Free Republic

Moments of clarity often come when you least expect them. In a speech to contributors last week in Seattle, Barack Obama made the case that his presidency has made America better. In most respects, it was precisely the kind of political pablum you’d expect from a president who seems more concerned with legacy-polishing than governing. He ticked off his accomplishments, a list that was equal parts premature celebration (deficit reduction), hyperbole (Obamacare), and borrowed glory (rising college attendance, a strong stock market, increased energy production). Even if few in this fawning crowd were going to question him, circumstances required the...

Michele Bachmann, campaigning in Perry, Iowa, hit border security hard in a clear bid to contrast herself with Rick Perry, per Kay Henderson: By signing this one, Bachmann is promising that she will secure the border if she’s elected president. Van Hipp of South Carolina, chairman of Americans for Securing the Borders, told me in an interview that too many candidates have paid mere “lip service” to the issue. “Nothing really gets done,” Hipp said. “We believe by having a pledge like this it really is the best way to hold the politicians’ feet to the fire so we’re calling...