Victor Davis Hanson's Townhall.com Column

The Bad/Good Idea of Removing Assad

2012-05-24T00:01:00-04:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
Who could not despise the tottering Bashar al-Assad dictatorship in Syria? The Syrian strongman has killed some 10,000 protestors over the last year; thousands of Syrians are now refugees.

Let Sleeping Germans Lie

2012-05-17T00:01:00-04:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
The newly elected French Socialist president, Francois Hollande, is warning Germany that Mediterranean ideas of "growth," not Germanic "austerity," should be the new European creed. No surprise there -- reckless debtors often blame their own past imprudence on greedy creditors, especially if the latter are supposed to be guilt-ridden over causing two world wars.

Chameleon Nation

2012-05-11T12:00:00-04:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
Sometimes a trivial embarrassment can become a teachable moment. It was recently revealed that Harvard professor and U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren had self-identified as a Native American for nearly a decade -- apparently to enhance her academic career by claiming minority status. Warren, a blond multimillionaire, could not substantiate her claim of 1/32 Cherokee heritage.

Cabinets Gone Wild

2012-05-03T00:01:00-04:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
We've had some unusual Cabinet secretaries in past administrations -- Earl Butz, John Mitchell and James Watt come to mind -- but never anything quite like the present bunch.

Decline or Decadence?

2012-04-26T00:01:00-04:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
Almost daily we read of America's "waning power" and "inevitable decline," as observers argue over the consequences of defense cuts and budget crises.

When Administrations Implode

2012-04-19T00:01:00-04:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
Administration meltdowns are hardly novel. In almost every presidency there comes a moment when sheer chaos takes hold, whether self-induced or as a result of an outside crisis.

Enemies of the People

2012-04-12T00:01:00-04:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
In 2008, a mostly unknown Barack Obama ran for president on an inclusive agenda of "hope and change." That upbeat message was supposed to translate into millions of green jobs, fiscal sobriety, universal health care, a resetting of Bush foreign policy, and racial unity.

Freedom or Fairness in 2012?

2012-04-05T00:01:00-04:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
2012 should prove to be an ideological election about the economy. Not all campaigns are so clear cut. Sometimes moderate Republicans raise taxes (like George H.W. Bush did); at other times, pragmatic Democrats cut spending (like Bill Clinton did).

The Second Oil Revolution

2012-03-29T00:01:00-04:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
The world was reinvented in the 1970s by soaring oil prices and massive transfers of national wealth. It could be again if the price of petroleum crashes -- a real possibility given the amazing estimates about the new gas and oil reserves on the North American continent.

Faith-Based Energy Policy

2012-03-22T00:01:00-04:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
When the summer driving season starts soon, and tension heats up over Iran, gas may reach $5 a gallon. Nothing bothers voters more than paying an extra $20 or $30 every time they fill up. In times like these, they soon might prefer even an oilman in the White House to an ideologue whose opposition to new oil development seems more religious than empirically based.

Who's to Blame For California?

2012-03-15T00:01:00-04:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
In so-called "March in March" protests, thousands of students in California universities recently demonstrated in outrage over spiraling tuition costs.

Sick and Tired of the Middle East

2012-03-08T00:01:00-05:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
Americans -- left, right, Democrats and Republicans -- are all sick of thankless nation-building in the Middle East. Yet democratization was not our first choice, but rather a last resort after prior failures.

History Never Quite Ends

2012-03-01T00:01:00-05:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
The European Union and the United Nations, as well as globalization and advanced technology, were all supposed to trump age-old cultural, geographical and national differences and bring people together.

Jeremy Lin: Achievement Trumps Identity Politics

2012-02-23T00:01:00-05:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
Jeremy Lin is the New York Knicks basketball sensation whose so far brief but amazing performance on the court has set the world on fire in a mere month.

Please, A Little Honesty About Illegal Immigration

2012-02-16T00:01:00-05:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
President Barack Obama recently assured El Salvador that the United States would not deport more 200,000 Salvadorans residing illegally in the United States. As the election nears, and the president looks to court Hispanic voters, he also created a new position of "public advocate" for illegal immigrants. His duties would appear to be to advocate that millions circumvent, rather than follow, current federal law.

Iran 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0

2012-02-09T00:01:00-05:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
On the campaign trail, presidential candidate Barack Obama once called for a "reset" policy with Iran.

The un-Obama

2012-02-02T00:01:00-05:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
Barack Obama's favorability in the polls falls when he is himself -- overexposed, hard left in his press conferences, and boastful about legislative achievements like Obamacare and a stimulus of more than $1 trillion.

Fidelity and the Presidency

2012-01-26T00:01:00-05:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
The news media seem obsessed with the serial affairs of a younger Newt Gingrich back in the last century.

Civilization in Reverse

2012-01-19T00:01:00-05:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
In Greek mythology, the prophetess Cassandra was doomed both to tell the truth and to be ignored. Our modern version is a bankrupt Greece that we seem to discount.

Defense Spending Is a Shovel Ready Investment

2012-01-12T00:01:00-05:00

Victor Davis Hanson Column
President Obama just ordered massive cutbacks in defense spending, eventually to total some $500 billion. There is plenty of fat in a Pentagon budget that grew after 9/11, but such slashing goes way too far.