The Serenity Prayer, written by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, hangs on countless American walls. I grew up with it. Whatever the reader's religious belief, or lack thereof, the prayer packs a world of comfort in a few simple lines.
Loath to tax the citizenry based on income, many states have increasingly turned to cigarette smokers and gamblers for revenues. Gamblers are often smokers, and both groups tend to be of modest or low income.
What was so shocking, terrible and unfair about flashing Osama bin Laden's ugly mug on a political advertisement? Hillary Clinton's TV spot was the first Democratic ad to make pictorial reference to the al-Qaida terrorist. It was about time.
This city will be hosting the Republican National Convention starting Labor Day. In the interests of showing Republicans a good time, the Minnesota state legislature voted to let bars here and in Minneapolis stay open until 4 a.m. during the convention.
John McCain admits that economics are not his passion, and that's fine. His past instincts were mostly good. He voted against tax cuts not paid for by savings elsewhere. He fought earmarks, earning the wrath of big-spenders in his own Republican Party.
To anyone who has felt trapped in a circle of bad service: If you haven't heard the story of Mona Shaw, pull up a chair.
About 17 years ago, a New England business reporter answered the phone and found a friendly Texan on the other end. She had recently written about how local manufacturers were coping with Environmental Protection Agency rules that sharply curbed what they could throw down their drains. Compliance was costing them.
Big-time political writers are busy people. With all the blogging, the parties and appearances on TV, skeptical examination of widely accepted beliefs seems a waste of time.
he Democratic contest lasts until the convention in late August, so what? That leaves two months for Democrats to "coalesce" around their candidate and fight the Republican. And even that shorter time frame will seem a month too long for voters.
The stock market hasn't been this nasty since the 1970s. House prices continue their dive, and consumer confidence has gone splat. The rocketing federal budget deficit will probably orbit Mars by the time the government finishes cleaning up the mess left by the housing bubble it so blithely let fester.
If we're going to bail out Wall Street, shouldn't we also rescue homeowners? "Yes!" the Democrats answer. And faster than Roger Federer returns a tennis ball, conservative voices hit back with reasons -- some rather odd -- for helping the former and not the latter.
In distancing himself from the heated remarks of his pastor, Barack Obama did as well as anyone could do in his position. The problem is his position, which is having sat in the reverend's pews for 20 years without thinking to pick up and leave.
The tale of the 22-year-old prostitute frequented by former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer dredges up an awkward memory. I once shared an apartment -- it now amazes me to say -- with a call girl who brought her johns home.
A few good words for Eliot Spitzer. The resigned New York governor could be brutish, vindictive and, when it comes to sexual rectitude, a grand hypocrite. But in going after the depredations of Wall Street, subprime lenders and corporate looters, he was a rare crusader.
A significant slice of Hillary Clinton's supporters -- that is, moderate Democrats -- might prefer McCain over Obama, or so I speculated a few weeks back.
One can assume that the people brawling into the late hours of a weekday night are not representative of your broad electorate, even in Texas. Compare the orderly primary vote in Ohio -- where the results were known by bedtime -- to the weird "Texas Two-Step," which pasted a caucus onto a primary.
The woman choking up on "Lou Dobbs Tonight" is about to lose her home. Heather DiStefano said that she and her husband can't hack monthly mortgage payments that have nearly tripled in three years to $3,100 from $1,300.
Both John McCain and lobbyist Vicki Iseman denied any romantic involvement. Mrs. McCain said she trusts her husband.
"NAFTA bad" has become Democratic shorthand to explain the misery spreading through America's industrial heartland.
Despite the hard contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, party leaders keep telling Democratic-leaning voters that they have two good candidates. They are right, but one of them may well be a Republican.
