Jonah Goldberg

When will liberals stop living in the past? Specifically, when will they accept that they aren't all that stands between a wonderful, tolerant America and Jim Crow? I... more

On Friday, in his moving and heartfelt statement in response to the horrific shooting in Newtown, Conn., President Obama said, "As a country, we have been through this too... more

To understand why Republicans have a "branding problem," you first need to understand how the system is rigged against conservatives. Such is the schizophrenic dysfunction... more

In the scramble to make the GOP more diverse, a lot of people are looking at Asian Americans, whom many believe are a natural constituency for the party. I would love it if... more

When, at long last, will people understand that the left is boring? The question came to mind as I was dipping in and out of Oliver Stone's miasmic 700-plus-page tome.... more

If Hollywood remade "The Graduate" and set it in 1980, the one word the businessman would have for Dustin Hoffman's character wouldn't be "plastics." It'd be "medallions."... more

It's at times like this I'm ashamed to admit I live inside the Beltway. Well, that's probably not specific enough since I'm usually ashamed to admit I live inside the... more

What do you call a leader of a theocratic and cultish movement with a deep and clear disdain for democracy who suddenly assumes dictatorial powers? A "moderate," of... more

If the GOP wants to win more black votes, it will need to get a lot more "racist." The scare quotes are necessary because I don't think the Republican Party is racist... more

President Obama has several stated ambitions for his presidency. He wants it to be "transformative." He wants to unite Americans of all parties. He wants to build an economy... more

William F. Buckley once noted that he was 19 when the Cold War began at the Yalta conference. The year the Berlin Wall came down, he became a senior citizen. In other words,... more

The conservative Gotterdammerung is finally here. "Like dazed survivors in a ravaged city, America's conservatives are wailing and beating their collective breasts," opines... more

The Progressives won on Tuesday. I don't mean the people who voted Democrat who call themselves "progressive." Though they won, too. I mean the Progressives who've... more

In the last week or so, an intense kerfuffle broke out over the poll-prognosticator Nate Silver and his blog at the New York Times, FiveThirtyEight. Silver, a statistician,... more

If President Obama had the time for some introspection on the campaign trail, he might take offense at all the media speculation (and in many cases wishful thinking gussied... more

If you want to understand why conservatives have lost faith in the so-called mainstream media, you need to ponder the question: Where is the Benghazi feeding... more

In the third and final debate, Barack Obama scored huge points with the media, college kids and die-hard liberals -- in other words, his base -- when he mocked Mitt Romney's... more

I suspect most voters watching Monday night's debate found it pretty boring. President Obama wanted to force Mitt Romney into saying something stupid. Romney didn't take... more

It was arguably Ronald Reagan's favorite joke. In one version, two kids -- one an optimist, the other a pessimist -- rush downstairs on Christmas morning. The pessimistic... more

Apparently, Paul Ryan and Joe Biden are both theocrats willing, nay eager, to use state power to impose their religious views on the rest of us. In last week's vice... more

"Now Gov. Romney believes that with even bigger tax cuts for the wealthy, and fewer regulations on Wall Street, all of us will prosper. In other words, he'd double down on... more

It was the Puss in Boots eyes. If you've seen the "Shrek" movies or the spin-off cartoon starring the storybook cat voiced by Antonio Banderas, you know... more

We're now entering the fourth week of the "CSI: Benghazi" hostage crisis. That's how long an FBI forensic team has been trying to gain access in Libya to what the State... more

We like tribalism for the same reason we like to eat fatty foods: We evolved that way. Homo sapiens didn't survive long on the African savannas as rugged individualists.... more

The Oval Office isn't the place to learn on the job. That was the line from both Hillary Clinton and John McCain in 2008. In fairness, that's always the argument the more... more

"No One Murdered Because Of This Image." That was a recent headline from The Onion, the often hilarious parody newspaper. The image in question is really not... more

The Obama administration's omnibus answer to why the Middle East (and now much of the Muslim world) is in near open rebellion against the United States: The video did it. ... more

An incendiary video about the prophet Muhammad, "Innocence of Muslims," was blamed for the mob attacks on our embassies in Libya and Egypt (and later, Yemen). In Libya,... more

"Forward" is a perfectly appropriate slogan for progressives. Progress suggests forward or upward motion. That's why revolutionaries and radicals as well as liberal... more

Charlotte, N.C. -- Going by the conventional rules of American politics, the Democratic Convention this week was an unmitigated disaster. And, going by the same rules, GOP... more

CHARLOTTE -- A few years ago, it was fashionable for Democrats to describe themselves as "members of the reality-based community." These days, it seems the foreclosure crisis... more

You have to feel a little sorry for Team Obama as they squirm to explain why the question "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" is so unfair. After... more

