Just as California under President Bush asserted itself on issues ranging from gun control to medical marijuana, a motley cohort of states — from South Carolina to New Hampshire — are presenting a foil for President Obama's national ambitions. WUSTL political science professor Steve Smith, who is director of WUSTL's Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government and Public Policy, comments.

References:

1. March 27, 2009 — States rebel against Washington in the The Christian Science Monitor

Is the Bush administration's reckless deregulation to blame for the current financial crisis? According to researchers at WUSTL and George Mason University, appropriations for federal regulatory functions have increased during the Bush years.

References:

1. Nov. 19, 2008 — The blame for bloated economy in the The Boston Globe

The Center for a New American Security, a small think tank here with generally middle-of-the-road policy views, is rapidly emerging as a top farm team for the incoming Obama administration. Includes comments by WUSTL economics professor Murray Weidenbaum, who wrote a book on Washington think tanks.

References:

1. Nov. 16, 2008 — Obama Dips Into Think Tank for Talent in the The Wall Street Journal online

Commentary on governmental regulation during the Bush administration, including a mention of study on regulatory spending co-authored by Melinda Warren, director of the WUSTL's Weidenbaum Center Forum.

References:

1. Sept. 13, 2008 — Too Few Regulations? No, Just Ineffective Ones in the The New York Times

and 1 others.

All presidents in the final year of a final term are lame ducks, but the media now is mostly ignoring Bush and focusing more on the battling candidates. WUSTL economics professor Murray Weidenbaum comments.

References:

1. March 31, 2008 — George W. Bush: The bygone American in the The Globe and Mail (Canada)

Steve Smith answers questions on the Minnesota caucuses for KARE 11, LUNCHTIME LIVE!. Smith is the director of the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

References:

1. Feb. 5, 2008 — LUNCHTIME LIVE! Today: Q & A with political analyst Steve Smith in the KARE 11 News (MN)

The only step left in the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito looks to be the vote, raising the question of what happened to the much anticipated struggle over high-court nominees.
Foremost among a number of forces that drained some electricity from the fight was a bipartisan agreement among a group of 14 mostly centrist senators. That changed the dynamic of judicial debates, moving the Senate decisively away from a confrontation over judicial selections such as the one that paralyzed the chamber in the spring of 2005.
WUSTL political science professor Steven Smith comments.

References:

1. Jan. 16, 2006 — The High-Court Battle That Never Was in the Wall Street Journal