WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND By Douglas Cohn and Eleanor Clift WASHINGTON – The Congressional Budget Office is one of the rare honest brokers left in Washington, where extreme partisanship has inflamed so many of the town’s institutions. In two of the non-partisan CBO’s most recent reports, there was something for both sides left and right, to consider […]

WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND By Douglas Cohn and Eleanor Clift WASHINGTON – A top official at the U.S. State Department was recently heard using an epithet when referring to the European Union because of its indecision over Ukraine. Since then, the protests in Kiev, the capital city, have spiraled out of control, and the government has responded […]

WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND By Douglas Cohn and Eleanor Clift WASHINGTON – Speaker John Boehner couldn’t believe House Republicans didn’t applaud him for getting the “monkey off their back” when he relied on Democratic votes to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. Almost all Republicans voted against the measure; just 28 joined all but 2 Democrats to support […]

WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND By Douglas Cohn and Eleanor Clift WASHINGTON – The varied careers of Shirley Temple Black, a child star who went into politics, spans a time when a succession of Republican presidents occupied the White House and moderation was a touchstone for the party, instead of a rejected ideology. President Nixon, a fellow Californian, […]

IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11 December 2014 WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND Today’s Events in Historical Perspective America’s Longest-Running Column, Founded 1932 To torture or not to torture By Douglas Cohn and Eleanor Clift WASHINGTON – With the release by the U.S. Senate of the report on the CIA’s use of torture during the George W. Bush presidency, a complex […]

WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND By Douglas Cohn and Eleanor Clift WASHINGTON – President Obama summoned his top commanders to the White House on Tuesday after reports surfaced that Afghan President Karzai had been meeting secretly with the Taliban, jeopardizing the future of the U.S. mission once combat troops are withdrawn at the end of this year. Seeking to […]

WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND By Douglas Cohn and Eleanor Clift WASHINGTON – The most significant takeaways from President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address are contained in one phrase: “Executive Orders.” Every president has used them. President Bill Clinton was overruled by the Supreme Court when he attempted to deny federal contracts to companies that employed […]

WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND By Douglas Cohn and Eleanor Clift WASHINGTON – One of the first things a political junkie notices when visiting a red state like Kentucky is how many Democrats hold top elective offices. President Obama took note of this phenomenon when he put the spotlight on Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear during the State of the […]

WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND By Douglas Cohn and Eleanor Clift WASHINGTON – President Obama has ordered the U.S. military into position to evacuate the U.S. delegation and American athletes from Sochi if that should become necessary.  This could be seen as a slap at Russian President Putin, but given all the ominous signals relating to security in […]

WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND By Douglas Cohn and Eleanor Clift WASHINGTON – One of the top Oscar nominees for best picture is “American Hustle,” a fictionalized version of a 1970s-era scandal that sent seven members of Congress to jail on charges of bribery and conspiracy.  “Abscam” was the FBI’s code name for the operation that would have […]