In 2004, Arnold Schwarzenegger, then a popular figure in the Republican Party, gave an exciting, upbeat and surprisingly funny speech at the GOP convention. He covered a... more

TAMPA, Fla. -- Huzzah, America, our centuries-old struggle with racism and bigotry may be coming to an end. This news was confirmed by none other than Michael Eric... more

Todd Akin's idiocy appears to be infectious. The evil genius of the Missouri congressman's comments is that they lend themselves to such broad interpretations -- and... more

If it hasn't completely vanished down the memory hole, you might recall that last week a man walked into the headquarters of the conservative Family Research Council with a... more

In 1995, Barack Obama released "Dreams From My Father," a compelling memoir full of stories about his life that -- though often not exactly true -- persuaded many people that... more

One of the few things Americans on both sides of the partisan divide can agree on is that this election is shaping up to be vexingly petty. The hunt for gaffes -- some real,... more

"A friend of mine, a Hispanic entrepreneur, asked me a question some time ago. He said, 'When is the last time you saw a Hispanic panhandler?' I think it's a great question.... more

This is shaping up to be the second election in a row that's about someone who isn't on the ballot: George W. Bush. In 2008, Barack Obama won in no small part by... more

What drives Barack Obama's "doubters and haters"? So asks Obama biographer David Maraniss in a recent op-ed article for the Washington Post. By doubters and haters he... more

In the aftermath of the Aurora, Colo., slaughter, the question went forth on all of the political chatter shows: "Will this reopen the debate over gun control?" That's the... more

If ABC News does fire Brian Ross, he could always find a job working for Aaron Sorkin. Ross, a veteran investigative reporter for ABC News, blew it Friday morning when he... more

"If you've been successful, you didn't get there on your own. ... If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in... more

It was one of Barack Obama's best lines -- and best moments -- in the 2008 presidential campaign. He had said we could save as much oil as we could get from domestic... more

Those of us who believe the United States would be best served by pulling out of the United Nations and starting up a more morally and politically serious clubhouse for... more

Why aren't more people furious about the Libor scandal? That's a question mostly being asked on the political left these days, and they're right to ask it. Here are the... more

The late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously remarked that, "The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics, that determines the success of a society.... more

In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act (aka "Obamacare"), NPR's "Talk of the Nation" held a seminar of sorts at the Aspen Institute's... more

Why not just cut open a goat and be done with it? In ancient Rome, a special kind of priest called a haruspex would "read" the entrails of sheep to divine the will of the... more

It's a sure sign someone is losing when he demands that the rules be changed. That might explain the renewed interest in forcing people to vote against their will. Peter... more

It's becoming increasingly clear that President Obama is not burdened with too heavy a commitment to honesty. This is hardly a shock about any politician, but revelations... more

Is it time to start talking about the inevitable demise of the Democratic Party? Since the 1990s there's been a thriving cottage industry of doomsaying about the... more

My daughter learned a neat rhetorical trick to avoid eating things she doesn't like. "Daddy, I actually really like spinach, it's just that this spinach... more

The 1990 Italian film "Everybody's Fine" is one of the most depressing films I've ever seen. Starring the late Marcello Mastroianni, it's the story of an old man who tells... more

Watching Bill Clinton act as Barack Obama's "No. 1 surrogate," in the words of National Public Radio, is as exquisitely painful as watching a runaway monkey with a paintball... more

Compromise has always been a holy word for the Washington establishment. But against the backdrop of ever-increasing anxiety over our fiscal dysfunction, most particularly... more

One of my heroes, Irving Kristol, used to say that there's nothing wrong with the country a bad recession couldn't fix. Kristol (father of the more famous Bill, by the... more

It was interesting while it lasted. But it looks like the "green revolution" has entered the long slide into "What was all that about?" In January, the Spanish... more

Here's a simple suggestion for Mitt Romney: Admit that the Democrats have a point. Right before the Memorial Day weekend, Washington was consumed by a debate over how much... more

Jack Andraka, a 15-year-old kid from Maryland, just won the world's largest high school science competition by creating a new test for pancreatic cancer, one of the nastiest... more

"This is not a distraction, this is what this campaign is going to be about," President Obama said Monday at the NATO summit. The "this" in question is Mitt Romney's tenure... more

This is the season of generational twaddle. At graduation ceremonies across the country, politicians, authors, actors and businessmen take to the stage to tell young people... more

Perhaps Mitt Romney played it right when he was meek and contrite in response to the Washington Post's front-page allegations that he bullied a kid half a century ago in high... more

For most of 2012, President Obama has been running in the Democratic primary. I know that seems odd given that he's essentially running unopposed. Though don't... more

"If Mitt Romney can be pushed around, intimidated, coerced, co-opted by a conservative radio talk show host in Middle America, then how is he going to stand up to the... more

