Our Thinking

February 2010 Blog Posts

Satisfaction Guaranteed or No Money Back
Posted 02/22/10

Having watched Bill Clinton’s presidency from the vantage point of a Republican on Capitol Hill, I became used to a smart administration that could turn on a dime to reflect changing political realities.  If the direction the President was going didn’t work or he was roundly criticized for a decision, a different tack was adopted.  More often than not, it seemed that the President consistently got the upper hand on the loyal opposition and maintained high approval ratings for most of his eight years.  

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How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Filibuster
Posted 02/19/10

Chaos Theory and the United States Senate

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Let the races begin…
Posted 02/02/10

Tuesday, February 2, marks the beginning of the 2010 elections.  Illinois, the home state of President Barack Obama, hosts the first primary in the nation.  This will be followed a month later by a big primary in Texas.  Then the primary season begins in earnest in May, with a majority of states holding their elections before the end of June.

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Building a Sustainable Haiti
Posted 02/01/10

From Capitol Hill to the blogosphere, people are talking about how best to rebuild Haiti. This past week, Senator John Kerry convened a meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to question experts on the best path forward. While both Senators and witnesses were appropriately hesitant to talk about the current tragic state of affairs as an “opportunity,” the consensus was clear. The recent earthquake and resulting devastation opens the door to rethink U.S. and international policy towards the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

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