The new Iraqi constitution is the right answer to the wrong question. As a document, the Iraqi constitution is hard to fault. It is a democratic, federalist document that protects the rights of individuals while acknowledging Iraq’s Islamic traditions.
But anybody hoping that this new constitution will make much of a difference — one way   more

Former Bush speech writer David Frum, in “National Review Online”, on the President’s failure to sell the war:
By now it should be clear that President Bush’s words on the subject of Iraq have ceased connecting with the American public. His speech [this week] to the Veterans of Foreign Wars is the latest–and one of   more

There’s a lot to learn from the Michaelle Jean story. Very little of it is pleasant. But almost all of it is important.
First, Canadians have learned some important things about the character of their prime minister, Paul Martin.
If Martin’s principal secretary Helene Scherrer is to be believed, Martin selected Jean on the basis   more

This summerÕs noisy protests against the Iraq war are a dangerous warning – but not dangerous to President Bush. They are dangerous to the Democratic party. And the great political question in the United States over the next few months is: Will the Democrats succumb?
No question, President Bush has political problems. A majority of   more

Modern spin doctors teach clients in trouble a very special kind of non-denial denial:
Q: “Did your company dump toxins into Lake Dithers?”
A: “I am very proud of my company’s environmental record.”
Q: “Was that you in those photographs frolicking with bikini babes in Bimini?”
A: “My wife and I are fully committed to   more

“I’m not particularly interested in talking to somebody who wants to break my country up.”–Paul Martin, June 23, 2004.
- – -
Well, that was then. Today, the Prime Minister stands accused of designating just such a somebody to represent the Queen in Canada. Of course, it’s possible that the somebody in question has changed her   more

Why is Ariel Sharon evacuating Gaza?
It is not because he believes that a decent Palestinian state will emerge after the Israelis withdraw. Nobody believes that. The almost universal consensus among experts on the region is that post- occupation Gaza will become a Mediterranean Somalia: an unstable failed state in which gangs compete for power   more

If there’s any one person in Canada entitled to be outraged by the choice of Michaelle Jean as the new governor-general — and there are many — it is surely Adrienne Clarkson.
Like Clarkson or dislike her, there’s no disputing that she was a large figure in Canadian life for more than three decades when   more

Does George W. Bush owe his re-election victory to Canada? It’s a serious question–and some important new reporting suggests that the answer may be “yes.”
But maybe I should back up and start from the beginning.
American political scientists have long noticed the difference between voter turnout in Canada and the United States. Two countries,   more