In the House, Republican prospects have been buoyed by several successful rounds of redistricting, which have sharply reduced the number of competitive seats and given the Republicans a national advantage of at least a dozen seats.

Science never makes an advance until philosophy authorizes it to do so.

But presidential approval also became a surrogate measure of national unity and patriotism.

The only religious way to think of death is as part and parcel of life.

A healthy degree of party unity among Democrats and Republicans has deteriorated into bitter partisan warfare.

The increase in straight-ticket party voting in recent years means that competitive congressional races can tip one way or the other depending on the showing of the candidates at the top of the ticket.

America is an outlier in the world of democracies when it comes to the structure and conduct of elections.