1.) Start by taking it seriously. The culture wars are not distractions from real political business: John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin may be cynical, but conservative enthusiasm for her is not. Progressives can continue to be outraged by the campaign's shameless distortions; we can continue to hope for damning...

Let's start with the good news: Barack Obama's Berlin speech was a masterful example of near-perfect pitch. Under pressure to address the oft-competing concerns of multiple audiences, the Senator shone. The speech amply repays close analysis - and most people who heard it were quietly, happily impressed.

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Obama got my attention with ant traps -- not the 2004 convention speech many view as a model of eloquence. True, "We worship an awesome God in the blue states" did a masterful job of returning the word "awesome" from its tawdry place in contemporary culture to its original meaning....

A bunch of arugula or a mug of beer? Newsweek's recent cover choice to symbolize the difference between Obama and Clinton could scarcely be more glaring. Enough ink has been spilled over the irony -- to put it generously -- of Clinton's metamorphosis into a working-class heroine. But with...