What did the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction’s announcement on November 23 contain: a successful bipartisan strategy for reducing the deficit or a disheartening lack of consensus? On the heels of the announcement, Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), one of the 12 members of the committee, speaks at  AEI to discuss the details and implications of the super committee’s decisions.

One approach for Mitt Romney would be what opponents might call a double-vanilla ticket, with another white male as vice presidential nominee. Four possibilities come to mind.

President Obama indicated his seriousness about exports when he committed to double them by 2015, but he has given conflicting signals about his commitment to trade liberalization. While the administration has praised the passage of the FTAs with Panama, Colombia, and South Korea, the president waited far too long to submit the legislation to Congress.

Question for the super committee: Why are you there, if not to make history and improve the lives of Americans? You all have a rare, maybe unprecedented chance to do something remarkable. Don’t blow it.

Tuesday's election results offered a bright morning for those who favor free trade, even though one could quibble about how important the trade issue really was to the outcome.

For all the public wrangling we are seeing over the super committee — mostly centered on tax reform and revenues as a key component of a compromise — the big issue facing policymakers in the coming years is health care costs.