Obama still has work to do with the vision thing. Convincing voters that he has a credible, practical plan to turn the nation around is a process, not a speech.

White House operatives went to great lengths to show Obama shifting focus from wars abroad to domestic issues at home.

AP promoted me to the White House beat because I knew Clinton, his family, friends, and staff better than anybody in the national press corps. Those contacts helped me break a few stories and get my career in Washington jump-started.

It's an appeal as old as America and its presidency: This is an extraordinary country populated by hard-working, big-dreaming, freedom-loving people graced by God when they're not pulling themselves up by the bootstraps.

With gridlock the norm, Congress's approval rating is below 10 percent and the public has lost faith in its national leadership.

Although we were never pals and occasionally butted heads, my relationship with Clinton and his wife, Hillary, made me a better journalist.

Palin seems to have forgotten that her poll ratings have plummeted since the summer of 2011.