Columns

To judge from his surly demeanor and defiant words at his press conference on Monday, Barack Obama begins his second term with a strategy to defeat and humiliate Republicans rather than a strategy to govern.

Options for both initial and continuing education have expanded rapidly in the 21st century.

Now the other shoes begin to drop. Voters knew in November that many of the promises Obama made in 2008 had been broken.

In the 20th century, only two presidents shaped new governing coalitions that outlasted them. They were the only two men to appear on five national tickets.

It's often good fun and sometimes revealing to divide American history into distinct periods of uniform length.

"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it."

"This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility."

Barack Obama, we have been told by his admirers on the left and right, is an instinctive centrist, a moderate always ready to negotiate compromises, a politician deeply interested in the nuances of public policy.