"Covering this upcoming election is like covering a competition between two Soviet refrigerator companies, cold-war relics offering products that never change."

"President Obama referred to the lack of job growth in May as 'a bump in the road.' Unfortunately, it's more like a 100-car pileup."

"We are in the midst of a once-in-a-generation debate about the nature of the welfare state (entitlement versus safety net) and, indeed, of the social contract between citizen and state (e.g., whether Congress can mandate — compel — you to purchase whatever it wills). Let’s finish that debate. Start with Obama’s abysmal stewardship, root it in his out-of-touch social-democratic ideology, and win. That would create the strongest mandate for conservative governance since the Reagan era."

"In the most important appeal of the Obamacare constitutional saga, today was the best day yet for individual freedom.  The government’s lawyer, Neal Katyal, spent most of the hearing on the ropes, with the judicial panel extremely cautious not to extend federal power beyond its present outer limits of regulating economic activity that has a substantial aggregate effect on interstate commerce. 

"As the lawyer representing 26 states against the federal government said, 'The whole reason we do this is to protect liberty.' With those words, former solicitor general Paul Clement reached the essence of the Obamacare lawsuits. With apologies to Joe Biden, this is a big deal not because we’re dealing with a huge reorganization of the health care industry, but because our most fundamental first principle is at stake: We limit government power so people can live their lives the way they want."

"The economy will continue to suffer until there is a coherent and favorable economic policy. That means bringing long-term deficits under control without raising marginal tax rates -- by cutting government outlays and by limiting the tax expenditures that substitute for direct government spending.  It means lower tax rates on businesses and individuals to spur entrepreneurship and investment.  And it means reforming Social Security and Medicare to protect the living standards of future retirees while limiting the cost to future taxpayers. 

"All of these things are doable.  But the Obama administration has not done them and shows no inclination to do them in the future."

"For someone who’s spent a lot of years offering quick judgments when a shock wave roils the political waters, I turned off Rep. Anthony Weiner’s mea maxima culpa with more questions than answers. ... 

"Will powerful, successful men learn from this latest example that their achievements do not exempt them from acts of reckless stupidity? 

"I looked for inspiring quotes from John Adams, Tocqueville, Emerson and Reinhold Neibuhr, but found that John McEnroe said it best: 'You cannot be serious.'"

"Uncontrolled health spending isn't simply crowding out other government programs; it's also dampening overall living standards. Health economists Michael Chernew, Richard Hirth and David Cutler recently reported that higher health costs consumed 35.7 percent of the increase in per capita income from 1999 to 2007. They also project, that under reasonable assumptions, it could absorb half or more of the gain between now and 2083. 

"Ryan proposes to change that. Beginning in 2022, new (not existing) Medicare beneficiaries would receive a voucher, valued initially at about $8,000. The theory is simple. Suddenly empowered, Medicare beneficiaries would shop for lowest-cost, highest-quality insurance plans providing a required package of benefits. The health-care delivery system would be forced to restructure by reducing costs and improving quality. Doctors, hospitals and clinics would form networks; there would be more 'coordination' of care, helped by more investment in information technology; better use of deductible and co-payments would reduce unnecessary trips to doctors' offices or clinics."

"To win the presidency in 2012, the Republican candidate will require certain strengths. Among them, a credible passion for ideas other than cost-cutting and small government. He or she will have to speak in the voice of Americans who know in their bones the extraordinary character of their democracy, and that voice will have to ring out steadily. That Republican candidate will need, no less, the ability to talk about matters like Medicare and Social Security without terrorizing the electorate." 

"The economy now looks like a Government Motors engine that's stalling out. Or perhaps, with energy and food inflation, and housing deflation at the same time, the economy is acting like a pinball machine on permanent tilt. 

"There's a key message here: Big-government stimulus never works."

"More than 150 economists back U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner's call to match any increase in the debt limit with spending cuts of equal size, according to a letter released by the Republican leader's office Wednesday. ... 

"'An increase in the national debt limit that is not accompanied by significant spending cuts and budget reforms to address our government's spending addiction will harm private-sector job creation in America,' the letter said.

"Signatories include Nobel laureate Robert Mundell of Columbia University and economists from schools like New York University and Georgetown University, as well as conservative think tanks like the American Enterprise Institute."