Jennifer Harper

Inside the Beltway

Welcome to Reaganpalooza. It's colossal. It's stupendous. It's also sincere, endearing and not without a certain poignancy.

February 3, 2011

Inside the Beltway

There are fabricated "bipartisan" moments. Then there are the real ones.

February 2, 2011

Inside the Beltway

Snowprah Winfrey, Snoverkill, SnOMG, Snonami — the nation has moved far beyond mere Snowpocalypse.

February 1, 2011

Inside the Beltway

It helps to know that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is ever at the ready while Americans face another round of terrible snowstorms. FEMA'S on it.

January 31, 2011

Inside the Beltway

Some Americans may pine for "The Star-Spangled Banner" to be sung at public events without showbiz flourishes and in a manner perhaps familiar to its creator, Francis Scott Key. The dazzling factor should be prominent, however, at Super Bowl XLV, when chanteuse Christina Aguilera delivers the national anthem.

January 30, 2011

Inside the Beltway

Once, much of the left-leaning press wallowed in unkind mockery or criticism of President Reagan. Now, opportunistic and canny journalists can't wait to say "Reaganesque."

January 27, 2011

Inside the Beltway

Among dozens of political reactions to President Obama's State of the Union address comes one from Herman Cain, a Georgia businessman turned talk radio host, a 2012 Republican presidential hopeful and the preferred candidate of Ann Coulter.

January 26, 2011

Inside the Beltway

"This paper offers one more reason why Fox News viewers are so ill-informed on so many issues. I mean, have you seen those photos of Megyn Kelly?" observes Tom Jacobs, an analyst with Miller-McCune magazine, in commenting on a study of the attractiveness of TV news "anchorettes."

January 25, 2011

Inside the Beltway

What's the state of the union before the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night? Pretty prickly.

January 24, 2011

Inside the Beltway

With the promise of some giddy political theater, broadcast coverage of President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night is approaching Hollywood proportions.

January 23, 2011

Inside the Beltway

The State of the Union company picnic is looming on Capitol Hill. Come Tuesday, there will be sack races, an egg toss, a group sing, and oh yes, a big speech from President Obama in there somewhere.

January 20, 2011

Inside the Beltway

"Will the Senate resolve to listen to will of the American people?" asks Jenny Beth Martin, a founder of the 15-million member Tea Party Patriots.

January 19, 2011

Inside the Beltway

"O: A Presidential Novel," written by Anonymous and published by Simon & Schuster — otherwise known as Simon & Sh-h-h-h — has journalists chafing to speculate on who or what is behind the cheeky fiction centered on the upcoming 2012 presidential election.

January 18, 2011

Inside the Beltway

The monumental presence of China already is on American soil, well before the state visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao, who arrives in Washington on Tuesday with a bustling entourage and a full agenda.

January 17, 2011

Inside the Beltway

Pf-f-f-t. There goes all that newfound civility in press and politics.

January 16, 2011

Inside the Beltway

The tragedy cycle is just about complete.

January 13, 2011

Inside the Beltway

Do lawmakers need bodyguards now? Almost half of Americans agree with the idea.

January 12, 2011

Inside the Beltway

Sensible America has spoken. The nation does not think "harsh political tone" had anything to do with Saturday's deadly shootings in Arizona, where a Democratic lawmaker was severely injured, this according to a nimble CBS News survey revealing that 57 percent of respondents agreed that rhetoric and the terrible events were unrelated.

January 11, 2011

Inside the Beltway

The hypersensitive public discourse on violence, rhetoric, civility, guns, politics and the press barrels on, 72 hours after the Arizona shootings.

January 10, 2011

Inside the Beltway

News coverage of the Arizona shooting showcased a wide spray of partisan attacks in the 48 hours that followed the tragedy, with collateral damage and much talk of political rhetoric and biased media coverage.

January 9, 2011