Most American elections aren't particularly competitive. So an off-year election cycle featuring only three significant contests doesn't have any business being interesting. ...more

November 3, 2009

There are 18 states, as columnist Mark Shields recently pointed out to me, that have gone Democratic in each of the last five presidential elections. Of the 36 senators who represent those states, only two are Republicans. Both are from Maine, one of the last, storm-lashed, surf-pounded footholds of the Yankee GOP. So it is hardly shocking that the lone Republican supporter of Democratic health reform on the Senate Finance Committee should be Maine's Olympia Snowe. ...more

October 21, 2009

"This time the revolution is for real," declared Fidel Castro after his troops marched into Havana on New Year's Day, but 50 years later about all that is left is a sclerotic regime and a ponderous movie about a T-shirt icon. At four hours, the Steven Soderbergh film "Che" is almost as long as a Fidel speech, and almost as exciting. ...more

March 7, 2009

Fifty years ago, a bearded guerrilla marched triumphantly into Havana and declared victory over a departing dictator. Then he became a despot himself. ...more

January 1, 2009

61.6 Percent of eligible voters who cast ballots in the Nov. 4 election 131 million ...more

December 15, 2008

Now that our country has elected a 21st century president, we should reconsider our 18th century electoral system. ...more

December 14, 2008

MIAMI (AP) — More Floridians voted for John McCain than Barack Obama on Election Day, but the Democrat sealed his victory in the state by winning more early and absentee votes. ...more

November 20, 2008

taking 52 percent of the popular vote to John McCain's 46 percent. ...more

November 9, 2008

Russia's constitution will be amended by year's end to extend the presidential term to six years, lawmakers promised Thursday - a move that could pave the way for Vladimir Putin's return to the Kremlin. ...more

November 7, 2008

His storied election behind him and weighty problems in his face, Barack Obama turned Wednesday to the task of building an administration in times of crisis as Americans and the world absorbed his history-shattering achievement as the first black leader ascending to the presidency. ...more

November 5, 2008