Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-Va.) has long been on almost everyone's short list for the Republican vice presidential nomination. But now McDonnell's national security credentials have come into question, thanks to his mishandling of a bill passed by the Virginia General Assembly.

Knee-jerk partisan opposition to executive nominees tears at the fabric of governance by keeping key positions unfilled, but the Senate confirmation process is not entirely at fault.

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 tension between Congress and the president is palpable, and nowhere is that more true than in the controversy over recess appointments.

At this event, four distinguished lawyers who have significant experience both in government and constitutional law will discuss the key constitutional issues that are essential to understand in this controversy, the precedents from similar disputes in the past, and the implications for the future if either the president’s position or the opponents' position is ultimately upheld by the courts.

This was a debate full of surprises, at least for me. The first: CNN’s John King showed some forebearance in not leading off with a question to Rick Santorum on his statements on contraception and other cultural issues.

The satisfaction from the show of bipartisanship on the Eisen confirmation lasted a good five minutes.

As Congress, Republican presidential candidates, and much of the U.S., South American, and European media are sounding the alarm on suspicious activities by Iran and Hezbollah in Latin America, the State Department is hitting the snooze button.