I have to confess I watched not only former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’s short, moving testimony Wednesday but also watched her making her way into the hearing room and leaving after she spoke.  

Accompanied by her husband, Capt. Mike Kelly, she walked carefully and deliberately, step by step, working her way past senators and staff who watched as she smiled at them, gave some hugs, gave others a kiss on the cheek. Silence does not begin to describe that room.

It's official — they are worried, and they should be.

The New York Times reported Friday that a top Obama administration official assigned to Iran policy expressed concern after former Sen. Chuck Hagel's (R-Neb.) dismal confirmation hearing Thursday in the Senate Armed Services committee.

Will Tina Fey run for Congress? James Taylor? Geraldo? Another embassy is bombed in Turkey because those who want to kill us understand that we are not yet ready to defend ourselves. The important question today is, will we ever be? I think the answer is yes. But the collectivist desire — Facebook is the new collectivism, far outnumbering Marx, Jesus, pharaoh and Mohammed in new followers — to send comics, pop singers syrupy enough to draw bees, professional wrestlers and circus performers to Congress is an indication that we are not yet ready to fight.

As Hillary Clinton leaves Foggy Bottom and begins the next stage of her life, Texas Democrats are buzzing about new numbers from Public Policy Polling that show Hillary would defeat Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) for Texas's electoral votes in 2016. This is both profound and predictable, as I wrote in a recent column titled "Hillary turns Texas blue." The biggest steroid infusion in America is not in pro sports but in the Texas Democratic Party, whose insiders (finally) sense a moment of opportunity for statewide and congressional races in 2014.

The economists and media are expressing surprise that the economy has shrunk. Anyone with a modicum of common-sense economy knowledge knew the numbers never felt or looked right from the beginning. 

Jack Welch, a true businessman, made it clear that the media and economists were delusional and selling we the people a bill of goods.

The civil rights movement was born out of an intense struggle to enjoy those basic human rights we associate with happiness.

Early leaders of the movement settled on the theory that American society was primarily characterized by racism and that American institutions were grounded in the maintenance of racial privilege. Many of the black politicians who were swept into office on the heels of the movement consciously embodied this organizing principle.

I recently wrote an article about the legacy of Barack Obama, and I wrongly threw Michael Beschloss, the presidential historian, under the bus.
 
This is what I wrote:
 
“Historians will rate President Barack Obama as one of our nation’s greatest presidents. The question is: Was he any good? That the history profession is dominated by a liberal elite comes as no surprise. Robert Dallek, Arthur Schleschinger, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Michael Beschloss would all rank both Jack Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson toward the top of the list, and Ronald Reagan toward the bottom. George W. Bush will never, ever get his due for how he handled the 9/11 attacks as he passed landmark education and Medicare legislation or for his remarkable commitment to fighting AIDS in Africa.”

As most honest columnists will tell you, we often look upon editors with a wary eye, always worried that our perfect work will be desecrated by forces from above. Having noted this, it a perfect moment to express my respect and admiration for Mike Laws, a talented and extraordinary gentleman and editor I have worked closely with in recent years in my roles as columnist and Pundits Blogger here at The Hill. As most of you know, this is Mike's last day as he moves to greater heights in his education and career, which are destined to take him to even greater achievements going forward.

ObamaCare is supposedly the panacea to cure rapidly rising healthcare costs and lack of access for millions of uninsured Americans. It's continuing to prove just the opposite, with healthcare costs rising, in many cases quite dramatically. This has forced several businesses to reconsider whether they will offer healthcare coverage or accept the penalty, which in many cases is less expensive than offering the healthcare coverage. The other solution that many businesses are adopting is cutting workers to under 30 hours per week, which is the trigger for requiring healthcare coverage. In the long run, this means that people will have less access, and for those who do, the cost will be increased. Yet millions of people will listen to the mainstream media and the administration and continue to conclude that they have hit the healthcare lottery. This is a prime example of what happens when partisan politics and biased media are allowed to run rampant.