Obama's explanation for the slowdown in economic growth is that the public sector is hurting, and that's where Washington must step in and act.

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

Obama's victory in November 2008 was a historic political accomplishment.

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

Robots have a rich and storied history in movies.

She needs to seem tough, and whatever Hillary's weaknesses, tough is a pretty good word to describe her.

Some candidates need to say provocative things that make noise to break through the media muffle and get themselves noticed.

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

The great mystery is why robots come off so well in science-fiction films when the human characters are often so astoundingly wooden.

The presidency is not an entry-level electoral job.

There is a new conservative establishment in America, made up of those who claim to be the anti-establishment.

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

We must say something, even when we know nothing.

Whatever Romney's failings, he certainly doesn't suggest that the United States is teetering on the brink of a moral cesspool.

Whether my columns are worth reading isn't for me to say.

Over the next decade, cities and states across America will be compelled to tighten their belts as the really big bills - the pension bills they cannot afford - come due. They'll have to go after existing contracts with current workers.

You'd think experienced political professionals would know better than to place their trust in exit polls, notoriously inaccurate surveys that had John Kerry winning the 2004 election by five points when he actually lost by three.

All non-incumbent campaigns promise hope and change, but Obama took the promise to a new level of absurdity. He suggested that a vote for him would literally transform the Earth.

As a matter of policy, increasing taxes on the most economically productive group, which already generates 60 percent of the nation's federal revenues, during a sustained period of economic doldrums is a wretched idea.

As a member of the Mormon church, Romney is instructed to tithe 10 percent of his income. That's in keeping with most charitable giving: Religious institutions get about one-third of all contributions, according to 'The American' magazine.