DOUTHAT: Obama is diminishing his own presidency
The administration’s maneuvering keeps working out as planned, but Obama’s position keeps eroding.
Forefront
Articles
EARLY: Don’t underestimate our National Guard
The Indiana Guard Ranger Company served intact in the Vietnam War and earned more medals in 1969 than any U.S. Army company in a one-year period.
SHELLA: Rename clunky IUPUI for Doc Bowen
You could come up with a clumsier name for a college than Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, but it would be tough.
KINGSOLVER: Ballard is a mayor for the next generation
As a young person jaded by countless politicians’ broken promises to “ensure a better future for our children and grandchildren,” it is refreshing to see a political leader actually enact policies and programs that deliver on those promises.
CAMPBELL: What to do with Lafayette Square Mall
Safe, traditional options won’t work here; we have to get aggressive.
WOUDENBERG: Troubling reflections from the White case
For the voter, Republican or otherwise, it suggests an irresolute moral character that makes at least this conservative think twice about why she’s involved in a party that apparently can’t be bothered to look after its own.
KETZENBERGER: There’s nothing divine about a balanced budget
The governor, legislative fiscal leaders and their fiscal staffs deserve a lot of credit, but their effort to put Indiana on sound fiscal footing is not miraculous. They did it the old-fashioned way—with a lot of hard work, tough decisions and a little luck.
VAUGHN: Indianapolis should ban contractor contributions
For too long, candidates for county and city offices have taken for granted that a large percentage of their campaign war chests come from individuals and entities seeking to do business with local government.
BOEHM: New districts further polarize Legislature
New maps are as severely gerrymandered as their predecessors, and adherence to some stated goals of neutral districting does not come close to achieving a fair plan.
NOCERA: The tables are turned on Rupert Murdoch
One feature of Murdoch’s career is that he’s never played by the rules that apply to other businessmen.
DOWD: A tough judge shames Clemens’ lawyers
It was such a chuckleheaded move that no one was sure whether the prosecutors had forgotten the judge’s ruling or were trying to sneak the testimony through a back door.
KRUGMAN: No good reason to let bankers off easy
The arguments that officials are reportedly making for a quick, bank-friendly settlement of the mortgage-abuse scandal don’t make sense.
BROOKS: The historic opening blown by Republicans
For many legislators, the purpose of being in Congress is not to pass laws. It’s to create clear contrasts you can take into the next election campaign.
FRIEDMAN: Generational clashes rise from debt woes
Indeed, if there is one sentiment that unites the crises in Europe and America it is a powerful sense of “baby boomers behaving badly …
STYRING: Be grateful for the Wabash & Erie debacle
The Wabash & Erie Canal Co. is responsible for how the Indiana constitution restricts what our governments can do with government debt.
WAGNER: Sick and tired of worn Hoosier stereotypes
Let’s trumpet our rich sports history, our top-tier university system, and our manufacturing and logistics infrastructure.
MAHERN: Public library board is a Byzantine mess
IPS and the ex-officio county commissioners cannot raise a dime for the library. Yet they appoint five of the seven members of the library board.
MYERS: The life-saving benefits of working together
We often forget that as a society there are real advantages to working (and investing) together for a common purpose.
MUTZ: Hoping reform chic sinks into the culture
It was the biggest turnout for an education event I have ever seen in Indiana.
LAGWIG: Here’s a pol who hires honestly and pays taxes
The firefighter and police unions set up pickets outside his home. He was re-elected in no small part as a result of his training as a Marine artillery officer.