Barack Obama’s presidency has had profoundly negative consequences for our national security. From debilitating cuts in defense budgets, to gutting national missile defense efforts, to his unwillingness to acknowledge a continuing war against terrorism, to his inability to stem the nuclear proliferation threats posed by North Korea and Iran....the picture is bleak.

The crisis in financing is having a chilling effect on biomedical innovation. As discussed in my last column, the main problem in our industry is that the sheer cost of drug development has become almost prohibitively expensive, effectively pricing almost everyone but the largest companies out of the market.

The Dodd-Frank Act in general, and in particular its favorite child, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, represent sharp political disputes, as now with bypassing the Senate by the "recess" appointment of its director. But more fundamentally, they represent clashing political philosophies.

Herman Cain's stance as a non-politician who refuses to obey the rules of the great game of politics is at least momentarily a political asset in a year when opinion about conventional politicians of both parties is near an all-time low.

An unfortunate aspect of national discourse on Afghanistan has been a loss of focus on how South Asia fits more broadly into the wider Asian region and beyond. This means measuring U.S. actions in South Asia against two broader yardsticks: their impact on the spread of radical Islam and on hegemonic Chinese ambitions in Asia.

Debates are a vital opportunity that we too often miss. Here are some ways to improve them.

More than 30 years after the Islamic Revolution, Iran remains a black hole for American analysts. The unknowns regarding Iranian command, control, and capabilities represent an intelligence failure the likes of which make the Central intelligence Agency's 2002 false findings regarding Iraq weapons of mass destruction program look like small potatoes.

The belief that health insurance and the increased use of primary care associated with it leads to fewer hospitalizations has played an important role in the recent health care reform debate.