The Presidency | AEIdeas

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Politics and Public Opinion, The Presidency

President Obama’s White House counsel knew about the IRS targeting weeks before the president

Peter J. Wallison | May 20, 2013, 12:12 pm

Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that President Obama’s White House counsel was told about the IRS targeting of Tea Party groups weeks before this policy was made public by the IRS. Purportedly, this information was not passed to President Obama. … read more >

Pethokoukis, Politics and Public Opinion, The Presidency

Scandals may shut the door on Obama’s progressive experiment

James Pethokoukis | May 14, 2013, 9:37 am

Democrats and left-wing pundits have long argued that Barack Obama would be their Ronald Reagan, a president who significantly shifted the nation’s political and economic landscape. With reelection and a second term, as Andrew Sullivan wrote last September, Obama would … read more >

Politics and Public Opinion, The Presidency

Of presidents and duty

Charles Murray | April 22, 2013, 11:00 am

I have been examining the inaugural addresses of all the presidents to see how their description of the American project has changed over the years. In the course of this, I ran across an intriguing finding: Presidents don’t talk about … read more >

U.S. President Barack Obama, who won a second term in office by defeating Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, waves as he addresses supporters during his election night victory rally in Chicago, November 7, 2012. REUTERS/Jim Bourg

Politics and Public Opinion, The Presidency

Scholars respond to the State of the Union

Brittany French | February 13, 2013, 6:00 am

In a State of the Union address last night that covered everything from health care reform to education, climate change to gun control legislation, President Obama laid out his extremely ambitious liberal agenda that has many wondering just how in … read more >

President Obama addresses a special joint session of Congress

Politics and Public Opinion, The Presidency

All of Obama’s first-term SOTU addresses in one word cloud

Henrik Temp | February 12, 2013, 12:05 pm

We’re big fans of Wordle’s word cloud generator here at AEIdeas. With President Obama’s State of the Union address tonight, I thought it would be fun to put the transcript of each of his first four SOTU speeches into one … read more >

Image Credit: Barack Obama Flickr stream

Politics and Public Opinion, The Presidency

Sneak peek at the State of the Union with AEI experts

Brittany French | February 11, 2013, 6:00 am

Tuesday, President Obama will deliver his fourth State of the Union address, a speech White House aides say will bookend his inaugural address in January. AEI scholars covering issues on the economy, education, health care, and foreign policy weigh in … read more >

Politics and Public Opinion, The Presidency

President Obama’s recess appointments weaken presidency

Peter J. Wallison | January 28, 2013, 9:46 am

President Obama’s decision to use his recess appointment power to appoint three members of the National Labor Relations Board and the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was a monumental blunder that will permanently weaken the presidency. Either he … read more >

Politics and Public Opinion, The Presidency

President Obama’s mandate

Stan Veuger | November 13, 2012, 2:19 pm

President Obama’s man date with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has brought him a second term, and a second-term mandate. After months of ads attacking Governor Romney’s career and character, President Obama spent the most crucial part of his campaign … read more >

Politics and Public Opinion, The Presidency

More of the same?

Stan Veuger | November 13, 2012, 1:37 pm

President Obama won reelection a week ago. It may be somewhat premature to judge the totality of his accomplishments during this second term based on the time that has passed since, but enough has become clear to come to a … read more >

Pethokoukis, Politics and Public Opinion, The Presidency

Obama, a product of George McGovern’s America

James Pethokoukis | October 23, 2012, 12:55 pm

The problem for Republicans, as a friend recently put it, is that the small George McGovern minority from 1972 is now a slight majority in 2012 America. That places a cap, for the moment at least, on how well a … read more >