Matt Miller will argue that political and business leaders have failed to prepare the United States for economic crises because they are slaves to dead ideas.

Political dysfunction. Partisanship at record levels. Attack politics run amok. And public approval of Congress scraping the single digits (Sen. John McCain is fond of saying it's down to blood rlatives and paid staff).

The fascinating departure from the usual pabulum from centrists who insist that they are neither right nor left is nothing less than a desperate abandonment of Obama and the Democratic party in order to preserve the credibility of the ideas driving Obama and the Democratic party.

An independent or third-party candidate, whether an ideological one such as George Wallace or a non-ideologue such as John Anderson or Ross Perot, would fall short. But consider three ways a third candidate can affect the outcome of a presidential contest.

"Old Europe"--the Western European and Scandinavian countries--has become, to some critics, a symbol of economic stagnation and political gridlock. But in recent years, many European countries have adopted reform policies that will surprise many Americans. Indeed, Western Europe is fast becoming a land of "new ideas" from which American policymakers can learn.

It's nice when a big Washington scandal works out pleasantly for somebody.

All children in a free nation have a moral claim to attend schools that will help them discover and develop their gifts. And while difficult choices must always be made, we should be wary of shaping schools in ways that explicitly favor some of our children while shortchanging others.