Obama the “Good Czar”

By: Nick Ottens (Diary)  |  September 5th at 10:03 AM  | 

There’s an old myth in Russian politics that’s shielded whoever occupied the Kremlin since the days of the czars from personal criticism. It holds that the ruler himself is never to blame for the terrible policies of his administration. The czar, according to this myth, is ever the fatherly good doer but surrounded by unscrupulous advisors who are conspiring to make life as hard as | Read More »

D.J. Dionne’s Selective Memory

By: Nick Ottens (Diary)  |  May 30th at 05:52 PM  | 

Writing for The Washington Post, E.J. Dionne argues that the debate about government spending in America is distracting people from the question how public and private resources can best be brought to bear in an effort to enhance the nation’s competitiveness. Other countries, he believes, are way ahead of the curve. While the United States is not even sure we should have gone halfway toward | Read More »