush -- that the force of... more

The Scandal of the McCain Campaign

By Rich Lowry (Sep 15, 2008)

A crucial turning point in the presidential race came when the McCain campaign ended its candidate's habitual informal interactions with the press. The area of the McCain... more

The Shame of the Chiefs

By Rich Lowry (Sep 11, 2008)

In his classic book on the Vietnam War, "Dereliction of Duty," H.R. McMaster excoriates the Joint Chiefs of Staff for acceding to President Lyndon Johnson's flawed war... more

Choosing Trig

By Rich Lowry (Sep 08, 2008)

Perhaps nothing Sarah Palin said in her boffo address at the Republican Convention had as much resonance as her statement that "sometimes even the greatest joys bring... more

McCain Goes Maverick

By Rich Lowry (Sep 05, 2008)

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Who is president of the United States again? Oh, yeah, he's the guy whose speech at the Republican Convention was canceled Monday night, with a sense... more

Hating Sarah

By Rich Lowry (Sep 02, 2008)

Sarah Palin works fast. She instantly became the object of the kind of partisan hatred that most politicians can raise only after prosecuting an unpopular war and lying... more

Introducing Barack Obama, 'Cleareyed Pragmatist'

By Rich Lowry (Aug 25, 2008)

Barack Obama has denigrated Washington experience, pooh-poohed traditional foreign-policy credentials and rued negative tit-for-tat exchanges in campaigns -- in fact, these... more

McCain's Missing Middle

By Rich Lowry (Aug 21, 2008)

Barack Obama has been flailing in response to the McCain campaign's new aggressiveness, consumed by crying foul. He's gone from hopemonger to whinemonger. ... more

Barack Obama - Abortion Extremist

By Rich Lowry (Aug 18, 2008)

Barack Obama had a mini Bob Dole moment after the Saddleback presidential forum the other night. Asked on the Christian Broadcasting Network about a controversy over his... more

The Lieberman Option

By Rich Lowry (Aug 14, 2008)

A vice-presidential pick is always important, but John McCain confronts a starkly existential choice this year. Is he running as a Republican or chiefly as a bipartisan... more

Putin Bares His Soul

By Rich Lowry (Aug 12, 2008)

President Bush's assurance back in 2001 that he looked into Vladimir Putin's soul and liked what he saw was the international equivalent of his "heckuva job" boosterism... more

The Audacity of Haughty

By Rich Lowry (Aug 07, 2008)

"It's almost as if they take pride in being ignorant," Barack Obama mused the other day, blasting Republicans for ridiculing his exhortation to the nation to make sure... more

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: Moral Giant

By Rich Lowry (Aug 04, 2008)

"This is dangerous." -- Soviet apparatchik Yuri Andropov, upon learning of "The Gulag Archipelago" Andropov knew whereof he spoke. When Aleksandr... more

Obama and the Racism Card

By Rich Lowry (Jul 31, 2008)

Jesse Jackson must have been forgiven by the Obama campaign and welcomed into its inner circle. Because it sure seems as if he's giving the campaign advice. ... more

Our First Transnational President?

By Rich Lowry (Jul 28, 2008)

If elected, Barack Obama might make history in more ways than one. He will be the country's first black president, but also -- perhaps as consequentially -- could be its... more

In McCain's Travails -- A Lesson From Hillary

By Rich Lowry (Jul 24, 2008)

Politically, John McCain should be a candidate for involuntary committal -- he's a danger to himself. If McCain is going to have a chance, he needs to run an... more

An Anti-Speculative Bubble

By Rich Lowry (Jul 21, 2008)

The global market for oil has, in the imagination of Washington, a mysterious quality that should occupy academic economists for a long time. The market only works when... more

A Crony Capitalism Meltdown

By Rich Lowry (Jul 17, 2008)

During the famous "bank war" of the 19th century, the president of the embattled Second Bank of the United States, Nicholas Biddle, knew how to operate -- spend money... more

