Warned that a publication would soon out him as gay, a Republican congressman decided in 1996 to come out voluntarily. Before telling the world, though, he first told his closest political friend, fellow Arizonan John McCain. "There's something personal that's going to come out that I need you to know about me," Jim Kolbe recalled last we...

The children's publishing world is awash in new picture books about presidential candidates, real and imaginary. These thoughtful and even humorous books should help young children enjoy making sense of all the talk they hear from parents and the news. "Madam President" by Lane Smith; Hyperion; 32 pages; $16.99. Lane Smith's quirky, super...

The convention floor was abuzz all Thursday with the news of the CBS poll showing a dead tie (42-42) in the presidential race. And the poll, conducted through Wednesday, couldn't reflect the impact of John McCain's speech, or the full impact of Sarah Palin's late Wednesday night. It reflected opinions only after the Democrats' convention, Barack Ob...

The national conventions are political shows staged to influence voters. Soon, we can measure the bounce that the two tickets have received from their gatherings. But the more important question is whether the conventions establish arguments that are sustainable — over the course of the campaign and, for the winning ticket, over four years of...

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Republican National Convention is over (let's hear a loud shout-out for St. Paul!). All the 2008 presidential primaries and caucuses are history. Barely eight weeks remain before the nation's voters — in the civic sacrament of democracy we call a national election — will choose a new American leader. Republic...

Like him or not, you have to give Barack Obama credit for waging a smart, focused campaign. Destroying the Clinton machine was a major achievement, and so was putting together a successful convention in Denver. Obama is now firmly a part of U.S. history no matter what happens in the presidential election. The problem some Americans continue to have...

ST. PAUL, Minn. — If you didn't know that John McCain was a Republican, you might think he was running against the Republicans. "We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us," McCain told the Republican National Convention Thursday night. "We lost the trust of the American people when some Republicans g...

Rudy Giuliani had me in stitches during his red-meat keynote address at the GOP convention. I laughed out loud when Giuliani laughed out loud while noting Barack Obama's deep experience as a "community organizer." I laughed again when VP nominee and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin cracked: "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'commu...

The biggest story to emerge from the Republican National Convention was the media's effort to destroy Gov. Sarah Palin. Members of the Fourth Estate behaved more like a Democratic fifth column this week than they did like honest reporters. Palin's stunningly effective speech Wednesday night showed they will not easily take her down — but thei...