This has been the worst time, politically, for President Barack Obama since he took office. Recent polls reveal that public confidence in both his domestic and foreign policies has been falling, amid revelations about their defects and dangers. Even people who once supported and defended him have now turned against him.

Why are we even talking about taking military action in Syria? What is that military action supposed to accomplish? And what is the probability that it will in fact accomplish whatever that unknown goal might be?

Nothing symbolizes the Utopianism of our times like both liberals and some conservatives calling for us to cut off aid to the Egyptian military, because of the widespread killings in what is becoming a civil war in Egypt. Such utter lack of realism from the left is not new, but hearing some conservatives saying the same things takes some getting used to.

Two recent events -- one on the East Coast and one on the West Coast -- raise painful questions about whether we are really serious when we say that we want better education for minority children.

There are no winners in the trial of George Zimmerman. The only question is whether the damage that has been done has been transient or irreparable.

One of the many sad signs of our times is the way current immigration issues are discussed.

An all-too-familiar scene was enacted on the campus of Swarthmore College during a meeting on May 4 to discuss demands by student activists for the college to divest itself of its investments in companies that dealt in fossil fuels.

There can be honest differences of opinion on many subjects. But there can also be dishonest differences.

Someone called politics "the art of the possible." But, in the era of the modern welfare state, politics is largely the art of the impossible.

During decades of watching both collegiate and professional football, I have seen hundreds of touchdowns scored by black players -- but not one extra point kicked by a black player.