WASHINGTON — Politics Rule No. 1: Never say what you really think, especially before you think. GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain learned this lesson hard and fast when he asserted recently that communities have a right to thwart construction of mosques in their neighborhoods. Cain, who hails f...

WASHINGTON — Eric Cantor has perfected the strategic sneer.  It comes, frequently, when he answers a reporter’s question about something President Obama has said: The House majority leader’s lip curls up on the left side and a look of disgust washes over his face. This week, he has been c...

WASHINGTON — Most would agree that one would have to stoop pretty low to question the story of a man’s mother’s death.  But what if that deathbed story were the locus of a sweeping policy that encompassed a huge slice of a nation’s economy?  And what if the individual who told the ...

WASHINGTON — John Boehner is in a box.   The House speaker’s Republican caucus doesn’t entirely trust him. His understudy, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, has set him up for a fall with the tea party set. Worst of all, his political archrival is now praising him.  “Speaker Boehne...

Sen. Al Franken clawed his way into office in the most high-profile of ways, eking out a victory over incumbent Norm Coleman in a recount covered closely by the national media. Since then, he has disappeared. This is by design: The senator claims to “focus” on home-state media outlets, often to ...

WASHINGTON —When he was indicted, Rod Blagojevich quoted Kipling  . After his impeachment, he quoted Tennyson. And Monday, on the day he was convicted on 17 corruption-related counts, the former governor of Illinois quoted Elvis.   “My hands are shaky and my knees are weak,” he ...

Rep. Eric Cantor has walked out of Joe Biden’s budget talks because Democrats are insisting that tax hikes be part of any debt-ceiling deal. But Cantor’s entire party has already voted for Paul Ryan’s budget plan, which does not include any tax hikes and, despite its controversial spending cut...

WASHINGTON — It was another day of Obama bashing in the Capitol.  “I’m profoundly disappointed,” one lawmaker said at a news conference last week.  “A disappointment to say the least,” said another.  “Wrong decision,” said a third.  “His proposal failed.” ...

WASHINGTON — There was no banner, no naval cheering section, no aircraft-carrier landing and — thank heavens — no flight suit. But make no mistake: President Obama gave his own version of a “mission accomplished” speech Wednesday. ...

It’s commencement time and, for newly minted grads facing a long and potentially futile job search this summer, there’s at least one bit of good news. According to its recent Spring Salary survey, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found that starting salaries are up 5.9 p...