washingtonpost.com - Sunday Outlook

Not So Wonderful Now

Ross Douthat — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The Next World War? It Could Be Financial.

Peter Boone and Simon Johnson — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The global financial outlook grows more dire by the day: The United States has been forced to shore up Wall Street, and European governments are bailing out numerous commercial banks. Even more alarmingly, the government of Iceland is presiding over a massive default by all the country's major...

The Case for Keeping Gates

Nancy Soderberg and Brian Katulis — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

There's no need to look for a new secretary of defense.

Those Negative Ads Are a Positive Thing

John G. Geer — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Let those attack ads fly.

An Energy Fix Written in the Stars

Ben Bova — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

A solar power satellite program could be the answer to our energy woes.

Mirror, Mirror on the (Facebook) Wall

Laura E. Buffardi — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

What becomes a narcissist most?

Palin's a Media Hit? You Betcha.

Chris Wilson — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

5 Myths About Those Tinseltown Liberals

Andrew Klavan — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Hollywood used to be called the Dream Factory, but nowadays it seems to be grinding out as much propaganda as anything else. Next off the weary assembly line: Oliver Stone's "W.," which opens on Friday. If the trailer is any indication, this movie will depict our current president's life as an...

Danger Ahead for the Most Dangerous Place in the World

Sumit Ganguly — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Here's an alarming thought: Pakistan is in even scarier shape than most of the so-called experts are willing to admit.

McCain and Palin Are Playing With Fire

Khaled Hosseini — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The author of 'The Kite Runner' asks: Does the McCain-Palin campaign view me as a pariah too?

Put Country First

Post — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

IN ORDINARY times, with just over three weeks before Election Day, no one would expect the presidential candidates to think of anything but maximizing their political advantage. These are not ordinary times.

Mark Warner for Senate

Post — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

VIRGINIANS WILL cast a defining vote in the state's history when they go to the polls in three weeks to select a successor to U.S. Sen. John W. Warner (R). Virginia needs a senator who can sustain Mr. Warner's 30-year tradition of label-defying leadership, in which he put his state and country...

Facing Extinction

Post — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

ASERIES OF new reports warns of a grim future for the planet's flora and fauna. Most recently, the alarm was sounded by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which last week issued a study with the chilling news that 25 percent of the world's wild mammals face extinction...

To Some Readers, Bias on Display

Deborah Howell — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Readers object to the tone and timing of a Post Magazine piece about the Obamas.

Drawbacks in Mr. McCain's Health Plan

Post — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Ruth Marcus ["Whose Health Plan?", op-ed, Oct. 7] is correct that eliminating the tax preference for employer-sponsored health insurance, as proposed by Republican presidential nominee John McCain, could bring greater rationality to tax policy. Current tax policy on health insurance favors those who...

Wrong Direction on Nuclear Weapons

Post — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Walter Pincus performed a worthy public service with his Oct. 6 Fine Print column, reporting on a Bush administration policy paper that calls for developing the Reliable Replacement Warhead and modernizing the U.S. nuclear weapons production complex. Both proposals are being reviewed by government...

Overseeing Finance's New Era

Henry Kaufman — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The focus of new supervision and regulation should be on the largest financial institutions.

Not Quite Ready To Dump America

Jim Hoagland — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

EVIAN, France -- Looking down on the smoking ruins of the world's stock markets and financial institutions from the Alpine foothills, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev took consolation where he could find it last week by celebrating the joys of American decline.

Dispensable Arrogance

George F. Will — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Unimpressed by Charles de Gaulle's droll observation that the graveyards are full of indispensable men, Michael Bloomberg, New York City's 108th mayor, has decided that he is indispensable. So the law limiting mayors to two terms must be revised to allow three terms.

What Honeymoon?

David S. Broder — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The good news for Barack Obama is that the calamities in the financial world may have created an insuperable barrier to John McCain's White House ambitions.

Bush's Crucial Handoffs

David Ignatius — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The best thing about presidential elections is that they mark a break with the past. But that can also create a dangerous chasm -- a period of uncertainty while the new administration hires its people and frames its policies. Meanwhile, the world's problems fester.

How to Build a House of Cards

Post — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Looking back, big new homes with little or no furniture foretold today's mortgage mess.

In Shaw, an Affordable-Housing Pledge at Risk

Post — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

On Nov. 14, 2007, Mayor Adrian Fenty and D.C. Council members Kwame Brown and Jack Evans held a news conference at Parcel 42, a swath of public land at Seventh and R Streets NW, to announce the approval of an affordable housing development long desired by the Shaw community.

