"Despite Washington coming to grips with the fact that the debt threat is real, policymakers still are not having the debate Americans deserve. 

"The talk is too often restricted to 'shared sacrifice.' This sets up a debate where we are really just arguing over whom to hurt and how best to manage the decline of our nation. It is a framework that accepts permanently higher taxes and bureaucratically determined access to health care as givens."

"Americans are a generous people. Upon receipt of objective and reliable evidence that the border is secure — not Obama’s infinitely manipulable interdiction statistics — the question would be settled and the immigrants legalized. 

"Why doesn’t Obama put such a provision in comprehensive immigration legislation? Because for Obama, immigration reform is not about legislation, it’s about reelection. If I may quote the president: I understand that. That’s politics."

"Democrats blithely act as if big labor, pro-illegal-immigration, pro-government union policies combined with massive government red tape and huge socialist programs will have no effect on jobs.

"They incessantly repeat 'gutsy call' for 'you'd have to have been brain-dead not to make the call to kill bin Laden,' hoping the Democratic Party will suddenly seem macho.

"Then, after a few weeks of robotically chanting 'gutsy call,' they can get back to their true passion -- destroying jobs -- at which point they will robotically chant Bush's name to explain why millions of Americans have lost their jobs under Obama.

"How gutsy."

"The public relations campaign for President Obama's latest revival of 'immigration reform' makes one thing crystal clear: This is not, and never has been, about homeland security. This is not, and never has been, about economic security. It's about political security, plain and cynical."

"Washington’s arrogance has triggered a political rebellion in our country. I don’t think ‘rebellion’ is too strong of a word.  The revolt we have seen by ordinary citizens over the past few years is like nothing we’ve seen in our lifetime.  And it’s happening in part because the arrogant habits of Washington are having real economic consequences."

"Do President Obama and Democrats want to cut spending? There's not much evidence they do. They have acquiesced to some cuts -- but only under political duress. ... 

"In revising his 2012 budget, the president proposed a clever mechanism for avoiding spending cuts. He called it a 'debt fail-safe.' If the debt burden doesn't shrink as a percentage of the economy, it would require 'additional savings with more spending cuts.' Except that as much as 90% of spending would be exempt, leaving little room for cuts and lots for raising taxes.  

"The response of the president and Democrats to the message from the November election is now pretty clear. The voters asked for spending cuts. Mr. Obama and company have said no."

"... The bin Laden operation is the perfect vindication of the war on terror. It was made possible precisely by the vast, warlike infrastructure that the Bush administration created post-9/11, a fierce regime of capture and interrogation, of dropped bombs and commando strikes. That regime, of course, followed the more conventional war that brought down the Taliban, scattered and decimated al-Qaeda and made bin Laden a fugitive."

"... The Bush antiterrorism protocols — tribunals, renditions, preventative detentions, Predator assassination missions, Guantanamo Bay — were decried as illegal and immoral. Such furor vanished, however, when President Obama embraced or expanded them all. The effort to preemptively remove the mass-murdering Saddam Hussein to foster democracy in his absence was seen by many in the media, universities, and the legal community as morally wrong — and yet preemptively bombing Qaddafi to foster democracy in his absence is now considered morally justified."

"Speculators don't 'artificially jack up the price of oil' -- they take risks. Those who guess wrong lose a lot of money. 

"Historically, speculators have been convenient scapegoats, and they have suffered greatly for it. So have the rest of us. 

"While government should never create political opportunities for speculation, it should also stop interfering with its legitimate economic function. 

"We all are harmed when central planners take charge."

"Sometimes it’s good to just let out a cheer. Now is one of those times. 

"It will take months to process the news that came out of Pakistan on Sunday and its long-term impact on U.S. foreign policy.  But for today, let’s just say thanks. 

"First, let us give thanks to the men and women of the United States armed forces. Their sacrifice and that of their families have sustained the American cause at home and abroad for the past decade.  I’m also thankful for the hard work and tough professionalism of our intelligence community. ..."