Wondering if his publisher liked the manuscript of "Les Miserables," Victor Hugo sent a terse note: "?" His publisher replied as tersely: "!" That was the nation's response to Barack Obama's inaugural address, even though - or perhaps because - one of his themes, delicately implied, was that Americans do not just have a problem, they are a problem. ...more

January 21, 2009

The stage is set. The curtain rises in just 48 hours on a drama that's the four-year, perhaps eight-year, administration of President Barack Hussein Obama. ...more

January 18, 2009

Thursday's championship football game between No. 2 Florida and No. 1 Oklahoma is obviously a big game, but big enough to shut down Congress? Rep. Cliff Stearns hopes so. ...more

January 7, 2009

Thursday's championship football game between No. 2 Florida and No. 1 Oklahoma is obviously a big game, but big enough to shut down Congress? ...more

January 6, 2009

Congress convenes its new two-year session in early January, and Tampa Bay's federal lawmakers agree that the ailing economy and Americans' dwindling access to health care are priorities. ...more

December 22, 2008

Now that our country has elected a 21st century president, we should reconsider our 18th century electoral system. ...more

December 14, 2008

Can you name all three branches of the U.S. government? Do you know who Susan B. Anthony was? Do you know what rights the First Amendment guarantees? Most Americans don't. ...more

November 25, 2008

taking 52 percent of the popular vote to John McCain's 46 percent. ...more

November 9, 2008

Barack Obama seized command of the race for the White House Tuesday night, defeating John McCain in Ohio and Iowa and building a near insurmountable Electoral College advantage in his historic bid to become the first black president. Fellow Democrats gained strength in both houses of Congress. ...more

November 4, 2008

For a fleeting moment there I started to get a bit verklempt at the sight of all those voter documents scattered along Interstate 4. ...more

November 4, 2008