TAMPA, Fla. -- Gazing out on the pale continent of the Republican National Convention, it was interesting to ponder: What if Barack Obama had been a Republican?

WASHINGTON -- Some days Mitt Romney must wonder how he got involved with this crew.

WASHINGTON -- Oh, to be the fastest woman in the world.

WASHINGTON -- Not surprisingly, Barbara Bush said it most succinctly: "The first lady is going to be criticized no matter what she does."

WASHINGTON -- The same week that President Obama's health regulations go into effect, forcing people of faith to violate their conscience or shut their doors, Mitt Romney was preaching the gospel of economic and religious freedom in Poland and Israel.

WASHINGTON -- When it comes to over-the-top politics, the Obama campaign has set a new standard with recent attempts to paint Mitt Romney as a felon.

WASHINGTON -- Few instances are more refreshing than the sound of a politician leaving office.

WASHINGTON -- We're still a few weeks from summer's dog days and the conventions, and already feral rabidity has set in. Add to the long list of psycho-political syndromes the "Romney Derangement Syndrome."

CAMDEN -- South Carolina politics never fails to amuse -- and bemuse.

WASHINGTON -- The punch line is at least as old as the eldest baby boomer: "I didn't get a pony."