The Hillary Moment  —  President Obama can't win by running a constructive campaign, and he won't be able to govern if he does win a second term.  —  When Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson accepted the reality that they could not effectively govern the nation if they sought re-election to the White House …

Romney, Gingrich Now Top Choices for GOP Nomination  —  Gingrich's support on the rise this month  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Republicans are most likely to name Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich as their first choice for their party's 2012 presidential nomination, with Herman Cain close behind.

Deficit Deal Fell Apart After Seeming Agreement  —  WASHINGTON — The one sliver of real hope came a week ago, in the darkened Capitol on the Sunday night after Veterans Day.  —  Called away from dinner tables, the Jets-Patriots game on television and, in one case, a soccer team party …

When Did the GOP Lose Touch With Reality?  —  Some of my Republican friends ask if I've gone crazy.  I say: Look in the mirror.  —  It's a very strange experience to have your friends think you've gone crazy.  Some will tell you so.  Others will indulgently humor you.  Still others will avoid you.

Newt Gingrich was a lobbyist, plain and simple  —  Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA) arrives for a meeting in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill March 31, 2011 in Washington, DC.  Gingrich met with about 20 freshman Republican members of Congress and discussed ways …

Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden Draw Boos at NASCAR Event  —  First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden were grand marshals at today's NASCAR season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, appearing as part of their charitable campaign to support military veterans and their families.

Boring Cruel Romantics  —  There's a word I keep hearing lately: “technocrat.”  Sometimes it's used as a term of scorn — the creators of the euro, we're told, were technocrats who failed to take human and cultural factors into account.  Sometimes it's a term of praise …

Where in the world is Obama?  —  The president was in Hawaii while the supercommittee hit stall speed.  What is new about this?  Very little.  —  Throughout his term, President Obama has avoided leading on the issue of fiscal responsibility.  He walked away from his own commission …

Super Committee Member Sen. Kerry: Grover Norquist Is ‘The 13th Member Of This Committee’  —  Today, the 12-member congressional super committee is expected to announce failure to reach an agreement to cut $1.5 trillion from the federal budget.  One of major “sticking divides,” …

Recording Cain: What's he afraid of?  —  Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain does loads of media events.  His entire campaign is based upon media coverage.  Yet last week he decided to eliminate one type of coverage from the rest of his campaign.

Pullen Baptist takes a stand for gay marriage  —  The full congregation of Raleigh's Pullen Memorial Baptist Church voted Sunday to prohibit the church pastor from legally marrying anyone until she can legally marry same-sex couples under North Carolina law.

‘Lone wolf’ terror suspect arrested in New York  —  New York (CNN) — Authorities have arrested a man they claim was plotting to detonate pipe bombs in and around New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sunday night.  —  The intended targets of Jose Pimentel, 27, were U.S. military personnel …

Occupy our consciences  —  Everyone on the left side of American politics, from the near end to the far end, has advice for Occupy Wall Street.  I'm no exception.  But it's useful to acknowledge first that this movement has accomplished things that the more established left didn't.

Krugman: ‘Only fools and clowns’ believe Republican ideology  —  New York Times columnist Paul Krugman says that Newt Gingrich is just the latest of the “fools and clowns” in the Republican presidential race to become a frontrunner.  —  “I have a structural hypothesis here,” Krugman told ABC's Christiane Amanpour Sunday.

‘Super-committee’ on brink of US deficit failure  —  The committee has been locked in talks and hearings for several months  —  Talks in Washington aimed at cutting the US government's borrowing are on the verge of failure.  —  A congressional “super-committee” had been charged with finding $1.2tn …