And what's right with Obama?  —  The British have a saying about the twin rules of journalism: first simplify, then exaggerate.  —  Perhaps Barack Obama can comfort himself with the reality that his current travails are both more complicated in their causes and less dire in their consequences …

House Republicans up ante in showdown over federal shutdown  —  House Republican leaders bowed to conservative demands and announced plans Wednesday to strip out money for President Obama's healthcare law in a stopgap spending bill to keep the government running after Sept. 30.

An Open Letter from Howard Schultz, ceo of Starbucks Coffee Company  —  Posted by Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman, president and chief executive officer  —  Few topics in America generate a more polarized and emotional debate than guns.  In recent months, Starbucks stores and our partners …

House to Vote on Defunding Obamacare  —  Leadership sources tell me the House GOP will soon vote on a continuing resolution that simultaneously funds the federal government and defunds Obamacare.  Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor are expected to announce the decision at Wednesday's closed-door conference meeting.

Chuck Todd: It's Not Media's Job To Correct GOP's Obamacare Falsehoods (VIDEO)  —  MSNBC host Chuck Todd said Wednesday that when it comes to misinformation about the new federal health care law, don't expect members of the media to correct the record.  —  During a segment on “Morning Joe …

State Law Prevented Sale of Assault Rifle to Suspect Last Week, Officials Say  —  WASHINGTON — The gunman who killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday test-fired an AR-15 assault rifle at a Virginia gun store last week but was stopped from buying one because state law there prohibits …

Obama distress signal: President seeks help from first-term A-Team  —  A struggling President Obama is calling for help from members of his first-term A-Team, who have left the White House for other jobs.  —  With his poll numbers falling and his second-term floundering so far …

Could Republican Senator Rand Paul Win the White House?  —  Tough talk and fearless politics have made Senator Rand Paul a leader in the Republican Party.  Could he—and his charming, secret-weapon wife, Kelley—win the White House?  —  On a sunny Saturday in July, Rand Paul and his wife …

For First Time, Americans' Views of Russia Turn Negative  —  Despite approval of Russian plan for Syria, Americans sour on Putin  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — More Americans view Russia as unfriendly or an enemy of the United States than as an ally or friendly nation for the first time in 15 years …

What Maryland does better than Texas  —  Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, is governor of Maryland.  —  With gridlock and partisanship having all but paralyzed Washington, governors are at the forefront of our country's policy divide.  On the No. 1 issue facing our nation …

The Man With Pink Hair  —  I was at a conference in Bern, Switzerland, last week and struggling with my column.  News of Russia's proposal for Syria to surrender its poison gas was just breaking and changing every hour, forcing me to rewrite my column every hour.

New Hampshire Senate Candidate: More Women In The Workplace Led To More Mass Shootings  —  Former Republican state Sen. Jim Rubens is expected to announce his U.S. Senate campaign today.  The rise of an economy with added opportunities for women has created “stress” for men, he says.

Muslim beauty pageant challenges Miss World  —  Muslim women in headscarves and elaborately embroidered dresses took to the stage Wednesday for the finale of an Islamic beauty pageant in Indonesia, a riposte to the Miss World contest that has sparked hardline anger.