Sarah Palin appeals to Americans' greatest conceit and greatest weakness. That makes her extremely dangerous.

Understanding the dangers in Palin's appeal requires an understanding of aspects of America's national experience. America began as an open frontier, a place to escape the constrictions and limitations of the Old World. It was...

One seeming paradox of the Obama candidacy has been the way charges of his elitism parallel charges of his mere celebrity and lack of depth. No amount of exposure or recitation of facts seems adequate to overcome certain voters' susceptibility to such charges. We hear simultaneously that voters don't know...

We liberals have just received a valuable reality check. It came none too soon. We may now begin to cope with reality more effectively.

Many of the blows Barack Obama has given the body of his supporters in the last few weeks should not have surprised us.

• Accepting...