Afghan troops get a lesson in American cultural ignorance  —  KABUL — During the Vietnam War, American soldiers shipped out armed with government-issued guides to the distant land and the mysterious people.  —  In Afghanistan, the U.S. military has tried training sessions, embedded cultural advisers …

Supreme Court cases could stir 2012 race  —  As the presidential race heads into the home stretch, the Supreme Court is poised to wade into a series of contentious issues that neither President Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney seems eager to discuss.  —  The justices begin their next term on Monday.

On ‘This Week’: Gov. Chris Christie and David Plouffe  —  Chris Christie and David Plouffe on This Week (New Jersey State Governor's Office/ABC)  —  Days before the critical first presidential debate next week, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and White House senior adviser David Plouffe join …

Most voters have locked in choice  —  Thirty-seven days from Election Day, Iowa has few undecided voters left — just 2 percent.  —  But 10 percent of likely voters say they could still change their minds.  Of that group, more than half are independent voters.

Des Moines Register Iowa Poll: Obama leads Romney by 4 points  —  © Des Moines Register and Tribune Co.  —  President Barack Obama leads Republican nominee Mitt Romney 49 percent to 45 percent in the battleground state of Iowa, a new Des Moines Register Iowa Poll has found.

The attitude cultivated in America under one term of President Obama  —  Ignorance?  Apathy?  Mediocrity?  All of the above?  —  In a video taken outside a Romney rally, one Obama supporter shares why he won't vote for Romney.  Pay close attention, because this is what happens …

Elizabeth Warren appears to inch ahead of Scott Brown in new Globe poll, 43 - 38  —  But 18% of voters said they're still undecided  —  You are reading this article for FREE courtesy of BostonGlobe.com.  Get unlimited access.  —  With Elizabeth Warren and Senator Scott Brown preparing …

Santorum plants seed for possible 2016 White House candidacy  —  Rick Santorum is positioning himself for a possible White House run in 2016.  —  The former Pennsylvania senator has thrown his support behind Mitt Romney, but it is clear he is mulling another White House bid down the road.

The World We're Actually Living In  —  FOR the first time in a long, long time, a Democrat is running for president and has the clear advantage on national security policy.  That is not “how things are supposed to be,” and Republicans sound apoplectic about it.

In Libya, security was lax before attack that killed U.S. ambassador, officials say  —  On the eve of his death, U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens was ebullient as he returned for the first time in his new role to Benghazi, the eastern Libyan city that embraced him as a savior during last year's civil war.

Defining moment eludes Mitt Romney  —  Mitt Romney could use a big moment.  —  Since he began stumping, the GOP presidential nominee's campaign events have been nearly identical — perfectly staged and choreographed, but forgettable.  If it weren't for the occasional state flag hanging behind him …

Is torturing “material witnesses” constitutional?  —  I always get a sick feeling when I see DAs on cop shows blithely say they can hold a suspect as a material witness until they find the evidence to charge him.  (They always “need” to because the suspect is “one of the really bad ones.")

Introducing The New Polling Firm of Madoff, Marist, Quinnipiac and Ponzi  —  After a few weeks spent tracking down and questioning pollsters and the reporters of polls, I can assure the reader that pollsters are the modern-day alchemists.  They promise to turn numbers into predictive gold.