So was it a political mistake for Obama to put so many eggs in the health-care-reform basket? Well, a negative decision from the Supreme Court will certainly make it appear so.

Philosophers and theologians have argued for centuries over the morality of targeted assassinations - a technique that the Israelis use with some frequency - without ever reaching anything approaching consensus.

Liberals do not appear to address potential solutions with anything like the far right's aura of God-given self-confidence.

Few progressives would take issue with the argument that, significant accomplishments notwithstanding, the Obama presidency has been a big disappointment.

America's great newspapers have staffs that range from 50 percent to 70 percent of what they were just a few years ago.

For the past eight years, the right has been better at working the refs. Now the left is learning how to play the game.

History is replete with examples of empires mounting impressive military campaigns on the cusp of their impending economic collapse.