First, let me be clear: There has been political intimidation of the Internal Revenue Service and other government agencies for partisan purposes. Read more »

Unconstitutional. Sweeping. Secretive. Abusive. Harassing. Read more »

Red-faced Republicans, circling and preparing to pounce on a second-term Democratic president they loathe, do not respect, and certainly do not fear. Sound familiar? Perhaps reminiscent of Bill Clinton’s second term, after the Monica Lewinsky story broke? During that time, Republicans became so consumed by their hatred of Clinton and their conviction that this event would bring him down that they convinced themselves the rest of the country was just as outraged by his behavior as they were. By the way, what was Clinton’s lowest Gallup job-approval rating in his second term, throughout the travails of investigations and impeachment? It was 53 percent. The conservative echo machine had worked itself into such a frenzy, the GOP didn’t realize that the outrage was largely confined to the ranks of those who never voted for Clinton anyway. Read more »

As a tactical matter, a subterranean campaign will score more direct hits on the president. Read more »

By enraging the base and strengthening the faction least willing to compromise with Obama, the IRS and Benghazi affairs could hurt a GOP shot at the presidency. Read more »

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has learned, to his chagrin, that solving problems, much less finding compromises, is not on the agenda of a majority of his House Republican colleagues. Read more »

George W. Bush lost control of Congress when voters lost trust of his ability to manage government. Obama faces the same threat in 2014. Read more »

It's not just Benghazi. By tying herself closely to Obama, she'll have trouble distancing herself if scandal worsens. Read more »

President Obama and his administration now find themselves in the middle of not one but two tough situations: the tragic killing of four Americans at a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, and the Internal Revenue Service’s scrutiny of tea-party and other conservative groups. At best, they are cases of bad mishandling and embarrassment; at worst, they rise to the level of legitimate and consequential scandals. At this point, the significance of each is more in the eye of the beholder. Liberals and Democrats tend to de-emphasize both affairs, while many conservatives and Republicans think that each rises to the level of impeachment. It will take time to know which end of this ridiculously broad spectrum of assessments proves to be more accurate. Read more »

Forget Mark Sanford’s win in the Palmetto State. The race to watch this year is Virginia’s gubernatorial contest. Read more »