I've been reading a lot of gloom and doom lately. I even thought for a moment all the dire predictions might be right. But after looking at all the mile markers and drivers of change - I think we're on the eve of something wonderful. That may seem counter-intuitive if...

So, who really killed the electric car? Sadly, I think I did. Here's why:

Rick Wagoner was interviewed the other day and said - "The future of GM and the American Automotive Industry is in electric cars". The ABC News report mentioned something about a failed prior attempt called the...

There was a moment when big government and big journalism were able to keep each other in check.

Eric Schmidt of Google did some pretty heartfelt navel gazing the other day - wondering if Google was in part responsible for the undermining of the economic support system that paid...

So, i get it. He's a lame duck. He's in his final few months of his administration.

Wait!!! 7 months. SEVEN MONTHS.

What will happen to gas prices in 7 Months?

What will happen to the stock market in 7 Months?

What will happen to global warming in 7 Months?

John McCain. Glib he is not. When asked a reasonably straightforward question about why insurance companies cover Viagra but not Birth Control - McCain was STUMPED!

First of all - someone ought to get him copies of the play book. There's a dodge and weave move that he shouldn't have to reach for. It's politics 101.

Here's the RIGHT (lame) answer:

"That's a very good question Young Lady! First of all, health care in this country is a mess, and when I am in the White House, I'm going to clean it up. We're going to look at every single decision about how health care is paid for, what is paid for, who is getting special treatment, and we're going to root out fraud and waste in the system and make sure that the average American is getting the health care they need... (this needs to take about 5 minutes of blather to fill up the reporters allotted time).

If this doesn't work - the reporter has the temerity to say: "But, Senator, you didn't answer the question"

Then, with slight disdain and anger;

"Well, with all due respect I did. We're going to look into it - We're going to get it fixed if its broken, and I'm not going to sit here with you and parse every decision made by the Insurance Industry expect to say that you're darn right, we need to make sure that American's have the best darn health care system in the world, and i'm committed to that."

This is the standard: agree, obfuscate, and refocus. This is the trick that all candidates use when posed with questions that they haven't already got talking points on.

It's politics 101.

And McCain just got an "F".

The reporters question was fair, interesting, and worth a thoughtful response. But short of that, an elegant dodge shouldn't have been that hard to come up with.

I can't wait to see what happens when he's buttonholed on Fannie Mae or the Bear Sterns bail out, or the sub prime mess, or the cost of ethanol after the floods in the Midwest destroy the corn crop.

Someone get this guy a new earpiece, his batteries must be running low.

Or, he knows he's not the candidate, and he's just running the clock... but that's another story....

Holidays are funny things.

They being about an idea. A celebration of something. And the evolve into a more amorphous event, a celebration of ... well... celebrating. Christmas is about the Birth of Jesus, of course, but it's also about getting a new Plasma TV and a tree.

So --...

We all know the story of putting a frog in boiling water. He jumps out. But if you put a frog in cold water, and slowly turn up the heat, he'll boil to death. Are we frogs? Perhaps. I travel a good deal, and so I'm often confronted with the...

It's been a week of guns and gas, and it won't be the last one either. Seemingly unrelated. But what we're seeing is the legacy of the Bush administration as it begins to unwind before our eyes.

Guns, or more specifically gun ownership, has moved front and center with the...

When the Republicans choose their candidate on September 4th, there is a very real chance that they could throw the election into an unexpected chaos as they pull a genuine September Surprise.

I think there is every reason to believe John McCain won't be the nominee. Ok, let me say...

If you stand back and look at the environmental issues facing the world -- they're not likely to be solved by a single group or discipline.

Let's take energy for example. There's a powerful movement to rethink how we both generate and consume energy. The environmental movement is focused...

If you're looking for some real world data about the state of the Hillary/Obama battle -- and proof that it is truly over -- just check the bumper sticker sales info.

My friend Jon Fischer has access to unique, and heretofore unreleased data that should have the pundits further solidifying...

I've got images in my head I can't seem to sort out.

One of them is a grainy black and white image of a truck or van - with a military target hovering over it - then - an explosion and the truck is gone.

The other is a weapon...

If you haven't noticed -- we're living in the era of the hybrid.

My gas guzzling car is thankfully on its last legs -- and so I find myself test driving a Ford, a Honda, and a Toyota. All Hybrids that are counting on an electric motor to jump in...

It must have seemed like such a good idea at the time. Stephen Colbert is in Philadelphia, his show is being taped there for the debates - why not do one of those funny walk ons that politicians love to do.

And so...

It's been so nice and quiet - with John McCain on his boyhood tour of memories. So as the Democrats slog it out, and take turns drinking beer and bowling - Johnny has been able to get a pass from the media on all things that might resemble issues. Wise...

So, I found myself standing at Copley Square Plaza in Boston.

Four years later - i'm still angry. I remember that night as if it was yesterday. It was a cold night in November - and as the night wore...

Either Hillary is brilliant, or lucky, or both. All her various and seemly unrelated strategies paid off last week.

She became Ms. Approachable and Funny -- both on Jon Stewart AND Saturday Night Live. She attacked the press corps, first by threatening MSNBC and then by putting the travel press...

There are all kinds of things about the candidacy of Barack Obama that are a first.

But the nature of Barack's money is perhaps the most significant and measurable difference that could have a long lasting impact on the country.

While Hillary Clinton and John McCain have used the standard...

You know it's been a long cold 8 years when people gingerly, timidly, and with trepidation begin to talk politics again. After all, it wasn't that long ago that we were told that either 'your with us or your against us.'

Happily, Robin Williams doesn't seem to be saddled...

It's 4pm on Thursday at TED in Monterey. There have been 20 of the 18 minute TED Talks -- ranging from physics, to genetic engineering, to psychology, to population growth. As always -- TED brings very smart people together and somehow manages to scare the hell out of them. Despite...