• That offshore drilling snake oil
A key to understanding the language of politics in this country is credulity -- a two-bit term for willingness to believe the damnedest nonsense with no supporting evidence as long as it appeals to one's abiding prejudice or unquenchable avarice.

• 'Angry man' McCain gives away his best asset
What's up with John McCain? The happy warrior has become a mean old man.

• Obama travels well but must win trust at home
So, bottom line, what did we learn from Barack Obama's global tour? Several things.

• And the next great president will be ...
If you're an open-minded voter not wedded to any party but anxious to make a wise choice for president, what should you look for?

• Et tu, New Yorker? The media blew it
Sometimes occurrences that seem trivial or inconsequential turn out to be emblematic of the times. The New Yorker magazine cover depicting Barack Obama as a Muslim and his wife as a gun-toting militant with an American flag burning in a White House fireplace under a picture of Osama bin Laden is such an emblem -- a stunning symbol of the slipping standards in American political journalism.