National Columns

The Washington Post, beginning Nov. 1, 2019, will allow its syndicated columns to appear only in print. The columns will still be available as part of our e-edition newspaper online, but they will not be available as separate pieces on our website, ljworld.com. These columnists include George Will, David Ignatius, Michael Gerson and others. This does not affect other columnists like Leonard Pitts, Mona Charen, Connie Schultz and Mark Shields, who are not affiliated with the Washington Post.

Opinion: The next Congress must help Ukraine survive

After former President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the new president, Lyndon Johnson, was being urged by Democrats to name Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy as his vice-presidential running mate in the 1964 election. Problem was, Johnson despised Kennedy, and was going to make him his ...

Opinion: Witty politicians disarm the nitwits

An especially repellant political race is about to fade from the headlines. It would have been less ugly had more politicians traded invective for wit. Humor can take the edge off while retaining the bite. “Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand,” Mark Twain said. Clever ...

Opinion: A joke shows the state of MAGA

MAGA influencers got a bit worked up last week after former President Barack Obama mocked President Donald Trump’s gold-gold-gold-heavy Oval Office. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he seems very focused on home renovation,” Obama jibed about the questionable redecoration Trump ...

Opinion: Trump’s unauthorized Iran war drags on

President Donald Trump says that the Iran war will end “soon,” a promise he’s been making most of this year. Eventually, he will be right, but it hasn’t happened in time for the midterm elections, and his party is bearing the brunt. If Republicans get thumped, all the polling ...

Opinion: Wealth tax endangers what billionaires contribute

No matter what happens in Tuesday’s elections, support for wealth taxes keeps growing. Its justification is based on the idea that the very rich owe all of us something, and taxing their fortunes is collecting on that debt. We’re told their success fuels inequality and that it’s selfish ...

Opinion: Miscalculations could cost GOP both chambers

A president’s influence is not measured only by how many candidates accept his endorsement. It is measured by whether his leadership makes his party stronger. By that measure, Donald Trump’s political choices are putting Republican control of the Senate and the House at risk. The warning ...