"They do that because they were born that way." If you say that about homosexuals, you are tolerant and realistic. If you say it about blacks, you are racist (unless... more

Washington is full of nerds. I know. I speak nerd, not fluently mind you, at least not anymore. But I certainly know more than a few phrases memorized from a Berlitz... more

With the Supreme Court taking up Arizona's "show me your papers" immigration law, we're once again thrust into a useful debate over the role of the government and the... more

Jon Corzine left Goldman Sachs with a net worth far exceeding even that of Mitt Romney today. Many accounts of his tenure at Goldman suggest he "failed up" the corporate... more

It's going to be bait and switch for as far as the eye can see. That's how it looks now that the smoke has cleared after the recent "Mommy War" skirmish over... more

"The choice in this election is between an economy that produces a growing middle class and that gives people a chance to get ahead and their kids a chance to get ahead, and... more

President Obama's re-election largely hinges on his ability to play young voters for suckers -- again -- and whether Mitt Romney will let him. In 2008, Obama won... more

In his Wisconsin victory speech last Tuesday, Mitt Romney said, "Washington has to become an ally of business, not the opposition of business." This to me is a more... more

  In his speech before the Newspapers Association of America/American Society of News Editors Wednesday, likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney accused the... more

It looks as if it's going to be Mitt Romney after all. With Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush endorsing the former Massachusetts governor last week, there aren't any white... more

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg likes the Indian Healthcare Improvement Act and other ingredients of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka... more

"White Hispanic." That's how the New York Times, Reuters and other media outlets have opted to describe George Zimmerman, a man who would simply be Hispanic if he hadn't shot... more

There's a great old "Fawlty Towers" scene (if you're unfamiliar with the 1970s British sitcom, hie thyself to YouTube!) in which Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), an innkeeper,... more

The bleating about broken government and partisanship continues. "Why can't those boobs in Washington agree on anything?" We're constantly told that the way to fix the... more

Warning: What you are about to read is a deeply cynical view of the 2012 election. If you're looking for puppies and rainbows, check back with me another... more

As gasoline prices climb, President Obama's poll numbers plummet. In February, a Washington Post/ABC poll had Obama up 6 points against Mitt Romney. Monday's poll has him... more

There's a great scene in the movie "The Right Stuff" where the original Mercury astronauts are checking out the capsule for their first trips to space. They're horrified to... more

In 1984, Mario Cuomo pioneered the argument that one may be "personally opposed" to abortion, while supporting abortion rights. Ever since, this convenient locution has... more

Andrew Breitbart's heart was too big to fail, but it did anyway. If you don't know who Breitbart was, you haven't been paying attention. A conservative activist,... more

There's no disputing that Republicans are surly these days. With the exception of South Carolina, turnout among GOP voters has been tepid. Hordes of commentators,... more

"If we could just take a little bit from each of them." I've lost track of how many people I have heard say some version of this in the last couple of months. The "each... more

"My rival in this race," President Obama announced early in 2007, "is not other candidates. It's cynicism." It's now clear that what he meant by this was other people's... more

If you're not with us, you're against us. President Bush popularized this expression after 9/11 to describe his foreign policy doctrine: Countries couldn't support or indulge... more

OK, I give up. About a week ago, I wrote a column making a case for Mitt Romney as the GOP nominee. My argument was aimed at fellow conservatives who just can't get their... more

The governments in Russia and China very much want to uphold the principle that every now and then the state must crush people who want freedom. That is why they worked... more

Years ago a friend told me a story from her days living in South America. The movie "Wayne's World" had come out, and she went to see it. She spoke English, but it was... more

Jesse Jackson is right. In response to the face-off in Arizona between President Obama and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer last week, Jackson said, "Even George Wallace did not... more

  President Obama's State of the Union address was disgusting. The president began with a moving tribute to the armed forces and their accomplishments.... more

Newtzilla is back. Six weeks ago, during the last Newt Gingrich surge, I wrote here that "conventional weapons are useless against Newtzilla. ... Everything bad about... more

"In the Treasury we do not speak of tons of silver. Our unit is the troy ounce." That was the response from some bureaucrat when Leslie Groves, the man who oversaw the... more

"Corporations are people, my friend," Mitt Romney declared in a testy back-and-forth with hecklers last summer in Iowa. It was among the first of what appears to be a... more

One thing is clear: At best, Mitt Romney is a work in progress. Romney is under attack for being a hugely successful private equity banker at Bain Capital. Bain identified... more

Mitt Romney is the most improbable of presidential candidates: a weak juggernaut. He is poised to sweep every primary contest -- a first for a non-incumbent. And yet, in... more

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a man whose political success is largely attributable to the aura of befuddled incompetence he uses to disarm his adversaries, was a... more