Steve Chapman is a columnist and editorial writer for the Chicago Tribune.
Obama's Auto Fairy Tale
Obama is reluctant to shoulder responsibility for the overall state of the economy, but doesn't mind taking credit for every car sold since 2009.
Steve Chapman
Latest from Steve Chapman
The Cloud Over Football
Because modern players are bigger and faster, they may be inflicting even worse brain damage on each other.
Gas Prices and Political Mythology
If there is any issue you can be sure will come up during a presidential election campaign, it's gasoline prices.
The Truth About Obama and Welfare Reform
Why is it important to attach work mandates to welfare checks?
Obama and Romney vs. the Bill of Rights
We don't know whether Obama or Romney will come out on top in the election. But it's a safe bet that civil liberties will not.
Illegal Immigrants, Not So Illegal
If foreign-born students have done everything to qualify for higher education, why shouldn't they be allowed to pursue it on the same terms as their peers?
Paul Ryan and the Real Enemy of Medicare
It's easy to improve health care if cost is no object. It's easy to reduce costs if you can tolerate worse health outcomes.
Mayor Bloomberg: Breastfeed or Else
Bloomberg enthusiastically favors breastfeeding infants. But he is not content to simply express his view for your consideration.
For Palestinians, Don't Blame Culture
If you see an economy burdened by bureaucrats, suffocating controls and arbitrary delays, you can assume it will grow slowly or not at all.
Mitt Romney's Scary World
He sees us beset by formidable foes whom we can deter only by endlessly flaunting our willingness to go to war.
Futile Remedies for Mass Shootings
The urge to find a cure is powerful. As a rule, though, those that emerge are sugar pills.
The Real Reason Why Mitt Romney Spoke to the NAACP
By presenting himself to the nation's premier civil rights group, Romney signaled his aversion to bigotry.
Afghanistan, From Bad to Worse
What reason is there to believe another 11 years would achieve what the past 11 didn't?
The Arms Race that Won't Happen
Nuclear proliferation is always said to be on the verge of suddenly accelerating, and somehow it never does.
In Defense of John Roberts and the ObamaCare Verdict
Advocates of limited government should count all the ways in which our side won.
Corporate Electioneering: Don't Believe the Hype
When the Supreme Court ventures into the subject of corporate political spending, it has a way of fogging the minds of its critics.
Is Buying a Gun a Suicidal Act?
Anyone who acquires a firearm, we are told, is inviting a bloody death by suicide.
Strangled by Tight Money
Inflation-phobes resemble someone stranded in the desert without water who spends his time frantically searching for a life preserver.
The Futility of Chicago's Gun Turn-Ins
Who is most likely to turn in a firearm for a $100 reward? Someone with 1) a cheap gun and 2) no criminal propensity.
Barack Obama Is Not a Frugal President
Any attempt at celebrating the administration's budget record amounts to climbing the fence into the lion enclosure at the zoo.
The Bogus Threat from Shariah Law
We've come a long way in religious tolerance. Or maybe not.
The Myth of Unfair Paychecks
A difference in pay does not prove discrimination.
Elizabeth Warren's Tribe, and Mine
The Massachusetts Senate candidate is not the only person who got into Harvard under false pretenses.
Why We Should Stay Out of Syria
Sometimes leadership lies in knowing what not to do-and then not doing it.
Are We Headed for a Fight with China?
Tensions and disagreements may be inevitable, but military clashes and all-out war are not.
Chinese Communists No Longer Put Much Stock in Communism
China has gone from Mao to 'money worship.'
The Implausibility of Nuclear Terrorism
The worst eventuality is one that will likely never happen.
Obama's 'Cynicism' on Gay Marriage
There is something to be said for a president who takes even a mild stand and nudges the nation toward greater freedom and equality.
Moderates Only Look Dead
The center, contrary to what you might conclude, is not vanishing.
Voting for War, Again and Again
Looking at recent history, you would conclude not that the Constitution allows the president to make war, but that it requires him to do so.
A Bribery Ban Backfires
Until 1977, there was no country that criminalized the practice of bribery abroad.
The Right Running Mate
The prospective Republican nominee will have a tough time living up to recent standards.
Mixing Ignorance and Democracy
Many Americans won't learn the most rudimentary facts about the people running for office and the policy issues they will have to address.
Inching Toward War in Syria
For the moment, the Obama administration is not beating the war drums. But how long it until it does?
The Minimum Wage Mirage
It would be nice if every worker were worth $9.80 an hour. But not all workers are.
The Liberal Attack on the Court
To pillory or punish judges for doing their job undermines the legitimacy not just of the court but of our entire constitutional system.
Religion and Politics: An Unholy Mix
As the nonreligious proliferate, the GOP may find it has foreclosed any chance of winning their votes.
Fraudulent Fears of a Second Term
His detractors forget that even if he were a crazed leftist, Obama has limited powers.
Toward the Conquest of World Poverty
Even communists eventually have to make peace with reality.
Jeb Bush and Republican Amnesia
In this campaign, Republicans are doing all they can to disassociate themselves from the Bush years.
Why the Right Shifted on Immigration
Clearly the party has undergone a transformation since the days of Ronald Reagan.
Manufacturing an Economic Myth
Rick Santorum and Barack Obama both have a soft spot for the manufacturing sector.
Collateral Damage from 'Reproductive Rights'
The practice of eliminating people because of their sex or significant defects isn't the worst of it.
The NFL's Bounty of Trouble
Even football fans know the difference between a hard tackle and aggravated assault.