Helpful Hints For a Better Election Day

Post — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

I am one of the Washington region's thousands of citizen-volunteers who serve as election judges on Election Day. On Nov. 4, I will help run a local polling place. Since last fall in Montgomery County, we have been training judges for what is expected to be the heaviest-ever turnout for a U.S....

What I Did, and Couldn't Do, for Rick

Post — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Whenever I read articles about the homeless in Washington ["Remaining Homeless Moved Out of Shelter," Metro, Sept. 27], I always think of "Rick."

Our Town

Leonard Downie Jr. — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

After 44 years in Washington, I am still impressed when I look out the window of a plane landing at Reagan National Airport. The monuments and government buildings arrayed around the Mall never fail to remind me of the beauty, majesty and purposefulness I see in the nation's capital.

9/11 Was Big. This Is Bigger.

David Rothkopf — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Two September shocks will define the presidency of George W. Bush. Stunningly enough, it already seems clear that the second -- the financial crisis that has only begun to unfold -- may well have far greater and more lasting ramifications than the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

From the GOP's New Guard, the Audacity of Nope

Eve Fairbanks — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The GOP's new guard is fiercely stubborn, gutsily insubordinate, drama-loving and unadulteratedly ideological.

Spare Me the Sermon On Muslim Women

Mohja Kahf — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Crimson chiffon, silver lamé or green silk: Which scarf to wear today? My veil collection is 64 scarves and growing. The scarves hang four or five to a row on a rack in my closet, and elation fills me when I open the door to this beautiful array. Last week, I chose a particularly nice scarf to sl...

In Wartime, Finding Greener Pastures

David M. Sherman — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

An Afghan proverb says, "The potter always drinks water from a broken jug." And so it sometimes seems to be with veterinarians who, while busy tending to other people's animals, put off caring for their own.

The Doctors Who Are Redefining Life and Death

William Saletan — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Can termination decisions really be insulated from pressure to donate organs?

Tom Ricks's Inbox

Post — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

A note outlining a couple of tricks the British learned battling the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland.

He Told Us to Go Shopping. Now the Bill Is Due.

Andrew J. Bacevich — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

It's widely thought that the biggest gamble President Bush ever took was deciding to invade Iraq in 2003. It wasn't. His riskiest move was actually one made right after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks when he chose not to mobilize the country or summon his fellow citizens to any wartime...

Behind the Bluster, Russia Is Collapsing

Murray Feshbach — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The bear is back. That's what all too many Russia-watchers have been saying since Russian troops steamrolled Georgia in August, warning that the country's strongman, Vladimir Putin, was clawing his way back toward superpower status. The new Russia's resurgence has been fueled -- quite literally --...

The Roadblock Crew

Post — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

BURIED IN a lengthy report about the firing of nine U.S. attorneys is the disturbing explanation of how the White House blocked Justice Department investigators from obtaining pertinent documents.

Mr. Olmert's Farewell

Post — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

AFTER ISRAELI Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir was voted out of office in 1992, he gave an interview in which he revealed he had never been serious about peace negotiations with the Palestinians. His real intention, he said, had been to drag out the talks for a decade while settling hundreds of...

Transformation for Tysons

Post — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

THE FAIRFAX County Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved an ambitious vision for Tysons Corner that would turn it from a textbook case of suburban sprawl into a model of environmentally conscious smart growth in urban planning. Now the hard part begins: devising the legal language to be...

A Campaign Still to Be Plumbed

Deborah Howell — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Questions The Post needs to answer before Election Day.

Piracy That Calls for the Navy's Power

Post — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

There was one disturbing aspect of the Sept. 27 front-page story "On a Vital Route, a Boom in Piracy," and that is the near-total absence of the Navy in combating Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden. Not until near the end of the article was the Navy mentioned -- through a Royal Navy spokesman! -- as...

Another FDR? Not Quite

Post — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Michael Gerson ["Nominees in Need of Ideas," op-ed, Sept. 24] discussed President Bush's response to the financial crisis and said that he and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. had "assumed the mantle of Franklin D. Roosevelt." Praising the president for merely attempting to clean up the mess...

Lessons Taught By FDR

David Ignatius — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

"Piece by piece, the nation's credit structure was becoming paralyzed. Crisis was in the air, but it was a strange, numbing crisis. . . . It was worse than an invading army; it was everywhere and nowhere, for it was in the minds of men. It was fear."

