Larry Elder

If Kerry goes down in the fall, trace the blame to . . . Butchy Cataldo. Kerry's critics point to his shifting stands on NAFTA, the war in Iraq, the No Child Left Behind Act and the Patriot Act. Kerry detractors expect the public to catch on when Kerry -- a fiscal...

A moderate friend -- aka "swing voter" -- recently sent me a letter, in which he raised his objections about President Bush. Moderate Friend: Bush has made no major move to address environmental issues at all. The No. 1 thing a president could do environmentally is...

Aaron McGruder draws the sometimes-funny daily comic strip "The Boondocks." The strip centers around a black family that moved into a predominantly white neighborhood. In a recent strip, two young black characters considered renaming what they call the "Most...

When did Democrats stop calling themselves "liberal"? Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., when asked whether he considered himself a liberal, treated the questioner as if she belonged to the House Committee on Un-American Activities during the McCarthy years. Elizabeth Bumiller...

Consider government-sanctioned or court-mandated same-sex marriage -- somewhere, at some point -- a virtual certainty. For the Massachusetts State Supreme Court recently advised its legislature that anything short of same-sex marriage constitutes a violation of the...

The conversation began harmlessly enough. Sunday morning, after breakfast, I walked out of the cafe and passed a gentleman sitting at an outdoor table. The man intently scribbled on a legal pad, engrossed in his subject. On the table among a stack of papers sat a book...

Conversation at the Ronald Reagan Library, Simi Valley, Calif., Friday, Feb. 6, 2004: Larry Elder: Let me tell you what an honor this is. This is like meeting royalty. Nancy Reagan: Thank you very much. Thank you. Elder: Tell me what you consider your greatest...

Supporters of former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, aka "Deanie-boppers," accuse the media of piling on by repeatedly playing his now infamous Iowa caucus "concession speech," punctuated by his banshee-like "Yeeeaaaaaarggh!" Dean's admittedly un-presidential behavior...

Did Saddam Hussein and his interest in weapons of mass destruction pose a threat to the United States? Just ask the Democrats. Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean (D), appearing on "Face the Nation" in September 2002, said, "There's no question that Saddam Hussein is...

Accusing his cable company of "addicting" him, his wife and his kids to TV, a Wisconsin man threatened to sue Charter Communications. Tim Dumouchel of Fond du Lac said his family's viewing habits -- forced on him by cable TV -- caused his wife to become overweight and...

While recently driving and listening to National Public Radio, I heard a piece on holiday homelessness. During this time of the year, one frequently hears stories about the downtrodden and homeless. No one seems to agree exactly on the number of homeless, and the...

Consider yourself blessed if you, like myself, grew up with parents who taught personal responsibility through leading by both word and deed. Yet lacking an in-home role model or role models — my father grew up as an out-of-wedlock only child — does not necessarily determine one’s fate or destiny. Sometimes one must become one’s own role model, a responsibility made easier by following this prescription, originally printed in my first book, “The Ten Things You Can’t Say in America.”

Moonie, my neighbor's cat, sits predictably outside my front door every morning at 7 a.m. Moonie expects breakfast, and if unhappy with that day's selection -- fish, chicken, beef -- Moonie sniffs indignantly and walks over to the front door and meows for his...

Talk about going down in a blaze of glory. Despite Saddam Hussein's stated intention to resist the U.S.-led coalition, the U.S. Army 4th Infantry Division found him in a 6-foot by 8-foot "spider hole" just large enough for a man to lie down, 10 miles south of Tikrit,...

"There you go again," said Ronald Reagan, during his 1980 debate against Jimmy Carter. His simple, gentle jab at his opponent for misstating the Reagan record brought down the house. Well, there goes Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., again. She accuses President...

The Race Card -- "Don't Leave Home Without It." Michael Jackson, according to the Santa Barbara district attorney, allegedly molested a 12-year-old boy. But not long after the search of Michael Jackson's estate, and the issuance of an arrest warrant, Jackson defenders...

Last week's column contained excerpts from my interview with Robert Spencer, author of "Onward Muslim Soldiers: How Jihad Still Threatens America and the West." He makes the case that violent Islam stems from a straight reading of Islamic religious texts, and that...

A "religion of peace," says President Bush about Islam. But investigative journalist Robert Spencer, in his new book "Onward Muslim Soldiers: How Jihad Still Threatens America and the West," argues that what we call "Islamic extremism" stems from a straightforward...

Democratic presidential candidate Reverend Al Sharpton, at the recent Democratic debate in Boston, took the front-runner, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, to task. Dean's sin? Dean, in an interview with the Des Moines (Iowa) Register on Saturday, Nov. 1, stated,...