Election 2008

William H. Seward or Salmon P. Chase?

This -- in addition to being the most arcane, nerdy question I've ever typed -- is the crucial choice Senator Clinton now faces. Seward and Chase shared the indignity of losing their party's nomination to a relatively inexperienced opponent. That opponent, a guy...

Anyone who wants to reform American politics has to seriously consider the pros and cons of lying. Telling people what they want to hear has rarely lost an election. Yet nobody wants to be on the Titanic, reassured that what they felt was just a tiny bump.

To begin...

Given John Edwards recent endorsement of Barack Obama, media pundits have been discussing the viability of an Obama-Edwards ticket. This is no doubt better than an Obama-Clinton ticket, as Obama can rightfully claim he is moving on from the past.

Clinton, however hard she tries, just cannot disassociate herself from...

President Bush apparently took a long distance swipe at presidential candidate Barack Obama in Israel yesterday, debasing the notion that America should negotiate with Iran as the "false comfort of appeasement."

Bush used a particularly uncouth Nazi analogy for his Israeli audience, saying, "We have heard this foolish delusion...

Today's 4-3 decision of the California Supreme Court striking down under the California Constitution a California statute limiting "marriage" to opposite-sex couples could help John McCain in the fall. (More coverage of the opinion itself at How Appealing.) The decision is based upon the California Constitution, which can...

John Harwood and Gerald Seib have been covering this historic race for the presidency for two of the country's best newspapers. Howard writes for the New York Times and serves as CNBC`s chief Washington correspondent while Seib is the executive Washington editor of the Wall Street Journal. I recently spoke...

While covering the primary in West Virginia, I encountered pervasive racism only hinted at by Tuesday's exit polls and the pundits who wonder aloud if America is ready for a black president. What I heard on Tuesday was shocking. It depicts the blind prejudice that still possesses pockets of America...

"We're going to give you the change you deserve" --

That's not a threat; it's a promise -- from the Republican congressional leaders. Really. Led by perpetually tanned House leader John Boehner, Republicans have suddenly discovered that the country wants change -- and they have...

This poignant moment is revolutionary for Democratic politics, if we only step back from the dramas unfolding. It is the story of the valiant fight by the first woman to hold the highest office in this country. And moreover, this is the time for the first African-American candidate to compete...

With our kids, we have this ritual we go through to help them steady themselves when the enormity of climbing a tree or learning to ride a two-wheeler gets them a bit frazzled.

"What's the first rule of tree-climbing?" we ask.

"Don't panic," they answer and compose...

Why were we so surprised by Barack Obama's clear ring of a victory on Tuesday? The short answer is that the media had been leading us down the path marked Hillary Momentum--the path on which she could possibly snatch victory, however it was achieved, out of the jaws of defeat--while...