There's no light at the end of the tunnel in the Republican message, no promise of better things to come. There's only the present stagnation, followed by a slow decline.

Obama's presidency hasn't been dedicated to achieving economic growth in the short term, or about creating jobs.

Pop culture is a reflection of social change, not a cause of social change.

Unquestionably, American political rhetoric can be repugnant, and the Right can certainly be as guilty as the Left.

This, of course, has no chance of passing. But then Tuesday night'€™s State of the Union address could be the first one in history deliberately designed solely to generate a Pavlovian rage response in members of the opposing party.

The presidency is not an entry-level electoral job.

The exit polls suggest that after a relatively disappointing first term, Obama managed to reassemble almost all of his 2008 electorate.