Except for Richard Nixon, no president since Harry Truman leaves office more unloved than George W. Bush. Truman's rehabilitation took decades. Bush's will come sooner. Indeed, it already has begun. The chief revisionist? Barack Obama. ...more

January 17, 2009

Ozzwald, a Belgian Malinois from Holland who served as a member of the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office, has died. The dog, known as "Ozzi," was 8 years old. ...more

January 16, 2009

In the past week, I've twice been close enough to Dick Cheney to kick him in the shins. ...more

January 13, 2009

Tampa leads Amtrak's passenger growth in Florida, with a 33.5 percent gain in ridership to 100,119 passengers from fiscal 2007-08. ...more

January 12, 2009

Sgt. Derrick Brooks puts his left hand on the book and raises his right, ready to take the oath of office. Dozens of cameras capture this moment in history, even though Brooks is wearing a name card reading "Pres.-elect Obama." ...more

January 12, 2009

One day after the nation's unemployment rate jumped to a 16-year high, President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday again raised the estimate of how many jobs would result from his economic recovery plan, saying it would create or save 3 million to 4 million jobs, nearly 90 percent in the private sector, by the end of 2010. ...more

January 11, 2009

Some pundits and historians say that George Bush will leave the White House with a legacy of being among the worst presidents in American history. Before rushing to judgment, we should recall Harry Truman left office in 1953 with lower approval ratings than does George Bush. Today, however, Truman is regarded as a great president for rescuing Europe after World War II and building the Atlantic Alliance, which eventually persuaded Moscow to end the Cold War. ...more

January 3, 2009

President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet choices have sent a ripple through state politics, fostering behind-the-scenes jockeying to fill key vacancies in the shadow of the Chicago scandal over filling Obama's Senate seat. ...more

December 25, 2008

Vice President Dick Cheney, who leaves office Jan. 20 as one of the most powerful, if unpopular, vice presidents in recent history, offered an unabashed defense of the Bush administration's claims of broad executive powers Sunday, mocking criticism from Vice President-elect Joe Biden and saying the president "doesn't have to check with anybody" before launching a nuclear attack. ...more

December 22, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama has increased his employment goal with the nation's economic outlook worsening, seeking to create or save 3 million jobs in the next two years instead of the 2.5 million he proposed last month. ...more

December 20, 2008