Here's a nice news flash: Most people really are religious and tolerant, faithful and open, altogether American. That's the conclusion this week of a major Pew Research Center study of religion in America.
Cindy Unleashed" screamed the headline on the Drudge Report. Did Cindy McCain really go after Michelle Obama? Not exactly, but close enough. There was only one right answer to the question Mrs. McCain was asked by Kate Snow on ABC's "Good Morning America" this week about whether Mrs. McCain was "insulted" by Mrs. Obama's comment some time ago that it was only with her husband's run for president that she was "really proud" of her country.
In the outpouring of tributes and anecdotes about the passing of Tim Russert, one item caught my eye. It was a note that recalled that this was the second tragedy in a matter of months for the Russert family: It was less than three months ago that Tim's sister Betty lost her husband, William Buckenroth; he was 61. Meanwhile, their father, Tim Russert senior or "Big Russ," continues to live in Buffalo.
Everyone knows what the "right" answer is to the question of whether you would be willing to vote for an African-American for president. The "right" answer is yes. What's surprising is not how many people say yes, but how many don't.
"Today is a great day not only for every lesbian and gay couple who wants to get married, but for every Californian who believes in fairness and equal opportunity for all," said Judy Appel, executive director of Our Family Coalition, a group that advocates for same-sex couples with children, in response to the California Supreme Court majority's refusal to delay its ruling on gay marriage. As a result of that refusal, California counties have until June 17 to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
As I write this, the last voters in the last states in this seemingly endless primary process are heading to the polls, even as various news organizations have already announced that Barack Obama has reached the shifting magic number to claim a majority of the delegates.
There is a very easy way for Barack Obama's team to avoid floor fights at the Democratic National Convention.
That's what we are. I don't just mean the real Kennedys, the people who are related to what will always be, for my generation, the closest thing America has to royalty.
A few years ago, the National Abortion Rights Action League, as it was then called, or NARAL for short, changed its name to NARAL Pro-Choice America.
When I got to one of my offices yesterday (I won't say which, lest you hold it against them, which I certainly don't), people were crowded around the computer, watching the latest video on YouTube. And laughing.
"We'd rather not win than to have to do that," Cindy McCain told Ann Curry of the "Today" show, in response to a question about negative campaigning. "That's not worth winning for. This is about being a leader and a person that can be a good example for our children, and a good role model.
Rockstar is the name of the company that is rolling wheelbarrows of money to the bank this week, projected to rack up something on the order of $400 million in revenue from the sale of six million copies of its newest video game sensation, Grand Theft Auto IV.
There's a lot of talk lately about how John McCain might just be the luckiest guy in America, what with the Democrats still fighting among each other, the Rev. Wright proving that friends can be worse than enemies, and Republicans swallowing their doubts about their about-to-be nominee and giving their support to a guy many conservatives can barely stomach. No doubt, he's one lucky fella.
Hillary Clinton has been much mocked over the years for arguing that it takes a village to raise a child. On the other hand, she was right, at least some of the time.
Lilly Ledbetter was nearing 60 and on the verge of retirement when someone sent her an anonymous letter telling her that for the preceding 19 years, she'd been earning less than her male counterparts at Goodyear Tire and Rubber.
Every time I leave for a trip, my son makes me promise to come back safely. I try to hedge because I know it's not within my control, but even three-quarters asleep, as he usually is when I leave, he is never mollified. "Say you'll be safe," he says to me, and I usually do.
It was bound to happen, I suppose, even if everyone knows better. The fact that all you accomplish when you cut off your nose is to spite your face doesn't stop people from doing it every day. So why should Democrats be different?
We called it "the robot rule." I still have an old and slightly rusty pin showing a robot with a red slash through it. "Delegates are not robots" was our rallying cry in seeking to defeat what was then Rule 11(h) of the Delegate Selection Rules, or Rule f(3)(c) of the Convention Rules, which bound delegates to vote at the convention for the candidate to whom they were pledged according to the results of their state's primary or caucus.
TMI stands for Too Much Information. That's how I feel about David Patterson and his sex life. I know more than I want to know, or need to know, about whom he's slept with and why, and when, and about whom his wife slept with, and who was getting even with whom, and when it stopped.
It was an eloquent and powerful speech. But Barack Obama's inspirational oratory left one fundamental question unanswered, at least for this white American -- although judging by the reactions I've been hearing on local radio, for many others, as well.
