Our compulsive hunger always to know first, speak first and decide first has only been amplified by the fact that we can now all participate instantly in a virtual version of a national cocktail-party conversation on Twitter, Facebook and blogs.

You know, you just know, that after the president goes out there and announces he wants to make community college free for all Americans - as though anything government does is 'free' - or is unilaterally and unconstitutionally legalizing millions of undocumented immigrants, he comes back to the offices, pulls out the presidential BlackBerry, and gleefully follows along as the Right goes completely ape over these wild policy decisions.

Some candidates need to say provocative things that make noise to break through the media muffle and get themselves noticed.

Nixon was an awful president in many ways, including in some of his foreign-policy choices. But he left no doubt that foreign policy and America's leadership in the world outside its borders was of paramount importance to him.

Let us now praise Barack Obama.

The sad truth is that you can have peace processes all you like, but if one side is committed to war, then it's war.

Insulting the electorate and accusing it of spiritual weakness and sinfulness are not the ways to get yourself the job of president.