Policy Debate

You would not know it from the GOP debates so far, but the next president of the United States will also be the next leader of the free world. At the recent CNN debate , the candidates spent more time debating Gardasil than national security. This is unacceptable. Voters are understandably focused on jobs right now, but the last five presidents (three Republicans and two Democrats) have deployed U.S. forces in crises and conflicts they did not anticipate before taking office. It is critical that the candidates debate the vital foreign...

I never thought I would write these words, but I agree with Bill O'Reilly (in part). O'Reilly is vigorously defending his statement that opponents of same-sex marriage needed to do more than " thump the Bible " if they wanted to win the debate. In that respect, O'Reilly is right. Now, on the one hand, opponents of full marriage equality for LGBT people will not "win the debate. " In fact, there's no "debate," a fact a substantial majority of the country now recognizes.

As Barack Obama and Mitt Romney prepare for Monday night's debate on foreign policy, they could do some useful last-minute cribbing by reading an article titled " The Risks of Ignoring Strategic Insolvency . " It's one of the best summaries I've seen of an urgent problem they should discuss honestly. The article poses the basic question of whether American power needs to be "resized" to fit a changing world. If the United States fails to trim its ambitions, and tries to stretch its resources ever further to cover all its...

The decision by Boy Scouts of America to postpone any change in policy about gay membership was fueled by an "outpouring of feedback. " Much of that reaction came from a sector with strength in numbers: the religious groups that comprise the majority of the Scouts' chartered organizations. On Monday (Feb. 4), two days before the BSA's announcement, the Religious Relationships Task Force met for a regularly scheduled meeting with an unexpected topic on its agenda: a possible drop of the Scouts' ban on gay members...

I never thought I would write these words, but I agree with Bill O'Reilly (in part). O'Reilly is vigorously defending his statement that opponents of same-sex marriage needed to do more than " thump the Bible " if they wanted to win the debate. In that respect, O'Reilly is right. Now, on the one hand, opponents of full marriage equality for LGBT people will not "win the debate. " In fact, there's no "debate," a fact a substantial majority of the country now recognizes.

Republican Mitt Romney entered Monday night's debate on foreign policy with the goal of presenting himself as a competent, plausible alternative to President Obama as commander in chief. But Romney appeared to cede many positions to Obama, moving closer to the president on a range of issues and presenting them in a softer way. His strategy was clear from the opening question, when he passed up a chance to criticize Obama for his response to the attack on...

President Obama nominated Sen. John F. Kerry on Friday to be the next secretary of state, saying that "in a sense, John's entire life has prepared him for this role. " Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his selection all but guarantees a swift, smooth path to confirmation. The lawmaker has been a frequent foreign policy adviser and confidant to Obama, and his five terms in Congress have gained him bipartisan advocates in the Senate.

Fourth-grader Laura Wilcox , George Mason Elementary School, was named Alexandria City Public Schools poet laureate for reading her poem "Sunrise. " Nottingham Elementary School soloists, duets and fourth- and fifth-grade bands received superior ratings at the Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association District XII Solo and Ensemble Festival. Twenty-two students of the St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School Chapter are on the Cum Laude Society. Class of 2008: Caelinn Moira Comey, Eleonora Maria Teresa...

Tonight's Republican debate is, like the Washington Post-Bloomberg debate last month, focused on economic policy. "Your Money, Your Vote" is the debate's name. Although organizers have said that there will be questions on other topics, that angle gives Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) a great platform to promote his bold economic plan. The "Plan to Restore America" would eliminate five cabinet agencies, along with the Transportation Security Administration. Spending and staffing would be slashed across the...

CHINA APPROACHES a leadership transition late this year amid signs that its investment- and export-led growth model is producing diminishing returns. The giant country has grown roughly 10 percent a year for almost three decades, lifting half a billion people out of poverty with relatively little political turmoil. But the contradictions are mounting: An outmoded system of local government finance, based on sales of state-owned land, is driving a housing bubble; corruption undermines infrastructure projects...

