President Obama’s request that NASA work on “outreach” to the Muslim world coupled with his budget cuts will gut an agency that has long stood for American technical leadership.  more

When Barack Obama began “engaging” with Iran, he explicitly cited Nixon’s historic opening to China as an example. But one need not be a geopolitician to see that none of the same conditions apply.  more

The administration says it plans to raise over $36 billion in new revenues by eliminating what it calls “subsidies” for domestic oil and gas production. The likely result of President Obama’s decision to come after the energy industry will only be increased oil imports from overseas.  more

Well, one thing we can say for sure about President Obama after Wednesday’s State of the Union: Bill Clinton, he ain’t.  more

Obama once described his public speaking abilities to Harry Reid as a “gift.” Now, as he prepares for his State of the Union address, the Beltway chattering class is allowing itself to ask a previously unutterable question: “Is Obama really that good of a speaker?”  more

Scott Brown’s landslide victory was clearly achieved by nationalizing the race around the most unexpected issue of all: healthcare.  more

Larry Summers, the man in charge of guiding the economy for the Obama administration, famously lost his job as Harvard’s president when he offended the gods of political correctness. But in an eye-popping story, the Boston Globe recounts the reason he ought to have lost his position.  more

Maybe the better analogy is not David’s “prizefare” but one from the corporate world: This Nobel for Obama is a pair of golden handcuffs for Uncle Sam.  more

The American public must face the truth that there are no quick and easy solutions towards a green energy policy.  more

Ever since oil hit $147 a barrel last summer, analysts predicting “peak oil” – the point at which oil production begins sliding inexorably – have had a field day. Perhaps it’s true, but the earth doesn’t seem to want to cooperate, at least not yet. Case in point: BP yesterday announced the discovery of a “giant” oil field in the Gulf of Mexico.  more

Obama’s best bet for salvaging his agenda is to “pull a Clinton” and move to the political center. Yet there is no evidence the president is so inclined or even able to do so.  more

Has anyone noticed how economic expectations have changed since the advent of The One? Though there is no objective reason to have any faith that the Obama economic program will produce economic growth and lower unemployment, the will to believe among the media elite remains powerful.  more

Historically, natural gas has never been a leading player in the world energy story. But now, with the recent discoveries of plentiful new domestic sources, natural gas can provide a cleaner, economic and more secure energy source.  more

For Obama, a president who cares too much about what is written and said about him, the last month and a half must have been hellish. Despite his “cool” image, I don’t think our president is taking the pressure well.  more

Six Democratic administrations were elected in the 20th century. Five of them ended in economic and foreign policy chaos. The only one that didn’t – Clinton’s – ended in his own personal brand of chaos.  more

Recent stories that reveal President Obama’s leadership style as a “micromanager” have drawn comparisons to Jimmy Carter — who famously took over the scheduling of the White House tennis courts. Our best presidents have not been micromanagers. Should we be worried? Yes.  more

The Obama administration, insists that the economy would be even worse if it had not pushed through its stimulus package earlier this year. But now news shows that Europe actually seems to be on the cusp of recovery, with both France and Germany showing second quarter growth. Sarkozy and Merkel, of course, famously refused to follow Obama down stimulus alley.  more

The Dems are finally discovering what should have been obvious from the sea of gray and white heads in evidence in all those town hall videos: senior citizens loathe Obamacare.  more

So the unemployment rate went up to 9.4% this morning. Or did it? If you strongly suspect that the unemployment rate is higher than that, you will find support in the columns of John Crudele at the New York Post, one of the more unjustly overlooked business columnists. (Because of his venue, I suspect.) He has been   more

I knew Bob Samuelson slightly back in the 1980s, and he always struck me as a reasonable liberal, one for whom facts matter. His most recent piece in Newsweek is of the type that those of us in the energy industry wish we could generate. I especially like the way he makes clear a distinction that our industry just   more