Lanny Davis

The attacks on Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker (D) by the more vitriolic liberal commentators for what he said about Bain Capital on this past Sunday's Meet the Press are just as indefensible as the Republican Party's cynical and dishonest attempt to exploit and distort what the mayor actually said...

Last week, I believe President Obama got it right when he told ABC's Robin Roberts, "For me personally ... I think same-sex couples should be able to get married."

It was also a politically brave decision for Obama. Just the day before, in the critical battleground state of North...

Virtually every poll in the last two weeks -- Gallup, Democracy Corps, USA Today, Rasmussen, New York Times/CBS -- shows that Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are in a dead heat nationally as well as in the nine battleground states.

For Obama, is this glass half-full...

Attorney General Eric Holder has been the subject of vicious partisan personal attacks on his integrity over the failed "gun walking" operation, "Fast and Furious." The hypocrisy of the double standard by congressional Republicans is obvious.

The chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Darrell Issa (R-Calif.),...

Sometime in 1973, I first heard the name Charles Colson from my father at the dinner table. My dad, who always told me he "hated" President Nixon, told me that night that he also "hated" a man named Charles Colson, who had the title "special counsel to the president." He...

One of my favorite scenes from the classic musical comedy Fiddler on the Roof is when the lovable lead character in the Russian Jewish village of Anatevka, Tevye, is trying to referee an argument between two men.

When one of them finishes his point, Tevye turns to him and says,...

For anyone interested in understanding why one of the great institutions of democratic government in the world -- the United States Senate -- has become so dysfunctional and paralyzed by partisanship, Ira Shapiro's recently published book The Last Great Senate: Courage and Statesmanship in Times of Crisis (Public Affairs, New...

Among the most hypocritical aspects of certain purist Democrats who call themselves liberals is their willingness to attack any Democrat who veers even slightly from liberal orthodoxy.

Sadly, their attacks almost always turn personal, substituting name-calling for thoughtful analysis of the facts.

Oregon...

As someone who has been personally attacked by Rush Limbaugh many times, I yield to no one in my strong disagreement with Limbaugh on virtually everything. I consider his opinions too often hateful, inaccurate and despicable. That is my opinion.

What Limbaugh said about Sandra Fluke --...

The definition of tax reform, in today's polarized politics, goes something like this:

Don't tax you, don't tax me,
Tax the other guy behind the tree.

Let's face it -- Republicans believe in tax reform if it means reducing taxes on the wealthy....

To watch four hours of the so-called documentary on the eight years of the Clinton presidency gave me the sensation of a report about a glass of water that is 75 percent full and 25 percent empty. The PBS presentation, I am guessing, spent 75 percent of the four hours...

"So now we have a problem, Governor," said Gov. Romney's mythical Spinmeister.

"What problem? We just won the Florida primary and the Nevada caucuses, and we destroyed Gingrich with tens of millions of dollars of ads attacking his character -- so what's the problem?" the governor...

The Republicans are making a big mistake by assuming they can successfully depict Barack Obama as an out-of-the-mainstream leftist. They are making it easier for him to move to the center, where he actually has been for most of his years in politics.

In fact, by the time the...

President Obama's State of the Union speech Tuesday night framed the issues in a way that polls show commands a majority of the American people's support. Unless Republicans find a way to reframe the debate -- and I don't see how they can -- or change their position on the...

It might be unseemly to bring this up just as Mitt Romney celebrates his win in New Hampshire on Tuesday night and seems to be a strong front-runner for the GOP nomination. But the story of his putting his dog in a carrier on his car roof for a 12-hour...

It doesn't matter if Mitt Romney wins the Iowa caucuses tonight or not. He is about to experience a severe political hemorrhage over his refusal to disclose his tax returns.

Full disclosure: I am supporting President Obama for reelection because I agree almost entirely with his policies and I disagree...

President Obama's "Renewed Nationalism" speech on Tuesday sets important themes for his 2012 campaign, and offers him a chance to win back the vital center of American politics. His focus on fairness, income inequality and the plight of the middle class is his best chance to overcome what...

Barack Obama looks better for reelection today than any Republican could have possibly imagined as recently as six months ago. Recent polling shows he is ahead of all the Republican candidates in the pivotal swing state of Ohio, and he leads or is in a dead heat in the national...

(Hypothetical conversation ... )

"Hello, Mr. Davis, this is Herman Cain. People tell me you combine the practice of law with crisis communications -- I could use your help."

"Sure, Mr. Cain -- I'm a Democrat supporting President Obama, but I am willing to provide you advice. What's...

Even before the first Republican debate, I have consistently stated in TV and print interviews that Mitt Romney would be the strongest Republican candidate against President Obama.

Full disclosure: I am strongly supporting the president for reelection. I think he's done a good job starting out on his first...