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 …

Inside story of Obama's struggle to keep Congress from controlling outcome of debt ceiling crisis  —  President Obama summoned the top four congressional leaders to the White House on Saturday morning, July 23, 2011.  The night before, House Speaker John A. Boehner had withdrawn from negotiations …

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 …

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 …

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.

Mass Arab Attack on Jewish Village  —  Hundreds of PA Arabs assault Jewish villagers in the Binyamin region, children cry as mob screams ‘slaughter the Jews.’  —  Hundreds of Palestinian Authority Arabs have been assaulting a Jewish village in the Binyamin region since Saturday afternoon, Tatzpit reports.

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 …

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 …

OBAMANOMICS: 173K NEW FOOD STAMP RECIPIENTS, 96K NEW JOBS  —  It's like a corrupt media ritual.  The moment a Republican enters the Oval Office, America's homeless are suddenly discovered, dragged before news cameras, and used as props to prove how heartless the current administration is.

Cutting the Deficit, With Compassion  —  ASIDE from the empty chair that Clint Eastwood debated, the main prop at the Republican convention was a debt clock, highlighting the federal deficit and the growing national debt.  The importance of dealing with the deficit will clearly be a major Republican theme this fall.