The Capitol Steps

Diplomacy and the Candidates

2008-06-01T04:00:00Z

McCain says Obama is the candidate favored by Hamas, while President Bush has suggested that he's "delusional" for being willing to talk with Iran's president. And the guy even takes his flag pin off sometimes. So just where does Barack Hussein Obama stand when it comes to defending America against terrorists? We bring you this Capitol Steps exclusive:

Obama Meets Osama

From the album Campaign and Suffering.

Consumer Protection in a Global Era

2008-05-01T04:01:00Z

Global trade and commerce is far ahead of our government's ability and willingness to ensure consumer safety. Is it a campaign issue? No. China has once again made headlines with its bold approach to cutting corners on exports. Already China leads in providing tainted pet food, hazardous toothpaste, and poisonous toys. Last week, we learned that contaminated heparin, a blood thinner, is suspected in dozens of deaths in 11 countries.

Buy, Buy American Pie

From the album Campaign and Suffering.

Top Cop Drops

2008-04-01T04:00:00Z

Eliot Spitzer's impact on New York state's unemployment has its ups and downs, and now he's out of a job, too. He was New York's top cop before becoming governor, an inspiration to law enforcement everywhere, before getting caught frequenting high-priced prostitutes himself. He was living a dirty lie...

Lirty Dies: Governor Titzer

[Read and hear more Lirty Dies]

Cows Gone Mad

2008-03-01T05:00:00Z

The U.S. Department of Agriculture had to politely ask for the biggest meat recall in history since it actually has no authority to force a recall. The Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company was caught on Humane Society video mistreating animals and forcing "downer" cows, which could be carrying mad cow disease, to slaughter.

Cows Gone Mad

From the album Papa's Got a Brand New Baghdad.

Debating Immigration Reform

2008-02-01T05:00:00Z

The immigration debate has heated up as it has moved from Congress to the campaign trail. As if it wasn't hot enough already. Whose policy is toughest? Whose policy is "humane"? Who's in favor of amnesty? Why isn't anyone asking: who's going to build that fence anyway?

Juan Nation

From the album Springtime for Liberals.

Religion and Freedom

2007-12-31T05:00:00Z

Religious conservatives ponder the Romney question: which is scarier, a Mormon Republican as president, or "the religion of secularism"? In his speech on faith, Mitt declared that "freedom requires religion." He'll soon be proposing an amendment to repeal Article VI of the Constitution and to ban the A.C.L.U. in time for next Christmas.

Away With The Manger

The Second Amendment

2007-12-01T05:00:00Z

The Supreme Court's constitutional literalists will have their hands full with the Court's first Second Amendment case since 1939. If the job of the Court is to interpret the text, then why has it spent so much more time on grammatical gems of clarity like the Eighth Amendment and so little on the Second?

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Clear enough, right? What part of "Arms" or "Militia" or "people" don't you understand? Some people, of course, have no doubt about what it means.

Gun Nuts Boasting They Can Open Fire

Public Speaking 101

2007-10-31T04:00:00Z

George Bush is getting ready to take his leadership skills and oratory on the road -- for cash. Sure, he hopes to remain relevant as the clock runs down on his second term. But after that, he's all set to "replenish the ol' coffers" on the lecture circuit and earn a living from the unique public speaking skills that serve him so well in office.

The Brain-Mouth Connection

Voting 4 to 5

2007-10-01T04:00:00Z

The Roberts Court opens its third term this week. This term will likely be as contentious as the last, when a third of the Court's opinions were decided by 5-4 votes and conservative justices held the upper hand.

Voting 4 to 5

Exit Stage Right

2007-08-31T04:00:00Z

It's the end of summer, and key administration members are rushing for the exits before its too late. Any one staying past Labor Day is expected to stick it out until the end of President Bush's second term, so Karl Rove, Tony Snow, and Alberto Gonzales decided to spend more time with their families. Now Bush has big shoes to fill, and it will be a challenge to find anyone who can match Gonzales in the role of attorney general.

Mad Attorney General

Campaign Cash

2007-08-01T04:00:00Z

John McCain has made campaign finance a signature issue. For years, the senator has been trying to contain the corrupting effects of too much money in politics. Now that he's running for the Republican nomination in 2008, his own campaign has the opposite problem.

McCain's Campaign

Time Off for Good Behavior

2007-07-31T04:00:00Z

Imagine a world where President Bush invades a country, restores democracy, starts bringing troops home in less than a month, and sees the deposed dictator convicted in U.S. criminal courts.

Dubya's fantasy? No, his father's 1989 invasion of Panama.

General Manuel Noriega has been in jail ever since. Now he's scheduled to be released in September, with time off for good behavior,having paid his debt to society. The Justice Department wants him extradited to France on money laundering charges, but since U.S. courts ruled he's a prisoner of war, Noriega's lawyers say the Geneva Conventions require the U.S. to send him home.

Yes, We Have No-Riega

Scooter Goes to Jail

2007-06-30T04:00:00Z

Scooter Libby is heading to jail. Many of his supporters petitioned for a lenient sentence, or none at all. Instead, the judge sentenced Cheney's former chief of staff to 30 months after his conviction on four out of five counts of perjury and obstruction of justice in the Plame affair. Now, there's only one last hope for Scooter.

Pardon Me, George

John Ashcroft, Patriot

2007-05-31T04:00:00Z

Who knew? James B. Comey, former Deputy Attorney General under John Ashcroft, recently revealed the dramatic tale to the Senate Judicary Committee. From his hospital bed in March 2004, the Attorney General at the time and his deputy stared down White House officials Alberto Gonzales and Andy Card, refusing to certify that the N.S.A.'s warrantless domestic wiretapping was legal. They won that skirmish -- but they didn't deter President Bush, or the National Security Agency, from continuing the program.

Glory, N.S.A.

From the album Springtime for Liberals.

Justice at Justice

2007-04-30T04:00:00Z

Alberto Gonzales testified on the U.S. attorney firings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. He had contended that "to my knowledge, I did not make decisions" about who got axed. The committee chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy, had already called the attorney general's prepared testimony "another in a series of contradictory statements." Here's a brief guide:

Lonely Leahy