Bad Medicine

James Grant — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Why the bailout bill is just more of the same.

The Uplifting Debate

David S. Broder — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

McCain's candidacy needs bolstering, and Palin may be able to help.

Illuminating Our Choices

Jim Hoagland — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The Ancient Mariner seems to have tied the albatross around his own neck.

What McCain Learned From the Rough Rider

George F. Will — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

John McCain, like many Americans who should know better, extravagantly praises Theodore Roosevelt. He is a kindred spirit of the impulsive Rough Rider, but the visceral McCain is rescued from some of TR's excesses by not having TR's overflowing cupboard of ideas.

The Final Chapter In a Washington Story

Post — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The closing of Olsson's Books and Records, one of Washington's few remaining independent bookstores, is the final chapter for another institution of the kind that made Washington Washington.

A Biofuels Bonanza in Our Back Yard

Post — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Every major source of energy used by modern society has an environmental impact -- and all too often it's negative. Fortunately, things may be changing -- especially in the Washington region.

Resolving Virginia's Budget Crisis Will Take Teamwork

Post — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

According to experts, the U.S. economy is heading into a recession, and conditions might get worse before they get better. Virginia has not been shielded from this crisis. Our faltering economy could force us to find additional budget savings of $3 billion or more to fulfill our constitutional...

Campaigning For a Little Courtesy

Post — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

As campaign season rages to a fever pitch, volunteers for Republicans and Democrats scurry from house to house conducting mini-surveys to determine which voters have already made their choices and which remain undecided. For the first time since I was eligible to vote 30 years ago, I decided to join...

What They Really Said

Post — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Henry Kissinger and other foreign policy gurus assess the first presidential debate.

Everybody Calm Down. A Government Hand In the Economy Is as Old as the Republic.

Robert J. Shiller — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

It has become fashionable to fret that the current crisis on Wall Street marks the end of American capitalism as we know it. "This massive bailout is not the solution," Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) warned Tuesday. "It is financial socialism, and it is un-American." It is neither. The near-collapse of...

It's All Part of the Plan

Kelly Marages — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

I'm told that September is the best time of year to visit the Hamptons -- the summer crowds are long gone but the sun still shines down, warming the beautiful beaches. At least that's what Mike and Rachel's wedding Web site promised. Which was good to know as I packed my bag to go watch them tie the...

If Roe Goes, Our State Will Be Worse Than You Think

Linda Hirshman — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

In the 1980s, when abortion was severely limited in then-West Germany, border guards sometimes required German women returning from foreign trips to undergo vaginal examinations to make sure that they hadn't illegally terminated a pregnancy while they were abroad. According to news stories and other...

Here's How It's Done, Hank: A Parable From a Crisis of a Century Ago.

Jean Strouse — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Watching the Sunday morning talk shows last week, I found myself sympathizing with Henry Paulson. It's not that the Treasury secretary needs me to feel his pain, though he did look completely exhausted and had scarcely any voice left. My concern derived from having "lived" through the Panic of 1907...

Post — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Q. How do you feel about unilateral U.S. raids? A. The United States is a friend of Afghanistan. . . . That is a given. But there have to be changes in the way we operate. The war against terrorism cannot be and will not be won in the Afghan villages.

Their Party Crashed. Ours May Too.

Robert S. McElvaine — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

"History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes." Mark Twain was supposed to have said that, but even if he didn't, there's no denying that we're seeing proof of the adage in today's financial crisis.

She's Not Such A Delicate Flower, Guys

Post — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

CNN anchor Campbell Brown made waves last Tuesday when she said on the air that she had "had enough of the sexist treatment of Sarah Palin" -- by Sen. John McCain and his aides. "I call upon the McCain campaign to stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate flower who will wilt at any moment,"...

As We Grow Older, Everything Is Illuminated

Deborah Tannen — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Not long ago, I read that slaves made up one-fifth of the population of New York City in the 1700s. I gasped. The 18th century, which at one time sounded to me like ancient history, now feels shockingly recent. It was less than 300 years ago -- less than three times the span of my father's life. And...

'Munich' Shouldn't Be Such a Dirty Word

Geoffrey Wheatcroft — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Seventy years ago this month, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain flew to Germany to meet Adolf Hitler once, twice and then a third time. On Sept. 30, 1938, they agreed that the German-speaking "Sudetenland" of Czechoslovakia should be ceded to Germany. Ever since, the name of this Munich...