WASHINGTON -- Much speculation has followed the private luncheon between President Obama and Mitt Romney, about which little is known.

WASHINGTON -- As events have unfolded in what shall ever be known as "The Petraeus Affair," one cannot escape noticing that the women in this sordid saga have been handed the short end of the shtick, as though the men are mere victims of ambitious, hormonally driven vixens.

WASHINGTON -- The headline was inevitable: "What went wrong?"

WASHINGTON -- We shouldn't be talking about this silliness -- Big Bird, "bull -- er," or a girl's "first time."

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Contrary to conventional wisdom that debates are rarely, if ever, game-changers, the first presidential debate was a demolition derby.

WASHINGTON -- I've written variations of this column a couple of times during the past 20 years, but certain occasions bear revisiting -- and surely the disappearance of a friend is one.

WASHINGTON -- What's a day without a leaked video, a scandal, an unintended sliver of truth?

WASHINGTON -- "This time, the imbeciles have won."

WASHINGTON -- One of the great fallacies of politics -- and life -- is that one must be liked to be effective.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Much ponderous, chin-stroking analysis has followed the Republican National Convention's un-highlight -- the 10-minute monologue by the erstwhile Dirty Harry/Blondie/Rowdy Yates when Clint Eastwood conversed with an empty chair.