Someone once said that he hoped the President failed. It was back on September 11, 2001, just a short while before the terrorist attacks when those words were uttered, by James Carville, at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. Of course, because of the date, and because what happened that morning, his remarks might have been missed by some. But not by all.

Illinois Senator Barack Obama has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the early presidential polls.

Awaiting President Barack Obama’s first Supreme Court pick, activists expect a less-spirited nomination battle than would have been anticipated if conservative justice had stepped down or Democrats held a slimmer edge in the Senate.

Gay marriage legalization in several states and the public’s growing acceptance of same-sex unions have Democrats sensing political opportunity and some Republicans re-evaluating their party’s hard-line opposition to an issue that long has rallied its base.