I have been told by several reporters that President Obama's White House Counsel, Kathryn Ruemmler, knew for several days, perhaps weeks, about the IRS story -- i.e., that some IRS officials engaged in political targeting of conservative groups -- and that she did not tell the president as...

I recall very well the first time I was on the Michael Smerconish radio talk show on WPHT in Philadelphia. He was doing a nationally syndicated talk show carried by 70 stations across the U.S. He was also a well-read and respected columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

...

Tomorrow, April 25, on the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas, Texas, four living presidents -- Jimmy Carter, No. 39; George H.W. Bush, No. 41; Bill Clinton, No. 42, and Barack Obama, No. 44 -- will honor one of their colleagues, George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United...

I have been writing this "Purple Nation" column for a long time, waiting for the "purple moment" when President Obama and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) would agree on an important position on the budget and deficits. Little did I know that when it finally happened, I would be disappointed, to...

When will they ever learn?

As obvious as are the fundamental rules of effective crisis management, time-tested over the ages, it is amazing how often the same mistakes are made by politicians and companies in the midst of a crisis.

In politics,...

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) deserves thanks. He managed to go so far over the top in showing poor taste in his shameful questioning of former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) during this week's Armed Services Committee hearing on Hagel's nomination as Defense Secretary that he managed to assure that Hagel...

By nominating Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) as secretary of State and former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) as secretary of Defense, Barack Obama is the first president -- and maybe the last -- to have Vietnam War veterans as the two top members of his national security team.

I believe a president -- Republican or Democrat -- almost always deserves to have the Cabinet that he wishes, with the bar very, very high to oppose his choice. Thus, there should be heavy presumption that President Obama's reported nominee for secretary of defense, former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel,...

Co-authored by Michael S. Steele

While we are from different parties and political philosophies, we agree that Susan Rice was treated unfairly by the media, disrespected by Republican senators, and virtually abandoned by the White House.

Yet, there are a few valuable lessons to be gleaned from the Rice...

There is no doubt that there will be serious adverse consequences to ordinary Americans if, on Jan. 1, 2013, the nation goes over the "fiscal cliff" -- meaning, on that day, $1.2 trillion in cuts in federal domestic and defense spending will begin over the next eight years, combined with...

I strongly disagree with Grover Norquist and his anti-tax pledge. But I believe his views are sincere. And I condemn those who substitute personal attacks on Norquist for factual arguments to prove him wrong.

First, I don't get why my fellow Democrats and liberals blame Norquist for...

When U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice appeared on the morning talk shows on Sunday, Sept. 16, she did so because the White House asked her to -- to discuss not only the tragic events of Sept. 11 in Benghazi, Libya, leading to the loss of four American lives, but also the...

My advice to President Obama in the next several days: Make three phone calls, for starters -- as soon as you and your team finish celebrating, with justification, having run a great victory. These three calls should be made to conservative Republican senators who I know, from personal experience, care...

I believe President Obama, based on all the evidence and my own gut instinct, which I will explain below, will win a narrow victory on Tuesday to serve a second term.

My best guess is the popular vote margin will be 50.5 percent to 49. The electoral vote margin...

Dear Mr. President:

I disagree with most of the advice you have been getting regarding what you should do in Tuesday night's debate, as I do with the analysis from the same critics from my fellow liberals in the Democratic Party regarding your performance in the first debate on...

I predict that nothing that happens tonight at the first debate is likely fundamentally to change the status quo: a tight election with President Obama likely to win.

But one issue could be a fundamental game-changer, or bring this country together on one paramount moral issue if both candidates agree...

The irony is too overwhelming to resist. After Bill Clinton's speech on Sept. 5, the same pundits on the left who were critical of Bill Clinton's "centrism" and "triangulation" in the 1990s and through the Obama primary campaign were gushing about Clinton on national TV. And many of the same...

All the rumors, hearsay, speculation, and motives divining about President Clinton's speech in Charlotte last week were rendered irrelevant by the simple truths he articulated in stating his argument for President Barack Obama's re-election.

These simple truths can be summarized in three campaign themes that have exemplified Bill Clinton's career...

There are many legacies of the Bill Clinton presidency, but two should influence President Obama most of all as he hits the reset button tonight to begin his general-election campaign.

The first is the legacy of fiscal responsibility -- appealing to those voters who consider themselves...

(This column was preceded by one presenting Mitt Romney's best arguments for winning the presidency in 2012. The author supports Barack Obama for re-election.)

First and foremost, President Obama must return to the themes of his 2008 presidential campaign and his 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote...