Mr. President, you have spent so much time courting—here at the street level we call it sucking up to—Republicans who will never come around to your side on major issues, including offshore drilling or a climate change initiative. As a candidate, you were the environmentalist superstar, opposed to offshore drilling, while Sarah Palin, your opponent’s…

They don’t always get what they want, but I’m hoping that President Barack Obama sticks to his values as he nominates a new justice to the U.S. Supreme Court. That appointee would replace Justice John Paul Stevens, who has announced that he is retiring in June. Here are a few examples of surprises to presidents…

Lord knows various people have had the chutzpah to try to define and articulate a “black agenda”. And they have generally fallen short, not only in that endeavor but also in executing what they do come up with. Perhaps the most successful gathering of intellectuals, lawyers and policy makers took place in 1935 when the…