Campaign Desk

Historic Change, Divided Politics

Rounding up major outlets’ first reactions to the House health reform outcome

By Greg Marx   Mar 22, 2010 at 09:19 AM

In the wake of last night’s vote in the House to approve a major overhaul of the nation's health-care system,... More

The Meaning of Those CBO Numbers

Smoke and mirrors and the doctor fix

By Trudy Lieberman   Mar 22, 2010 at 12:07 AM

Congressional Budget Office (CBO) numbers released at the end of last week gave the House Democrats the ammo they were... More

Social Security’s Code Words

Erskine Bowles takes the stage

By Trudy Lieberman   Mar 19, 2010 at 11:48 AM

Those who consider themselves Social Security mavens know the name Erskine Bowles. Bill Clinton’s former chief of staff, and currently... More

Scoring the CBO Score

By Holly Yeager   Mar 19, 2010 at 11:34 AM

Amid all the spinning and sparring over the Congressional Budget Office’s assessment of health care legislation, a couple of stories... More

Tax Talk

By Holly Yeager   Mar 18, 2010 at 02:09 PM

It might not be a full-fledged meme change, but the idea that tax increases could really be on tap has... More

Hooking the Big Ones

Matt Labash’s meetings with remarkable men

By Toby Warner   Mar 18, 2010 at 12:43 PM

Fly Fishing with Darth Vader: And Other Adventures with Evangelical Wrestlers, Political Hitmen, and Jewish Cowboys | By Matt Labash... More

Audit D.C. Notes: The Post on Chamber Politics, Roll Call on K St. Pay, Hoop Dreams

By Holly Yeager   Mar 17, 2010 at 04:07 PM

The Chamber of Commerce, that under-covered business behemoth, gets welcome attention from The Washington Post, which reports on the group’s... More

Parsing the AP’s Health Care Primer

Its attempt at informing falls short

By Trudy Lieberman   Mar 17, 2010 at 03:31 PM

The Associated Press has been an important voice in the health care debate. So it was disappointing to see its... More

CBS Throws Debt Numbers Against Wall

By Holly Yeager   Mar 17, 2010 at 12:23 PM

CBS News is getting a lot of diggs, tweets and shares for its story on the latest national debt numbers... More

Audit D.C. Notes: The FT Looks at the Lobbyist Set; WSJ on Credit Agencies, NPR on the Dow, Etc.

By Holly Yeager   Mar 16, 2010 at 04:02 PM

The Financial Times takes a look something that all too often gets treated like wallpaper in Washington, the persistent power... More

He-Said, She-Said on Medicare

The Times gets stuck on the surface of the Medicare debate

By Greg Marx   Mar 16, 2010 at 02:47 PM

The dispatch from Strongsville, Ohio in today’s New York Times, about Barack Obama’s efforts to rally public support for his... More

Reporting from the Examining Room

By Holly Yeager   Mar 16, 2010 at 12:55 PM

The New York Times gets credit for going where few bother, into the examining rooms of doctors who see Medicaid... More

The President Pushes against Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

But what do those terms really mean?

By Trudy Lieberman   Mar 16, 2010 at 12:10 PM

The president has a sales job to do if he wants the American people to get behind whatever reform emerges... More

Why So Serious?

Parsing the Post’s piece on Obama’s “happiness deficit”

By Greg Marx   Mar 16, 2010 at 11:28 AM

The editorial page of The Washington Post has a well-established reputation for its hawkish stance on fiscal matters, so it... More

Audit D.C. Notes: NYT Does Well at (Trade) School; WaPo on Earmarks, Squeezed in Ypsilanti, Etc.

By Holly Yeager   Mar 15, 2010 at 04:01 PM

The New York Times continues its excellent series on “The New Poor” with a look at the for-profit colleges and... More