Ever since President-elect Obama made his selection of Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State official, the notion has taken hold among the commentariat (both pro and con Hillary) that Mrs. Clinton will work hard for the Obama team, not for herself, in large part because she will have no choice. After all, Obama made it [...]

From The New York Times, December 2, 2008 - Click on image to enlarge

The above graphs depict various key factors contributing to the nature, length and depth of seven recessions over the past 40 years, including the current downturn. The recession that began officially last December has not been marked (so far anyway) by a [...]

I once sat through one of composer Philip Glass’ single note, hours-long concerts. I tried to grasp the conceptual value of it while I also tried not to eat my own hand out of boredom.
Gavin Newsom is the Philip Glass of politicians. And that’s the good news.
At least he’s experimenting.

Already only occasionally responsive to the [...]

CIA map of the disputed Kashmir territories, 2003
There has been a great deal of talk recently about the need for a broader regional strategy to defeat the Taliban, al Qaeda and other Islamist radicals in Afganistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan. President-elect Obama, Secretary Gates, General Petreaus, and Secretary-designate Clinton seem to be on [...]

A new report from the Digital Youth Project takes a thorough look at the online behavior of some of our youngest internet users. In what will likely comes as a shock to most educational experts, the time children spend online socializing with peers is likely critical to them using the net for such serious matters [...]

As a life-long Democrat with a moderate viewpoint, I launched a new centrist blog on Election Night 2008 - The Purple Center - to contribute to what I hope will be a renewal of moderation and good sense in American politics.  I am delighted that Justin Gardner invited me to contribute to Donklephant and look forward [...]

On the whole, I like President-Elect Obama’s economic team.  I think Tim Geithner is a solid choice at Treasury, mostly because he’s been knee deep in the bailout stuff and can jump right into the scrum.  He seems to have the confidence of Wall Street and will require little on-the-job training.
And there’s no doubt that [...]

Delaware’s Governor has appointed a long-time aide to Joe Biden to fill his Senate seat, but it looks like it’s just a temp job:
Ted Kaufman, a longtime aide to Joe Biden, will be appointed by Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner to fill the vacancy created by the vice president-elect once he resigns from the Senate.
Kaufman [...]

Our professional and collegiate sports are filled with too many ugly stories … drug abuse,  boorish behavior, a total disregard for society around them; look no further than the ongoing saga of Stephon Marbury and the New York Knicks as exhibit A.
But once in a while there’s an uplifting story, such as the case of [...]

Over the past couple of weeks we have seen two extremely provocative articles regarding the social and intellectual divide that has gripped America in recent years. Both come as we await the inauguration of president-elect Barack Obama, the man who began his campaign back in 2004 at the Democratic National Convention with the momentous line, [...]

With all the talk from Republican pundits that the GOP needs to move further to the right in light of last week’s defeat, three Republicans who actually managed to eke out wins against a Democratic tide are saying otherwise:
WASHINGTON — As Congressional Republicans lick their political wounds and try to figure out how to bounce [...]

It’s safe to say that the Republican party — and the conservative movement more specifically — is at a crossroads.
Republicans find themselves completely out of power at the national level, and with diminishing numbers at the state level. They’re leaderless, rudderless, and without a coherent vision. They wield no power, have no influence, and are [...]

I was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, a company town. Both my parents worked for General Motors. My dad came from his native Louisiana to work at Buick from 1953 to 1992. My mother got on a plane in Puerto Rico and headed to Michgan in 1963. After stints as [...]

As we celebrate our veterans on this, their special day, we offer readers this beautiful tribute from Terry Kelly.
Taking Some Time on Veterans Day.

In yet another indictment of today’s youngsters, a recent study in the United Kingdom has revealed today’s brightest do not match the intellect of the top students in the 1970’s. In simplest terms, researchers from King’s College London have reported that the intellectual level of the brightest 14-year-olds today mirrors the cognitive abilities of the [...]

Think about what just happened.
Today the American people showed the world why America is the greatest nation on Earth. Today the American people showed that the child of an immigrant can, if he works and studies hard enough, become anything he wants within these borders. Come tomorrow morning millions of children, born with skin darker [...]

So, it really is over.
John McCain has conceded. Barack Obama is currently giving his victory speech. We have some new blue states and, in a few months, we’ll inaugurate a new president.
The night has gone just about like the polls suggested it would. So I guess that data wasn’t so bad after all, although it [...]

I’d hoped that John Murtha would be kicked out on his corrupt ass, but he has won reelection. I’d also hoped that the people of Connecticut would keep centrist Republican Chris Shays in office, but he has lost.
Even in a clear Democrat year, I thought maybe we could get rid of one of the worst [...]

Democrat Kay Hagan has defeated Elizabeth Dole in North Carolina and gives the Democrats another pick-up in the Senate.
Many are saying Dole’s last-minute ad accusing Hagan godless backfired because Hagan is actually an elder in her church and Dole ended up looking petty and mean. I think with the changing demographics in North Carolina and [...]

Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine has kept her seat in Maine.
There was a point when Democrats thought Collins was a good target with Maine being very blue. But Collins ran a great campaign and is returning to the Senate.
Collins is one of the few centrist Republicans in Congress.
Her return is a good [...]