The Obama administration has resolved its legal questions about supporting French military operations in Mali, but an internal debate is ongoing over whether more assistance is in U.S. policy interests. The United States quickly responded to French requests for troop transport airlift and additional intelligence. But a two-week-old French call for U.S. refueling planes for French aircraft striking targets in Mali remains pending, U.S. and French officials said. "What we've been working through...

President Obama nominated Sen. John F. Kerry on Friday to be the next secretary of state, saying that "in a sense, John's entire life has prepared him for this role. " Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his selection all but guarantees a swift, smooth path to confirmation. The lawmaker has been a frequent foreign policy adviser and confidant to Obama, and his five terms in Congress have gained him bipartisan advocates in the Senate.

American foreign policy is not making enough of an effort to contain Islamist extremism, and the consequences are likely to roil not only Afghanistan and Pakistan but, eventually, the wider region and beyond. In 1998, Osama bin Laden described U.S. soldiers as " paper tigers " and predicted that U.S. aversion to war would lead to the success of his ideology. "We have seen in the last decade the decline of the American government and the weakness of the American soldier," bin Laden said in an interview.

The death of George McGovern on the eve of the presidential candidates' foreign policy debate underscored a momentous political reversal spanning four decades. McGovern's nomination for president in 1972, a consequence of the Democratic Party's recoil against the Vietnam War and the riotous convention four years earlier, made the country uneasy about his party regarding national security. Four decades later, however, voters may be more ambivalent about America's world role than at any time since the 1930s.

"The first requirement of a statesman is that he be dull," said Dean Acheson. During the final presidential debate , Mitt Romney was every bit the statesman. On foreign policy issues, he was well informed, earnest and gaffe-free. He refused to take the bait of hypothetical questions or Barack Obama's continual attacks. "Well, of course I don't concur with what the president said about my own record" was about as ferocious as it got. All evening, when Obama unleashed fireworks, Romney smothered them with a blanket.

Republican Mitt Romney entered Monday night's debate on foreign policy with the goal of presenting himself as a competent, plausible alternative to President Obama as commander in chief. But Romney appeared to cede many positions to Obama, moving closer to the president on a range of issues and presenting them in a softer way. His strategy was clear from the opening question, when he passed up a chance to criticize Obama for his response to the attack on the U.S....

News that appeared April 12-17 in The Washington Post that is of interest to readers in Prince William County. Arrest data released by the Prince William County Police Department and analyzed by The Washington Post indicate that 2 percent of the people charged with major violent crimes in the county last year were illegal immigrants. A larger portion of illegal immigrants were arrested for secondary crimes, including prostitution, selling or manufacturing opiate-based drugs or cocaine, public drunkenness and driving without a license.

The death of George McGovern on the eve of the presidential candidates' foreign policy debate underscored a momentous political reversal spanning four decades. McGovern's nomination for president in 1972, a consequence of the Democratic Party's recoil against the Vietnam War and the riotous convention four years earlier, made the country uneasy about his party regarding national security. Four decades later, however, voters may be more ambivalent about America's world role than at any time since the 1930s.

If, at the start of the general election campaign, you told a seasoned political strategist in either party that the fate of the presidential race could well hinge on the foreign-policy-focused third debate, the reaction would have ranged from an eye roll to laughter. And yet, here we are. President Obama and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney head to Boca Raton, Fla., for their final debate Monday night with national polls suggesting that the race is tied and with the terrorist attack...

As Barack Obama and Mitt Romney prepare for Monday night's debate on foreign policy, they could do some useful last-minute cribbing by reading an article titled " The Risks of Ignoring Strategic Insolvency . " It's one of the best summaries I've seen of an urgent problem they should discuss honestly. The article poses the basic question of whether American power needs to be "resized" to fit a changing world. If the United States fails to trim its ambitions, and tries to stretch its resources ever further to...