Romney's Utopia -- For Robber Barons

HOME POLITICS NATIONAL NEWS WORLD ECONOMY SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT Joe Conason Carl Hiaasen Connie Schultz E.J. Dionne Gene Lyons Jonathan Alter April 26, 2012 THE BIG STORY, BY E.J. DIONNE Mitt Romney's Magical Capitalism It turns out that there is at least one question on which Mitt Romney is not a flip-flopper: He has a utopian view of what an unfettered, lightly taxed market economy can achieve. He would never put it this way, of course, but his approach looks forward by looking backward to the late 19th century, when government let market forces rip. READ MORE VEEPSTAKES Marco Rubio Stumbles On His Way To The Vice Presidency [VIDEO] Marco Rubio gave a major foreign policy address at the Brookings Institution Wednesday, and near the end of his remarks, the Florida senator -- who has mocked President Obama on multiple occasions for using a teleprompter -- had to pause after accidentally misplacing the last page. And that's only the least of his problems. READ MORE THE GREEDIEST CASES Obama: Why Climate Deniers Are Winning In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the president bluntly explains why his White House hasn't done more to address global warming -- much less pass a comprehensive cap-and-trade bill -- and how his opponents have stymied change. READ MORE SOCIAL SECURITY AND YOU Trust Funds Depleting...But Don't Panic! The latest news stories focused on a recent report issued by Social Security's Board of Trustees, based on data compiled by Social Security Administration actuaries, that the program's trust funds will run dry in 2033, three years earlier than the estimate in last year's report. My message to all concerned is to take a deep breath and calm down. READ MORE FEATURED COLUMN: LEONARD PITTS JR. Perhaps Idiots Should Wear A Scarlet 'I' John Raese is feeling persecuted. Raese, a West Virginia businessman running for the U.S. Senate, declared in a recent speech that he doesn't want the government telling him what to do "because I'm an American." Specifically, he lamented that he is required to place a "huge sticker" on his buildings declaring them smoke-free environments. "Remember Hitler used to put Star of David on everybody's lapel, remember that? Same thing," he said. READ MORE FEATURED COLUMN: TIM PRICE How To Keep Politicians Honest Politicians are big, fat liars. It's a belief so deeply ingrained in American culture that we're taught to revere George Washington as the one-of-a-kind exception who narced himself out for chopping down a cherry tree, and even that story is completely made up. But it's not necessarily true that politicians produce lies the way plants produce oxygen. READ MORE CARTOON OF THE DAY   (c) 2012 Eastern Harbor Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 28 West 27th Street, Suite 502 New York, NY 10001