Barack Obama's Anti-Factual Iraq War

By Rich Lowry (Jul 14, 2008)

At some point, Democrats decided that facts didn't matter anymore in Iraq. And they nominated just the man to reflect the party's new anti-factual consensus on the war, a... more

The Crisis in Assimilation

By Rich Lowry (Jul 10, 2008)

John McCain and Barack Obama both gave speeches at the League of United Latin American Citizens convention in Washington, and in the 4,600 words they spoke between them... more

Dupes for Obama

By Rich Lowry (Jul 07, 2008)

A signature moment of Barack Obama's primary campaign came last November in Des Moines, Iowa. He gave a speech at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner that electrified the crowd... more

Vindicators of the Declaration

By Rich Lowry (Jul 03, 2008)

"Decades later the Declaration of Independence was canonized as American scripture," the vinegary historian Walter McDougall writes of the nation's founding document, "but... more

Our Worst Justice

By Rich Lowry (Jun 30, 2008)

Why did the Founders bother toiling in the summer heat of Philadelphia in 1787 writing a Constitution when they could have relied on the consciences of Supreme Court... more

Winning the Sam's Club Voters

By Rich Lowry (Jun 26, 2008)

White working-class voters typically aren't in vogue, with the political chatter tending to revolve around "soccer moms," the "youth vote" or other boutique demographic... more

Friends of Chris and Kent

By Rich Lowry (Jun 23, 2008)

It's not easy being a U.S. senator. People trick you into taking special favors you didn't even know existed. Shame on these unscrupulous people! Connecticut Sen.... more

The Global Warming Bubble

By Rich Lowry (Jun 19, 2008)

Rarely has so much hectoring produced so little. After all the magazine covers, celebrity sermonizing and U.N.-certified-expert hand-wringing, the fight against... more

Al-Qaida's Vietnam

By Rich Lowry (Jun 16, 2008)

Lately, the Iraq War has looked more and more like another Vietnam -- not for us, but for al-Qaida. CIA Director Michael Hayden says the terror group has suffered... more

John McCain: Let Them Eat Honor

By Rich Lowry (Jun 12, 2008)

The price of everything, not just driving, is going up in the era of $130-a-barrel oil, but our presidential candidates have a hopelessly thumbless grasp of pocketbook... more

Mark Steyn: Enemy of the State?

By Rich Lowry (Jun 09, 2008)

At its best, Western civilization has fostered freedom of speech and of thought. But Canada has a better idea. Last week, a Human Rights Tribunal in British Columbia... more

The Year of Obama

By Rich Lowry (Jun 05, 2008)

In the end, the Democrats fell in love. At least, half of them did, and the party establishment, as represented by the superdelegates, wasn't going to deny them their... more

The Agony of Bill Clinton

By Rich Lowry (Jun 02, 2008)

Few things are sadder than former greats past their prime. A bloated Elvis Presley in a sequined suit; a diminished Michael Jordan making one last comeback with the... more

Scott McClellan, Official Spokesman

By Rich Lowry (May 29, 2008)

Scott McClellan has learned the profound wisdom of the old Groucho Marx line about not wanting to belong to any club that would have him. The former press secretary has... more

Florida in Reverse

By Rich Lowry (May 28, 2008)

During the 2000 election controversy, Democrats brayed "count every vote" in Florida and discounted George Bush's eventual victory in the Electoral College because he... more

The Talking Cure?

