Over the last few months, a number of prominent political columnists have pointed to historian and social critic Richard Hofstadter to explain what is happening to the Republican Party. Here's why they shouldn't.
Obama's goal seems to be to appeal to a reasonable group that can talk to, rather than past, each other about abortion. If he's going to succeed, he has to confront those who perceive common ground as a threat.
Those presidents who are both remembered by history and re-elected have been those who stuck their necks out to fight for the rights of the vulnerable. The gay community is still waiting for Obama.
The real conversation on race, like it or not, is still pending. Barack Obama's win was a profound public testimony to American decency. But in numerous areas, blacks remain severely disadvantaged.
Obama's Bittergate remark -- which I broke and which is revisited in David Plouffe's new book -- was and still is one of the biggest stories of that historic presidential run. It is also still one of the least understood. Here's the untold story behind it.
In looking at Obama's first year, we must not fall into the typical trap that pits idealism against pragmatism, where the virtuous line up against the effective, and the purists fight the negotiators.
What puts this first year in perspective for me is that: Obama may not be smarter than all of us, but he sure is smarter by a long shot than McCain would have been. And that, for now, is enough for me.
Obama is a man of exceptional grace. But the grace misleads; this is a politician of intense ambition, discipline and grit. He understands and wields the power of the word.
It's been exactly one year since Barack Obama was elected, and it's becoming increasingly clear that the president hasn't fixed the whole world yet. Then again, he never promised such a thing.
There was never going to be a revolution. Obama ran on change, but he's always been a centrist and an institutionalist. He believes in making things work, in practical results; not starting from scratch.
A politician with great persuasive power can use it in two ways. It can be used to cultivate the energy of the general interest, or it can be used to try and mollify the people while facilitating the elites' agenda.
We cannot shortchange the shift in consciousness that Obama's election stands for and that his Presidency continues to inspire. The left is always caught between moral righteousness and legislative reality.
Narciso Rodriguez was already an established designer and sartorial tour de force before the First Lady was photographed wearing his dresses.
The euphoria of last November has turned to disappointment for many of those who celebrated so raucously on campus. This is no longer the time for dancing, but it is the time to work for progressive change.
For as much as Barack Obama has brought change to Washington, it's also us, the people participating and engaging with politics using technology , that have changed, too.
What can we expect from a President who presides over a relatively conservative public, whose party is fractured by a fundamental contradiction, and whose legislative agenda is held hostage by Ben Nelson?
Coming off the election, the president had enormous political capital (really a blank check to move forward with anything he campaigned for), and I can't help thinking that he didn't make enough use of it.
Obama seems to be deliberately moving his party rightward in order to capture the political spectrum from center/right to left. He wants to become the Tony Blair of American politics.
Republicans leaders have been attempting to prevent Obama from moving America in a different direction. However, they haven't prevented him from enacting several significant pieces of legislation in his first year in office.
"When I was running for President, no one knew exactly what 'Change You Can Believe In' meant," Mr. Obama said. "One year later, I am proud to say that that is still the case."
With a litany of crises to deal with, now more than ever, President Obama needs his army of advocates once more to continue the fight for change.
