One of the most telling tales in politics is the one about the progressive activist who got a meeting with FDR to explain his great new policy idea.

As the story goes, FDR heard the fellow out, and then told him: "I agree with you, I want do do it......

Lesson 1: The Center Does Not Hold Without the Left

Not long after Bill Clinton's health care reform proposal went down to defeat in the Senate, Bill ran into Bernie Sanders, Congress's only avowed socialist. Bernie approached him with a grave look on his face. "Mr. President, I am so...

Obama-watchers on both sides of the partisan divide are talking about the nomination of defense lobbyist Bill Lynn as Deputy Secretary of Defense. The nomination flies in the face of President Obama's day-one proclamation that no lobbyists would serve in his administration. The no-lobbyists policy obviously has merit, and...

Last night I went to a junior college auditorium in Hobbs, New Mexico to watch the debate between the Congressional candidates here, Democrat Harry Teague and Republican Ed Tinsley. In the back of the hall stood a solitary figure, a stout man in cowboy boots and jeans and a white...

NOTE: The post-debate update appears below the original post. But first things first, here's the original:

Let me preface this by saying how much I hope I'm wrong. And there are many reasons I might be, so that's good. But consider...

Palin has become a national laughingstock by flailing her...

Now that we know John McCain will show up tonight, the question is: Which Barack Obama will show up tonight?

When Obama and McCain sat down with pastor Rick Warren for their first pseudo-debate, Obama was calm, thoughtful. He took care choosing his words, often peppering his sentences with "uh"s...

What do we democrats have to say about the mess on Wall Street?

Today Obama said it proves that the Republican economic philosophy has failed, and I heard him mock McCain for calling for a commission because "we know how we got into this mess." Now some people think...

In the last few days, it seems about a dozen communications experts have written pieces on HuffPo calling on the Obama campaign to get tougher with their messages (including my piece just yesterday).

Not a moment too soon.

This "sex ed" ad the McCain campaign just launched...

Signs of Spine. Obama's latest ad drew a harsh response from Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Joseph Romm, who rightly points out that the ad repeatedly associates the word "maverick" with Palin and McCain. Still, while Team Obama should have been able to do better, the ad...

How is your day going? I woke up today to find myself at the top of the New York Times' list of people making sexist comments about Hillary Clinton in the media. So I've been better.

The relevant comment was this: "Whenever she raises her voice, there's a danger...

On Friday, I suggested that the only thing we should worry about in choosing between Barack and Hillary is electability -- which one of these two knowledgeable and poised candidates has the best chance of beating John McCain, the all-but anointed Republican nominee? The ability to kick the Republicans...

Okay people, this is a very big deal. We need to focus.

In five days we pick our champion to go up against the GOP nominee and try to finally win a presidential election this century.

There is exactly one thing we should be talking about, thinking about, measuring and...

This race was supposed to be over right now, with Obama moving victoriously on. What happened?

There are plenty of different lenses through which to view Tuesday's New Hampshire democratic primary, but as someone who teaches public speakers how to connect emotionally with their audiences, here's mine: As of yesterday,...

Thursday night, in Vegas, the Democratic hopefuls meet again for the next big debate showdown of this intensifying primary season. But before we get there, it is worth pausing a moment to consider the memorable events of the previous big debate showdown in Philly - and why the GOP was...

MSNBC enlisted David Shuster to beef up its coverage of the AFL-CIO's Democratic debate Tuesday night with some good old fashioned Truth-Squaddin'. But when the Democrats managed to stick pretty close to the facts, rather than giving them credit - because hey, that...

When I wrote my post last night, I was (tired and) annoyed that folks were refusing to see the Times' cheap shot for what it was. After a night's sleep, and after reading the comments of both the wonderfully insightful CanProf and the parade of Grinches dismissing...

When I saw the Times' review of the final Harry Potter book, innocently linked high up on the home page yesterday, I was dumbfounded. I clicked, and with great trepidation I began to read, peeking slightly ahead for any characters' names that might have spoilers. I saw none, but after...

Paul Krugman is not an easy guy to stump. But in Monday's column, he was at a loss to explain what people mean when they talk about presidential candidates -- Fred Thompson, for one -- being "authentic."

"Supposedly it means not pretending to be who you aren't," Krugman...

You might have thought the first abortion decision rendered by our new Supreme Court (Opus Dei edition) would generate a firestorm of commentary, especially if it might significantly limit late-term abortion rights. Instead, the reaction to the recent decision upholding the "Partial-Birth" abortion ban has...

"The myth behind the Thompson quasi-candidacy is a dangerous one that bedevils both parties: If we just get a better communicator, people will love our policies."

So writes John Dickerson, chief political correspondent of Slate, in his recent piece on why the prospect of...