Pundits have lately been comparing Barack Obama to Jimmy Carter, suggesting he is a likely loser in 2012. It's always helpful to be reminded that early polls may not be predictive and that opinion can change, as was the case when Truman won in 1948 and when Carter lost in 1980. But we should also keep in mind that today's polls are better and more frequent than they were 63 years ago.

Three weeks out from the New Hampshire primary and voters in the Granite State don't seem to have settled firmly on one of the Republican presidential candidates.

History does not repeat itself exactly, but polling evidence indicates that Americans today, like Americans in the late 1930s, see big government spending programs as an impediment, not an aid, to job creation.

There are signs that next Tuesday's midterm election will resemble that of 1942, in which voters delivered a resounding defeat to FDR and the Democrats, and halted the country's decade-long leftward shift.

Just like President Truman and hisdecision to stay in Berlin, President Bush has hadthe foresight to stay committed in Iraq.

While policymakers stayed relatively quiet last week, financial markets had their biggest rally of the year.

Reading polls right is more art than science.

Sarah Palin is a bold pick for John McCain, and probably a shrewd one. It's not nearly so clear that she is a responsible pick, or a wise one.