By Rich Lowry (May 19, 2008)

In their litany of American presidents who met with hostile dictators, supporters of Barack Obama cite John F. Kennedy and his meeting with Soviet Premier Nikita... more

A Fire Bell In The Night

By Rich Lowry (May 15, 2008)

In 2006, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Rahm Emanuel had an inspiration: run culturally conservative Democrats in culturally conservative congressional... more

The Obama Rules

By Rich Lowry (May 12, 2008)

If Barack Obama gets his way, the Oxford English Dictionary will have updated its definition of "distraction" by the end of the campaign: "Diversion of the mind,... more

The Spirit of '68

By Rich Lowry (May 08, 2008)

"Why don't we just vote to strike tonight, and we'll decide tomorrow what we're striking for?" Those were the words of a student protester thoughtfully deliberating... more

How Hillary Became a Social Conservative (Sort Of)

By Rich Lowry (May 05, 2008)

When Hillary Rodham gave the commencement address at Wellesley College in 1969, extolling the virtues of "human liberation" on behalf of a restless generation of... more

John McCain - Candidate of Change?

By Rich Lowry (May 01, 2008)

If there's just one candidate of change this fall, John McCain will be the Horatio Seymour or James Cox of 2008 -- a presidential also-ran all but forgotten to... more

A Christian Farrakhan

By Rich Lowry (Apr 28, 2008)

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright has taken Barack Obama's critically acclaimed race speech in Philadelphia, ripped it into bits and tossed it in the air to serve as confetti for his... more

'The Great Disappointment'

By Rich Lowry (Apr 24, 2008)

The self-appointed 19th-century prophet William Miller attracted an intense following when he predicted the end of the world and the arrival of the Second Coming sometime... more

The Wages of Polygamy

By Rich Lowry (Apr 21, 2008)

Members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Texas can be forgiven for thinking they are being punished for... more

The Dictatorship of Relativism

By Rich Lowry (Apr 17, 2008)

When President Bush and Pope Benedict XVI stood together on the White House lawn in a majestic welcoming ceremony, it symbolized the growing rapprochement of American... more

The Underside of Hope

By Rich Lowry (Apr 14, 2008)

Barack Obama was caught saying something he believes. At a San Francisco fundraiser, away from the prying eyes of the press, Obama reflected on why small-town voters... more

The Olympics: Bush Shouldn't Go

By Rich Lowry (Apr 10, 2008)

"The journey of harmony" isn't living up to its name. That's what organizers of the Olympic Games dubbed the tour of the Olympic torch before realizing that the... more

Beyond 'Benchmarks'

By Rich Lowry (Apr 07, 2008)

Even in the age of instant communication, it takes three months or more for developments in Iraq to have any impact on the U.S. political debate. The war is like a distant... more

Detroit: The City That Liberalism Ruined

By Rich Lowry (Mar 31, 2008)

It could be an item on a David Letterman Top Ten List of "How to Know Your Mayor is Headed for a Major Scandal" -- he's known as the "Hip-Hop Mayor." That's what... more

Hillary Clinton's Strange Affiliation

By Rich Lowry (Mar 27, 2008)

Oliver Sacks may have a new case study in Hillary Clinton. The neurologist and author who writes about people afflicted with bizarre disorders (e.g., "The Man Who Mistook... more

Return of Inflation?

By Rich Lowry (Mar 24, 2008)

Beneath the headlines of Wall Street's financial crisis lurks the economic killer for ordinary Americans -- inflation. It steals from the pocketbook of every... more

Obama's Speech -- A Glorious Failure

By Rich Lowry (Mar 20, 2008)

In his hour of political need, Barack Obama went to his base -- the media. He delivered a speech about the nation's racial divisions that couldn't possibly get anything but... more

The Dishonesty of Hope

By Rich Lowry (Mar 17, 2008)

In the first sermon Barack Obama ever heard from the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the pastor railed against "white folks' greed," the bombing of Hiroshima and "the callousness... more

Bonfire of the Democrats

By Rich Lowry (Mar 13, 2008)

When an unimpeachably liberal former vice-presidential candidate of the Democratic Party is likened to David Duke by a liberal media hero, the political apocalypse -- or... more

She Won't Stop

By Rich Lowry (Mar 10, 2008)

She's going to keep coming. The Obama campaign can tout "the math." Pundits can insist she leave the race. Former liberal supporters can complain about her smash-mouth... more

