Ethan Epstein

Democrats hated John Bolton until Donald Trump fired him

It was March 2018 and Sen. Chris Murphy, Connecticut Democrat, was deeply disturbed. President Trump had just announced that John R. Bolton would serve as his third appointed national security adviser and Mr. Murphy, a thoroughgoing dove, was alarmed.

September 12, 2019

John Bolton ouster gives Trump a chance to hire like-minded security adviser

With John Bolton's ousting as national security adviser, President Donald Trump has an opportunity to appoint somebody who actually agrees with him.

September 10, 2019

Religious freedom: Not just nice to have, but vital for national security

American ideals often clash with the harsh realities of realpolitik. Saudi Arabia is a brutal suppressor of political dissent, religious minorities, freedom of speech and critical journalists — yet judged by Washington to be an important strategic partner on a number of matters, energy supplies chiefly. Egypt under President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who took power in a coup overthrowing a democratically elected president, has reverted to a dictatorship. But the Egyptian leader is valued in Washington for fighting and killing Islamists.

September 8, 2019

South Korea, Japan keep World War II animosity alive

Both countries are known for their futuristic cityscapes and technological innovation, but if there was ever a case in which William Faulkner's adage that "the past isn't dead; it isn't even past" holds true, it is Japan and South Korea.

August 29, 2019

Phony candidates lose in Republican and Democratic primaries

Add "failed presidential candidate" to New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's long and winding resume, which also already includes stints as "lawyer for Philip Morris," "gun rights advocate and opponent of illegal immigration," as well as "gun rights opponent and staunch proponent of the rights of illegal migrants."

August 29, 2019

Russia hasn’t been readmitted to G-7 yet, but just wait five minutes

Now both France and the U.S. are pushing for Russia to be reinvited, and for the G-7 to once again swell to G-8. This weekend's confab could be the last one at which Russian President Vladimir Putin does not have a seat at the table.

August 22, 2019

National sovereignty interests clash among world powers

For their myriad differences, the Indian, Chinese, Russian and American leaders are in harmony on one thing: Each believes strongly in national sovereignty. The idea is that what goes on in within a country's borders is solely the concern of that country and its leaders, not international organizations or foreign governments.

August 15, 2019

America is a violent country, with or without guns

Mass shootings have become so endemic to American life that we have begun to categorize them in ever more arcane ways to tell them apart.

August 8, 2019

CNN Democrat debate treats candidates like pundits

When CNN's anchors occasionally encounter actual newsmakers, as they did at this week's Democratic presidential debates in Detroit, they don't quite know how to handle it.

August 1, 2019

Louisiana plans to subsidize dangerous, Communist-owned plant Wanhua Chemical

For decades, "the great sucking sound" of outsourcing flowed in one direction. Jobs of all kinds migrated from high-wage countries to their impoverished counterparts. Think textiles moving from the Carolinas to India, and autos from Michigan to Mexico. China was the biggest beneficiary, as U.S. manufacturers were attracted to its massive, low-wage labor force and minimal environmental standards.

July 28, 2019

Kamala Harris is no Barack Obama

Sen. Kamala D. Harris of California was languishing in the Democratic presidential race until she pointed out that former Vice President Joseph R. Biden was a fool for having the same position on school busing that she has.

July 21, 2019

‘Politico 40’ reading lists reflect D.C. parochial narcissism

Politico recently surveyed 40 so-called "political heavy hitters" about what books they plan to read this summer. The answers were greeted with any manner of chortling and a whole lot of skepticism: "I like book lists like this because it is fun to see who is a liar," quipped one Twitter wag.

July 11, 2019

Josh Hawley offers a version of ‘Trumpism’ without the tweets

It can be difficult to make out through the sound and fury (much of which, as the poet said, signifies nothing and is emitted by idiots) surrounding the presidency of Donald Trump, but "Trumpism" was once a coherent political philosophy.

July 4, 2019

Japan’s cruel justice system leaves Carlos Ghosn in the lurch

Carlos Ghosn is another foreigner currently enmeshed in the net of a justice system that can only be described as "Kafkaesque." Mr. Ghosn, the former high-flying executive who for years ran Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi, was arrested in Tokyo on Nov. 19 and charged by Japanese authorities with understating his income to avoid taxes and with transferring his own personal losses to Nissan's books.

June 27, 2019

Too many Democrats on the dance floor

Last night's Democratic debate saw an odd spectacle. A guy polling at 1 percent -- former HUD Secretary Julian Castro -- beating up on another guy -- former Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas -- polling at 1 percent. You can hardly blame Mr. Castro for that strategy; should he knock out Mr. O'Rourke and grab his voters, his support will literally double! After that, only 22 more Democrats will need dispatching by Mr. Castro.

June 27, 2019

Democrat candidates have same policy issues

The roughly 782 Democrats running for the presidency are like the hot dog vendors of yesteryear, stressing not what makes them different but just how similar they are to the rest of the field.

June 13, 2019

Kim Jong-un opponents should be persecuted by U.S.

Ignore, if you can, the tweets, the photo-ops, and the declarations of "love." Sure, President Trump's wooing of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has been unseemly, debasing even.

May 30, 2019

High-flying Silicon Valley should note Michigan’s travails

Providence, Rhode Island, was once known as the "Beehive of Industry." By the time I was growing up there in the 1990s, the city had been firmly relegated to "armpit" status.

May 23, 2019

Joe Biden 2020 campaign kickoff begins with a whimper

And to think I was worried. Having lingered too long over a cheesesteak lunch, I feared being late for Joe Biden's big kickoff rally here Saturday, forced to watch the event at the Eakins Oval from a mile or so away.

May 19, 2019

Josh Hawley slams social media business model

Sen. Josh Hawley, Missouri Republican, is evidently not afraid to be the skunk at the garden party. Last week, the freshman senator spoke at the Washington, D.C., outpost of Stanford University and unleashed a searing critique of social media. This would be the equivalent of berating the Bible at Liberty University or having the temerity to promote free market capitalism at Williams College.

May 9, 2019