WASHINGTON — The campaign of Mitt Romney, the Rip van Winkle of presidential politics, finally awakened last week with a savage counterattack against Newt Gingrich, the man who against all odds is threatening to wrest the Republican nomination from Romney. In a conference call Thursday sponso...

WASHINGTON - Rep. Trent Franks established his credentials as a civil rights leader last year when the Arizona Republican argued that, because of high abortion rates in black communities, African-Americans were better off under slavery.

President Obama's speech in Kansas on Tuesday was the most direct condemnation of wealth and income inequality, and the most expansive moral defense of the need for government activism to combat it, of his entire presidency.

WASHINGTON - The folk-rocker Jackson Browne showed up on Freedom Plaza here to perform for the Occupy D.C. protesters. He played five political tunes but left out the one most relevant to the protest movement: "Running on Empty.

WASHINGTON - It is a rare day when Al Sharpton emerges as the voice of sagacity, but when Newt Gingrich has the microphone, all things are possible.

WASHINGTON -The first votes of the Republican primary season don't come until next month, but we already know how it's going to turn out: Washington has won again.

WASHINGTON - Things sure do change fast around here. One week it's Rick Perry, the next it's Herman Cain. Now it's . Newt Gingrich? The Republican voter is like a starving man at a free buffet.

"Thank you, Mr. Vice President." "That's never going to happen," Portman replied with a smile. As evidence, he offered, "What's the one thing you wouldn't want to do if you wanted to be the VP candidate? Join the supercommittee." I'm not convinced.

In March, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear one of its most important cases in years: a constitutional challenge to President Obama's signature health-care program. The case should also be its most closely watched - literally.

Whether his recent rise in the polls is lasting or not, Newt Gingrich has already shifted Campaign 2012 for the better. The feisty former speaker of the House has reminded us through his debate performances that knowledge is an important part of a president’s work. That a president must know somet...