Columns

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.

For Americans of the Greatest Generation that fought World War II and of the Silent Generation that came of age in the 1950s, the great moral and ideological cause was the Cold War.

In 1994, Florida voters approved an amendment to the state Constitution that was intended to limit the growth of state government.The theory was that Florida government shouldnt grow faster than the peoples incomes that are funding it.

On Nov. 6, Florida voters will be asked to make many critical decisions in the voting booth which will impact all of our residents for generations.

"The most important lesson I've learned is that you can't change Washington from the inside," Barack Obama said in an interview Thursday on the Spanish-language Univision network. "You can only change it from the outside."

SALT LAKE CITY -- A specter is haunting the Congressional Black Caucus, the specter of integration.

Mitt Romney has conceded that his thoughts, expressed at that Boca Raton, Fla., fundraiser, were "not elegantly" stated. Those mocking him might concede he has tabled one of the mega-issues of our time.

Florida has a history of providing property tax relief to veterans, disabled persons and the elderly.

Being invited to write a column to oppose tax breaks for disabled veterans is like being asked to throw torpedoes at the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus.

Perhaps the most significant and disappointing theme that has run through not only my decades in politics, but my years afterward as a pollster and analyst, has been the GOP's increasing tendency to shy away from anyone or anything that is bold or unique.