The author lays out a plan for Americain combating the war on terrorism, improving health care and education, and other issuesin the twenty-first century.

Just as the political air is filled with talk of the inevitability of Barack Obama's re-election -- we are told that the kids at his Chicago headquarters are brimming with confidence -- in come some poll numbers showing him behind.

President Obama launched a blistering attack Tuesday on Rep. Paul Ryan’s “Path to Prosperity” economic and fiscal plan and Mitt Romney’s embrace of it — and Romney responded that night by “hugging” Ryan even tighter.

The liberal critics of Republicans want the GOP to behave itself and go back to the good old days best described by Eugene McCarthy’s quip that the chief purpose of moderate Republicans is to shoot the wounded after the battle is over. No thanks.

When he took office in 2009, Obama’s job approval rating with women had reached 70 percent; today it has slipped to 49 percent — a precipitous decline of 21 points. This is why the president has been working overtime to court the women’s vote. But here’s the interesting thing: It’s not working.

Patients who take a close look at medical science in search of treatments are often appalled by what they discover. On the one hand, there's academic research, a self-contained and self-absorbed universe of its own where data may be internally consistent (on a good day) and robustly reproducible, yet often has little relevance to real-world clinical conditions.

As gasoline prices climb, President Obama's poll numbers plummet. In February, a Washington Post/ABC poll had Obama up 6 points against Mitt Romney. Monday's poll has him down 2. According to the polls, gas prices are a huge part of the story, particularly given how the last 30 days or so have not exactly been great for the GOP.