Ripon Forum September 4, 2009 Even long honeymoons come to an end. Now six months into his term as President, Barack Obama’s long-enjoyed popularity is starting to show signs of wear. Recent polls show his approval rating slowly declining, and dipping below 50% for the first time in his presidency on July 24th. The drop is particularly pronounced among unaffiliated voters, with whom Obama now has only a 37% approval rating. This trend line raises several questions: what has Obama done to precipitate this decline? And what opportunity does that open for Republicans? [...]

The Record September 4, 2009 It is a shame that the current health care debate hardly resembles a debate — rather, it has devolved into a screaming match among the fiercest partisans on both sides. [...]

Press of Atlantic City August 26, 2009 It’s been more than a month since “corruption Thursday” – that day in July when 44 of New Jersey’s political leaders were led in to federal court in handcuffs. Since that time, I hope New Jerseyans have not forgotten the shame and embarrassment these supposed leaders brought to our state. They have perpetuated a stereotype of New Jersey I have spent my life fighting and they once again shattered what little trust the voters have in their elected officials. While political corruption is unfortunately an all-too-common occurrence in our state, I hope that these latest arrests – if only for their sheer magnitude – will motivate enough New Jerseyans to say, “enough is enough.” [...]

The Record August 4, 2009 I hope that I am not alone in feeling angry, frustrated and disgusted at the scene on July 23 as 44 handcuffed individuals — primarily public officials — in New Jersey were being ushered into court on corruption charges. After an entire school bus of assemblymen, mayors, council members and political operatives unloaded in front of the courthouse in Newark, the late night talk show hosts and Op-Ed Page writers across the state had their fill of material for the next few weeks. [...]