Sept. 8: Conventions May Put Obama in Front-Runner's Position  —  On Friday, we began to see reasonably clear signs that President Obama would receive some kind of bounce in the polls from the Democratic convention.  —  Mr. Obama had another strong day in the polls on Saturday …

State of the race: Advantage, Obama  —  President Barack Obama heads out of the national political conventions with a much clearer path to winning, top advisers to Mitt Romney privately concede.  —  The Romney campaign, while pleasantly surprised by Obama's lackluster prime-time performance …

Why Is This Election Close?  —  For a long time I have been predicting that Mitt Romney would get the Republican nomination, and that he would then win the general election.  I have said that the election will be reasonably close-demographic realities dictate that all national elections …

On ‘This Week’: GOP Vice Presidential Nominee Paul Ryan  —  Republican vice presidential candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., speaks during a campaign event at East Carolina University on Sept. 3, 2012 in Greenville, N.C. (Mary Altaffer/AP Photo)  —  As the general election season heads …

Ann Romney: Mitt unfairly ‘demonized’  —  GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's wife Ann said that her husband has been unfairly ‘demonized,’ during a joint appearance on NBC's Meet the Press aired on Sunday.  —  Ann Romney said she took to the GOP convention stage to convey that her family …

Mitt Romney: I'll Keep The Good Parts Of ‘Obamacare’  —  Mitt Romney said Sunday that he likes parts of ‘Obamacare’ and will keep key provisions involving pre-existing conditions and young people.  —  “I'm not getting rid of all of health care reform.  Of course there are a number of things …

Jeff Bezos And The End of PowerPoint As We Know It  —  Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos addresses a press conference to introduce new Amazon and Kindle products in New York, September 28, 2011.  (Image credit: AFP/Getty Images via @daylife)  —  The next time you deliver a PowerPoint presentation that matters …

Gov. Brown renews fitness test challenge against Christie  —  California Gov. Jerry Brown still wants New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to take him up on a three-part fitness challenge.  —  Brown renewed his call Sunday to battle Christie in a 3-mile race, chin-up and push-up contest during an interview on CNN's “State of the Union.”

A Terrifying Way to Discipline Children  —  IN my public school 40 years ago, teachers didn't lay their hands on students for bad behavior.  They sent them to the principal's office.  But in today's often overcrowded and underfunded schools, where one in eight students receive help …

The Age of Trolling  —  How a small band of conservatives generated half of the Democratic Convention's headlines.  —  Vice-president Biden speaks at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC.  —  © Richard Kalvar/Magnum Photos for Slate.

Obama tells ‘birther’ joke, asks young boy if he has birth certificate  —  President Obama poked fun at conspiracy theories which question whether he was born in the United States during a campaign stop in Orlando, Fla. on Saturday.  —  The president made a stop at a local sports bar …