The Israel of Latin America

By Rich Lowry (Mar 06, 2008)

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez reached for what he considered the ultimate insult when he called Colombia "the new Israel." If by that he means a country better... more

The Superfluous Woman

By Rich Lowry (Mar 03, 2008)

Hillary Clinton ceased to be the Democratic front-runner weeks ago, humiliatingly enough for her formerly inevitable campaign. But it was only after her drubbing in the... more

William F. Buckley, Jr., RIP

By Rich Lowry (Feb 28, 2008)

The warm tributes to William F. Buckley Jr., the conservative hero who died Wednesday at age 82, have emphasized all that everyone could appreciate about him: the... more

On Trade: Obama's Opportunistic Fear-Mongering

By Rich Lowry (Feb 25, 2008)

For Barack Obama, hope can triumph over anything, except for open trade with a neighboring country with an economy 1/20th the size of ours. Then, all is despair. ... more

Whose Politics Of Fear?

By Rich Lowry (Feb 18, 2008)

Last week, in the words of Nancy Pelosi, House Democrats struck back against "fear" and "fear-mongering." They let the terrorist surveillance program expire, thus making a... more

Hillary: By Any Means Necessary

By Rich Lowry (Feb 14, 2008)

For two and a half months now, Democrats have been voting in primaries and meeting in caucuses to select their nominee for president. The last gasp of Hillary Clinton's... more

To Take A Village

By Rich Lowry (Feb 11, 2008)

HAMADAH, Iraq -- This small, rural village in the Diyala Province north of Baghdad experienced a revolution a month ago. It had been controlled by al-Qaida and its band... more

Re-Liberators

By Rich Lowry (Feb 07, 2008)

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- "Greeted as liberators" has become one of the most scoffed-at phrases of the Iraq War, a symbol of glib assurances of success belied by reality. But a top... more

Republicans for Hillary

By Rich Lowry (Feb 04, 2008)

Hillary Clinton might be losing Democratic voters to Barack Obama, but she has a stalwart cheering section that won't abandon her even as she slips in the polls:... more

The Fortunate Front-Runner

By Rich Lowry (Jan 31, 2008)

The famously superstitious John McCain carries a lucky nickel. It apparently has been working its magic. Since McCain impaled his campaign in the summer on the issue... more

Barack Obama's New Deal

By Rich Lowry (Jan 28, 2008)

If he weren't constantly belittling Barack Obama in racially charged terms, Bill Clinton might regard him with a self-referential nostalgia: "That," he might think to... more

Rebates For Non-Taxpayers

By Rich Lowry (Jan 24, 2008)

Should non-taxpayers get a tax rebate? That had been the revealing sticking point in the Washington debate over an economic stimulus package. Democrats insisted on... more

The Temper-Tantrum Kid

By Rich Lowry (Jan 21, 2008)

In full psychoanalytical mode, Bill Clinton once observed, "I was born at 16, and I'll always feel I'm 16." In this, Bill Clinton displayed unusually acute... more

The Huck Hoax

By Rich Lowry (Jan 17, 2008)

Mike Huckabee has pulled a neat trick. His appeal so far has been limited exclusively to evangelicals, yet the press has taken him seriously as a new populist force in... more

Pennies From Heaven

By Rich Lowry (Jan 14, 2008)

The housing market is caught in a downward spiral that might last the rest of this year, and banks are struggling under a staggering burden of bad loans that has created... more

Revenge of the Lunch Buckets

By Rich Lowry (Jan 10, 2008)

Can hope pay the bills? Can it get people health insurance? Can it boost the minimum wage? Can it run the White House? By the time they voted on Tuesday, New... more

Liberal Fascism

By Rich Lowry (Jan 07, 2008)

The f-bomb of American politics is the word "fascist," routinely hurled by the left at conservatives. Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater were smeared as incipient... more