The extent of the 2008 economic collapse surprised and shocked the conventional wisdom in Washington and on Wall Street. But in hindsight, a good case can be made that the massive globalization of labor and financial markets, coupled with "free markets uber alles" policies, formed a toxic mixture that...

Fox News' Bill O'Reilly and other right wing "culture warriors" have made something of a holiday tradition out of charges that Progressives have declared "War on Christmas". This, of course, is absurd. While it is true that the recession will make many Christmas stockings emptier this year, there is no...

Everyone who took Economics 101 (at least when I took it 40 years ago) remembers their professor asking what at first might have appeared to be a trick question: "When the economy goes into recession, the natural tendency of consumers is to spend less and save their money. Is that...

My wife and I were preparing for the arrival of family for our traditional Thanksgiving feast when we were interrupted by an email from her chief of staff, Cathy Hurwit. My wife is Jan Schakowsky, who is a Member of Congress.

Cathy had received an email from the...

I first got involved in politics in the 1960s as part of the Civil Rights movement. At the time, we thought that in short order progressive values would triumph -- that our careers would be spent passing initiatives like universal health care, creating a truly democratic society where every...

Should progressives beware? Has Barack Obama suckered them into supporting a President who will really govern from the "center-right"? The short answer is no.

Since November 4th there has been growing protestation from right wing intellectuals that America is really a "center-right" nation and that Obama's victory does...

As the debate over federal help for the auto industry has heated up, we've heard a lot from those who believe that the problem with the auto industry is "bloated union contracts." They see those contracts as a reason not to provide federal loans that could prevent one or...

Barack Obama's victory would not have been possible had he simply created a traditional campaign organization. To win, Obama needed a movement. The same will be true in order to enact Obama's agenda for change in the months ahead.

There is no doubt that Obama had a marvelous...

Read more Election Day Liveblogs, Reaction and Analysis from HuffPost Bloggers

With six days to go, the outcome of the election now rests far less with Obama, McCain or their campaign operatives -- and much more with rank and file political activists.

Our success now depends entirely on our level of motivation and the skill of our execution. That in...

Sarah Palin is right about one thing: this election is in fact a battle between the "real America" and a pretender. But it's not quite the battle she imagines. Palin couldn't be more wrong when she asserts that one group of Americans is more "American" than another -- or...

In seeking to explain elections, pundits present endless analysis of the policy positions of candidates and the "gotcha" moments of political back and forth. Often they analyze debates based on who won the most debating points or got off the best line. But voters have one - often unconscious...

Commentators are prone to blame the sub-prime lending crisis for the current meltdown in the American financial system. No doubt it is the proximate cause. But there is a much deeper cancer that underlies the current crisis and the eight year long stagnation of American incomes: a massive increase...

The Republicans have gone to great lengths trying to convince the voters -- especially the older voters -- that Barack Obama is "risky". The more voters know about Barack Obama, the more difficult their task has become. And another stark reality has stood in their way.

If you...

Yesterday Democrats provided most of the votes for the failed financial stabilization bill. Obama supported it. So it's ironic that whatever political benefit flows from its failure will accrue to the Democrats -- and specifically the Democratic presidential ticket.

The bailout package is deeply unpopular with voters....

The financial meltdown on Wall Street is more than a cyclic correction brought on by a mismanaged business cycle. It is emblematic of a problem at the very foundation of the right wing economic philosophy that became conventional wisdom during the Bush years -- and would be continued in...

Over the last couple of days I've received more calls and emails than I can count from people with fear in their voices. They want to know what to make of McCain's post- convention bounce in the polls. They want to know if Obama can still win. Most of...

By choosing Sarah Palin as the Republican candidate for Vice-President, McCain's all-lobbyist high command showed us three things about their analysis of the state of the race:

* They understand that if the current campaign dynamic continues they will lose. The New York Times' most recent analysis shows...

How could it possibly be good news for Democrats that polls show that roughly one in four primary voters who supported Clinton still say they aren't sold on Barack?

Simple. Most national polls also show that, while the race is tight, Obama maintains a narrow lead. As...

At first the unfolding conflict between Russia and its neighbor the Republic of Georgia seemed to be just what the McCain candidacy needed: a foreign policy crisis that would allow him to demonstrate a "tough, decisive, experienced" mastery of foreign affairs, and a new rationale for why Americans should...