David Groshoff, 2/7/12

Law professor and Business Law Center Director, Western State University College of Law

Despite the well-written and narrowly approached opinion by the majority in today's Prop 8 decision, Circuit Judge N. Randy Smith wrote a weak and ridiculous dissent that provides some preview of what may happen should this case reach the Supreme Court.

Sen. Bob Casey, 2/7/12

U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania

Children who learn more today earn more tomorrow, and the earlier children are exposed to quality learning opportunities, the better off they are.

Curtis Gans, 2/7/12

Director, Center for the Study of the American Electorate

Obama will win, and especially against the backdrop of Tea Party advocacy and tactics, the Democrats may recapture the House and maintain a majority in the Senate. If the jobless rate stagnates or moves in a negative direction, Obama cannot win.

Steve Sanders, 2/7/12

Appellate lawyer, author, and visiting faculty member, University of Michigan Law School

Just in time for the 2012 elections, same-sex marriage has reemerged onto the political agenda. Are we ready for a thoughtful national conversation on the matter? Judging from the presidential campaign, the answer is not encouraging.

Lincoln Mitchell, 2/7/12

Harriman Institute, Columbia University

Clint Eastwood's appearance and words during the Super Bowl had little to do with Obama. For observers with a long political memory, it was hard not to think of another president when seeing that commercial.

Abigail E. Disney, 2/7/12

Founder and President, Daphne Foundation

When I use the word "suffering" I know what I am talking about. Last Friday, I watched my mother take her last labored breath after years of anguish, humiliation, physical pain and mental misery.

Al Checchi, 2/7/12

Author, 'The Change Maker'; chairman, Join Together America; former chairman, Northwest Airlines; former candidate for Governor of California

There is a significant difference between recognizing a woman's "right" to choose and making it the "obligation" of others to pay for or facilitate that choice.

Timothy Karr, 2/7/12

Campaign Director, Free Press and SavetheInternet.com

Obama succumbed late Monday to the dark logic of the Super PACs. What's happening in 2012 is a transfer of money and power unlike any other in the history of U.S. politics.

Neeta Pal, 2/7/12

Research associate, The Brennan Center

Michael Shaw, 2/7/12

Publisher of BagNewsNotes, topping LIFE.com's 2011 Best Photo Blogs

If we want to take visual politics seriously, what Chrysler and its corporate Madison Avenue agency did in its ad can be best understood as anti-union.

Neil McCarthy, 2/7/12

Political Activist and Senior Partner at Allegaert Berger & Vogel LLP

Somewhere between the comical and the incredulous, the GOP has simply channeled its inner hatred. There is, literally, nothing they will give Obama credit for and a whole host of fictive evils the responsibility for which they regularly lay at his feet.

Adam Winkler, 2/7/12

Professor of Law, UCLA

Never before has a federal court of appeals declared that gay marriage is protected by the U.S. Constitution. Today's decision has the potential to benefit not only thousands of gay Californians but could establish the foundation for extension of marriage equality to all Americans.

Irwin Redlener, M.D., 2/7/12

Professor of clinical public health and pediatrics, Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health

Too many people -- including national leaders who should know better -- can't begin to understand what it means to be profoundly poor and the challenges faced by disadvantaged kids.

Bruce Reyes-Chow, 2/7/12

Presbyterian Minister, Social Media Hack and Dad to Three Girls

In a country that often sees race in terms of White America and Black America, like Latinos, Asian Americans live in a racial middle where we must choose between being Asian (or Chinese or Filipino or Indian) or American, but not both.

Nadine Smith, 2/7/12

Executive Director, Equality Florida

Whether on tax returns or customs forms, in the muddle of contradictory, nonsensical, and infuriating laws, married gay couples are refusing to identify as "single." Quietly, couples are refusing to deny their spouses and are willing to enter legally murky territory to take a stand.

Bob Edgar, 2/7/12

President and CEO, Common Cause

With Monday's announcement that PObama has blessed the workings of a Super PAC, I can only conclude that I and the rest of the reform community have been sold a bill of goods.

Michael J.W. Stickings, 2/7/12

Founder, The Reaction

Santorum's attacks could hurt Romney significantly, not just by depressing turnout but by reinforcing the deep divide in today's Republican Party between the pro-Romney establishment and the anti-Romney rest of the party.