I recall hearing a saying that I think is one of the finest compliments that can be paid to anyone, particularly to a leader, that "he was as cool under fire as a mountain lake." That surely describes Gen. Petraeus throughout his career, and in how he handled his fall from grace.

Lt. Col. Weber's comments are very well said. Even the best among us have feet of clay, and that must be the root of our compassion. That Petraeus handled the circumstances of his failure with honor only...

I shouldn't be, by now, but I still am continually surprised by and bemused at how those on the right worship money (more precisely, profit) above all else.

Above a robust and healthy natural environment, which after all, only supports us all.

Above providing decent, basic health care to all Americans, so the poorest don't have to go crawl under a bridge to die.

Above doing the right thing with the modest investments of average folk, who are instead viewed as rubes...

With all of Romney's "what he said" answers, I began to wonder why he was there. They could have let Obama speak for 45 minutes straight and called it a night.

Obama also won the body language contest. Romney looked ill at ease and a bit nervous, like someone going in for a root canal.

In fairness though, Romney clearly believes that he can win on the economy, and he knew he could bring nothing to the table on foreign policy, so his strategy last night was to avoid making...

Only if the gerrymandering process were fixed to prevent "packing and cracking". One could require that electoral districts be created only by panels equally divided between the two parties (but what about 3rd parties and independents?), or by an appointed nonpartisan group, or give the function to the courts, or settle on a system based on geographic integrity (e.g., a district may consist of one or more counties, but not part of a county). All options have their problems.

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