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May 14, 2013 The sudden eruption of second-term scandals in his administration will have many costs for President Obama, but surely the most grievous will be the lost opportunity to transcend the partisan wars of Washington, his fondest dream for his second term, much as it was for his first. Now it seems destined to be dashed once again.

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April 30, 2013 What stood out were the moments he seemed at a loss with the frustrations of dealing with Congress. But no matter how frustrating a president finds this dilemma, it does not advance his cause to wear his frustration in public. Yes, he must acknowledge the difficulties he faces, but he also needs to transcend them.

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March 28, 2013 A look back at landmark cases makes clear that the Supreme Court never really knows exactly how its decisions will play out — especially not in the long run. That uncertainty must loom over the justices now as they contemplate the issue of gay marriage.

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March 19, 2013 The hard-eyed assessment of the 2012 national election by the Republican National Committee is either the first step toward the GOP's recovery or the latest sign that the party is headed for a break-up.

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March 15, 2013 Jeb Bush is popular in conservative circles and is the third member of the Bush family to be seen as a presidential contender. (The last two were elected.) So is there some sort of How to Be President checklist somewhere in the Bush house? If so, it might look something like this.

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November 5, 2012 The superstorm began its destructive tour of the American mainland in Florida, and that's where the GOP presidential nominee needs to begin his march on election night. Other states in its path included North Carolina, Virginia and New Hampshire, states where Mitt Romney has a strong chance.

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October 30, 2012 The latest NPR Battleground Poll shows former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney holding the narrowest of leads in the national sample, but trailing President Obama in the dozen states that will decide the election. The poll adds evidence that the Oct. 3 debate between the two men redefined the race.

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October 23, 2012 The retracting of the Romney horns was too obvious to be spontaneous. That is not the way the GOP nominee and his team operate. They have decided that polls in their favor are now the contest's defining factor. So their tactics for the third debate went from "go after him" to "don't blow it."

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October 22, 2012 The opposition to the Vietnam War was young, unconventional, countercultural and suspicious of government. McGovern himself was none of these things. At the time of his presidential nomination in 1972, the two-term Democratic senator was a decorated World War II veteran who had spent most of his adult life in politics.

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