WATER COOLER
The Water Cooler is written by Washington Times staffers.
Latest Blog Entries
They love Alison Lundergan Grimes: 60 Hollywood stars unite to defeat Mitch McConnell
The liberal prowess of Tinseltown should never be underestimated. Their reach extends into the Blue Grass State. DreamWorks chief Jeffrey Katzenberg now says his "top priority" is to unseat Sen. Mitch McConnell in 2014.
Heh... '404' named word of the year, thanks in part to Obamacare failures
The Global Language Monitor has declared that "404" is their official "Word of the Year." The Austin-based research group determined the winner based on frequency of actual usage, using computer-aided tracking of some 275,000 print, electronic and social media sources.
The majority of Americans agree: everybody spies on the US - including our allies
Do allies and enemies alike "spy" on U.S. leaders? Voters themselves appear to agree that clandestine activities are a reality of life these days for those at the highest echelons of power, according to a wide ranging new survey. And it's complicated: some say the anger of those leaders whose cell phones were monitored by the National Security Agency was simply "posturing for the media."
Romney calls ObamaCare a 'frustrating embarrassment'
The man who could be considered a founding father of tenable public healthcare programs is still shaking his head. "In the years since the Massachusetts health care law went into effect nothing has changed my view that a plan crafted to fit the unique circumstances of a single state should not be grafted onto the entire country," Mitt Romney says of ObamaCare.
Common sense triumphs: 70 percent of registered voters want to delay Obamacare for a year
The public's common sense appears to trump White House political posturing: a national poll of 661 registered voters find that seven-out-of-10 say that a one-year delay for Obamacare is a good idea. The numbers: 55 percent of the voters "strongly favor" a delay in enforcing the health care law's individual mandate, while 15 percent "somewhat favor" it.
Liberals wonder if there is a 'left wing' Ted Cruz to fight for their cause
Sen. Ted Cruz attracts much criticism. But he also may attract imitators, even on the Left.
Straightforward poll reveals why American own guns: it's personal
The findings are straightforward enough. Gallup asked 309 gun owners an open-ended question: Why do you own a gun? Here is what they said - the desire for personal safety and protection was in first place, cited by 60 percent.
62 percent of voters ready to 'fire every lawmaker on Capitol Hill'
Voter fatigue with Congress has reached a critical stage. How critical? Among many other things, a new Fox News survey finds that 62 percent of American voters would "fire every lawmaker on Capitol Hill right now" if they could.
Oswald's wedding ring, Jack Ruby's hat: JFK assassination items go up for bid
The 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination is a month off. Still, 290 items of Kennedy memorabilia go up on the auction block, from limos to clothing.
Keg handstands? Obamacare taps into frat boy emotions
A few weeks ago, one promotional outreach for Obamacare involved attractive young women parading around in their underwear or athletic shorty-shorts, bearing signs that read "Are you covered?" Now comes another version:"Brosurance".
Aggressive GOP heavyweights in hot pursuit of those mysterious Obamacare sign-up numbers
House Speaker John A. Boehner already has said that the Grand Old Party will launch a series of "smart, targeted strikes" against the health care law. And here they come. Like many baffled observers, party officials are eager to see the actual enrollment numbers, the factual revelations that the White House is keeping in house.
Iron lady wisdom: conservatives look back to Margaret Thatcher for 2014 guidance
"Lady Thatcher understood that conservative principles are for everybody, not tied to special interest groups or trends. Conservative ideas must win people over first, before conservatives can win their votes later."
Newt Gingrich: John Boehner's job as House Speaker '10 times' the challenge he once faced
Takes one to know one: "I think he has an amazingly hard job. Boehner's job is vastly harder than mine was," says former House Speaker Newt Gingrich
Are politicians addicted to spectacle?
The agreement on the shutdown and the debt ceiling is no guarantee that lawmakers and the White House will behave. They seem addicted to spectacle and the kind of hand-wringing political theater that garners press coverage, while masking inactivity or indecision.
Third party fever: record number of Americans want a political alternative
More Americans dream of a third political party than ever before: "60 percent of Americans say the Democratic and Republicans parties do such a poor job of representing the American people that a third major party is needed," says Gallup analyst Jeffrey Jones, who reports that these findings set a record.
