Paul Krugman: This recession thing? It' ain't over just yet, whatever the WH wants to believe.
David Brooks:
Israel is a country held together by argument. Public culture is one long cacophony of criticism.
Robert Reich:
No one likes to pay taxes, so tax day typically attracts a range of right-wing Republicans, kooks, and demagogues, all of whom tell us how awful we have it.
Ross Douthat:
They resemble nothing so much as the anti-war protests during Bush's first term.
Only much smaller, less world wide, and more incoherent. And even those protests were pretty ineffective compared to the hard work of successfully primarying a senior Senator. But it's all we got, ya know?
Eugene Robinson:
The protests were all over the map and thus hard to take seriously. A reality check would show that Obama's approval rating is running higher than 60 percent in most recent polls. Surveys indicate that Americans blame Wall Street and the Bush administration for the woeful state of the economy. Generally speaking, the polls show that most Americans are willing to go along with the president's agenda, at least for now, and realize that it will take time to begin seeing results.
But the polls also point to what looks like a reservoir of simmering discontent.
There's us vs them to be exploited here. Not that the GOP can do it, but it's there to be done.
EJ Dionne:
Two days before the rescue, John Bolton, U.N. ambassador under President George W. Bush, told Fox News that the episode offered "a clear case for the use of force by the United States," then added: "I am very concerned, however, that both the administration and many of our friends in Europe have fallen into the trap of seeing this as a law enforcement question, which it most certainly is not."
This rote argument, which conservatives have been using against liberals since Sept. 11, 2001, just happened not to be true. Obama didn't say much. He just relied on the skill and bravery of our Navy SEALs.
Michael Gerson:
Is "Christian America" dying? And if so, should we mourn or cheer?
Charles Krauthammer: Snarf. Grumble. Don't get too close or I'll bite you.