1. Given the serious fluctuation in the polls everywhere, including in swing states, the stakes for tonight’s debate are incredibly high. 2. If Mitt Romney wins this one decisively, the third debate won’t matter worth a whisker. 3. Regardless of the content of his answers, Obama is going to do his damndest to appear more decisive than last time. This will mean more decibels and fewere ums, ahs and uhs. 4. The Obama administration’s weakest point is Libya. Given his... Read more

One empty phrase American politicians employ that reeks to the heavens is this: “I take responsibility.” It’s usually used as a way of evading responsibility for a screw-up that, in any decently run government, would be followed by resignation or worse. The latest politician to claim responsibility is Hillary Clinton. She said during a state visit to Peru that the wider Obama administration should not be held responsible for her screw-up at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that led to... Read more

As part of its big picture approach to this election, the question Patheos has asked many of us bloggers to noodle this week is, “What’s wrong — and what’s right — with the role of faith in American politics today?” I am, unfortunately, a bearer of bad news on this front. After writing my new e-book Mitt Romney’s Mormon-Christian Coalition (download that for free here, folks; I did my damndest to make it a brief and entertaining read), I am... Read more