Columns

Milbank: Diplomat's Benghazi attack tale fails to prove damning

They summoned a whistle-blower to Capitol Hill, but instead they got a virtuoso storyteller. Gregory Hicks, the No. 2 U.S. diplomat in Libya the night Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed, was to be the star witness for Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., the man leading the probe of the Obama administration's handling of the attack on the diplomatic outpost in Benghazi.

Robinson: Obama should use veto pen to get GOP back to table

President Obama had the opportunity last week to make an irresponsible Congress face the consequences of its own dumb actions. For reasons I cannot fathom, he took a pass.

Ambrose: Jefferson championed vigilance, but Obama fears it

Thomas Jefferson said and others chimed in that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. Phooey, says President Barack Obama. He recently told graduating college students in Columbus, Ohio, to essentially ignore such advice.

Callaghan: Fixing levy system tougher than finding $1B for schools

Here's something to contemplate during the Legislature's version of spring break: the difficult job of finding $1 billion-plus in additional state money for public schools might be the easy part of meeting the state Supreme Court's mandate in the McCleary decision.

Sowell: Dumbed-down education renders thinking obsolete

While it is not possible to answer all the e-mails and letters from readers, many are thought-provoking, whether those thoughts are positive or negative.

Pitts: NBA player's coming out game-changer beyond court

Boom!

Will: Obama's caution on Syria sensible, if poorly stated

People who talk incessantly often talk imprecisely, and Barack Obama, who is as loquacious as he is impressed with his verbal dexterity, has talked himself into a corner concerning Syria and chemical weapons. This is condign punishment for his rhetorical carelessness, but the nation's credibility, not just his, will suffer. His policy is better than his description of it, and his description is convoluted because he lacks the courage of his sensible conviction that entanglement in Syria would be unwise.

Local View: Adequate funding crucial to Gorge

Cuts to services, staff would also hurt local communities

On Nov. 17, 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act and the Gorge became one of the most significant national scenic areas in the United States. The Scenic Area Act embodies two fundamental purposes -- to protect and enhance natural resources, and to support and enhance the regional economy.

Local View: Funding CRC would be fiscally irresponsible

Citizens expect government to be fiscally responsible. Regarding the Columbia River Crossing, Washington legislators are being asked to allocate $450 million toward a $3.5 billion megaproject.

John Laird: Focusing the fire extinguisher on complaints about CRC

Today's accompanying mug shot illustrates the horrid consequences of repeatedly setting one's hair on fire. Like Obama, I'm not the strapping young Muslim socialist I used to be and, alas, growing bangs is out of the question.

Milbank: Obama needs to get off sidelines and back into game

It's never a good sign for a president when he feels compelled to assure the public he still has a pulse. This is the unenviable position President Obama was in Tuesday morning when he held a news conference and faced questions about the stalled pieces of his legislative program.

Marcus: Out and proud NBA player leaves us pining for last 'first'

I am so looking forward to the end of firsts.

Parker: Bush's public persona at odds with gentle private side

In a reprieve from the horror of the most recent terrorist attack, the nation's attentions turned last week to the man who declared the war on terrorism, George W. Bush. During the April 25 dedication of his library at Southern Methodist University, nary a word was spoken about the most controversial aspect of his tenure, the Iraq invasion. All living presidents were in attendance and made only generic references to mistakes and regrets familiar to all. Of course, Bush famously acknowledges no mistakes or regrets, but rather bequeaths judgment to history.

Camden: GOP rhetoric fails to keep tax loophole from closing

There is an axiom in legislating, that when you have the votes to pass something, you shut up and cast them. When you don't have the votes, you talk. A corollary to that in this year's legislative session seems to be that when you don't have the votes, you offer up comments as quotable as possible. When you have the votes, you don't need to be pithy or clever; you speak as little as possible and cast them.