It’s depressing to watch, but it is missing the point that the Volcker rule would not have prevented the loss and is probably unworkable.

Those opposed to the war will huff and puff about the escalation, but do nothing to impede it.

America weighs in on Congress, Iraq, Al Gore, and the Internet.

On the key issues where Congress has an important role to play in foreign policy, a Democratic takeover of the House or Senate would be an unfortunate development for Latin America.

Losing money is embarrassing. And an embarrassed Jamie Dimon publicly admitted that J.P. Morgan Chase goofed. Three senior executives lost their jobs as a result. But politicians and regulators in Washington are rushing to leverage the bank's misfortune for their own gain.

When he was director of central intelligence, Leon Panetta earned a reputation as an energetic advocate for his agency. When he replaced Robert Gates at the Pentagon, it was reasonable to hope that Panetta would continue to play the role of a senior statesman.

We have been studying Washington politics and Congress for more than 40 years, and never have we seen them this dysfunctional. In our past writings, we have criticized both parties when we believed it was warranted. Today, however, we have no choice but to acknowledge that the core of the problem lies with the Republican Party.

Moreover, most allies haven't a clue how the pivot will manifest itself and what role they should be playing. If a "pivot" means anything, it is at the least keeping security commitments. Now Obama has made one -- helping Taiwan close the "fighter gap."