Melissa Jane Kronfeld

Last week’s South Carolina GOP presidential debates once again reminded Americans of the importance of foreign policy, despite the fact that voters in the U.S. typically cast their ballots based on domestic economic and social issues like unemployment and Social Security or abortion, health care and same-sex marriage. (more)

Sitting at the Purim Spiel (an annual Jewish fundraiser where Broadway stars perform to raise money for the Birthright Israel Foundation) and waiting for the stage lights to dim, I began chatting with a friend about how exciting it is to see a resurgence of young Jewish conservatives in New York. (more)

The health care summit that transpired at the Blair House Thursday was like most things that go on in Washington, D.C.: it ran late, everyone had party-line “talking points,” and not a trace of bipartisanship could be found. (more)

Much more then a civics lesson in how politics should be defined by the will of the people (“With all due respect, it’s not the Kennedy’s seat, it’s not the Democrats’ seat, it’s the people’s seat”), and far more then a strategic lesson in what to do (driving around in a high-mileage, all-American truck) versus what not to do (insult a local all American Major League Baseball pitcher) in a political campaign, the recent electoral victory of Scott Brown over Marcia Coakley in the Massachusetts Senate race also provides an important, “teachable moment” for Republicans about young voters, across the nation. (more)

The all-American “can-do spirit,” or in this case, “Khan-do spirit” is alive and well. And if you don’t think so, just ask the soon-to-be owner of the St. Louis Rams, Shahid Khan. (more)

The West Wing is buried in knee-high snow and on Sunday, hundreds of locals descended upon Dupont Circle for a massive snow fight. But the residents of Washington, D.C., are not the only ones feeling a chill in the air. So, too, are the die-hard proponents of global warming, and the recent snowstorms in our nation’s capital are not the only things dampening their heated arguments. (more)