In order to win back America’s hearts and minds, Republicans need to be open to change.

A look at the history of inaugural poems and the surprising vitality of contemporary American poetry.

An apt commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: President Obama is signalling his willingness to address our violent racial past.

We’re caught in the gulf between Republican stupidity and Democratic silence. The president’s inaugural address is an opportunity to turn the tide.

Latinos played a crucial role in the 2012 presidential election. But, says Ilan Stavans, the biggest test is yet to come.

Does the Christian right still have influence over the electorate? Or are we seeing a permanent decline of its influence?

Mitt Romney was skewered for his 47 percent comments. But Steve Almond argues that everyone does it: we tell one story in public — and another in private.

We conclude our series by looking into the key issues, opportunities, and challenges that President Barack Obama faces entering his second term.

The results of the 2012 election seem to have spurred bipartisan consensus on at least one issue: the need for comprehensive immigration reform. In the next installment of our series, our panel weighs in.

One of the problems with punditry is that no one is held accountable when they screw up. Would prediction batting averages help?

Gun violence is an all too common fact of life in many urban neighborhoods across America. The next installment of our series looks at what President Obama can do to help reverse this long standing trend.

In order to keep the differences between the parties stark and vivid, the right-wing megaphones must keep firing loud and hot.

From “any excuse to get out” to voting against “euthanasia” — Margot Livesey discovers that even among a like-minded bloc of elderly women, what drives people to the polls is almost always different and almost certainly surprising.

He’d like to be — but that doesn’t mean the Republican Party will give him the nod. Here’s an early look at his chances as well as some of the other likely contenders.

It wasn’t the first post-factual presidential campaign, after all. The outcome of election 2012 confirmed that voters still know a lie when they hear one.

If the Republican Party wants a future — particularly in Mass. — it needs to repair the rift it’s caused with youth voters, women and people of color.

Though we have a way to go before we elect a secular president, extreme religious values will now cost a candidate an election — even in America’s heartland.

Commentator Bob Massie on why political conventions are a thing of the past.

Elaine Kamarck says that while modern conventions may be boring, they are not obsolete. After all, the delegates have the final say in who gets to run for president.

Channeling the commander in chief, Steve Almond tries his hand at speech-writing and makes a final pitch to voters.

A competitive, substantive election is what the American public deserves – and it finally looks like we’re going to get it.

New research suggests that Millennials will not be as reliable a constituency for Democrats as they have been in the past. Harvard’s John Della Volpe looks at the evolving role of the youth vote in the upcoming election.

The greater the public fear – the greater the financial rewards.

Elizabeth Warren has all three of the vital qualities we need in a U.S. senator: conviction, foresight and tenacity.

It wasn’t the first post-factual presidential campaign, after all. The outcome of election 2012 confirmed that voters still know a lie when they hear one.

A 20 minute conversation with a stranger did more to steel me for the final push to Election Day than the Republican Convention and all the debates combined.

If not for a new star-studded film, the election may have come and gone with almost no mention of the issue that matters most: education reform.

A look at the history of inaugural poems and the surprising vitality of contemporary American poetry.

What are the major national security threats facing the United States? What can the president do to prepare for the next time disaster strikes?

An apt commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: President Obama is signalling his willingness to address our violent racial past.

Unlike his outspoken late father George, R.B. Scott says Mitt’s mode of political Russian Roulette is saying too little.

Latinos played a crucial role in the 2012 presidential election. But, says Ilan Stavans, the biggest test is yet to come.

Presidents Taft, Hoover, Ford, Carter and Bush I… what do they have in common? They were all incumbents who lost their bids for reelection. Commentator Thomas Whelan looks at whether their failures offer any lessons for President Obama.

As a result of his off-the-cuff remarks, instead of spending the final weeks of the campaign touting the GOP’s winning message, Mitt Romney is having to do damage control.

In spite of his best efforts, the Republican Party is dragging Mitt Romney down.

An apt commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: President Obama is signalling his willingness to address our violent racial past.

We conclude our series by looking into the key issues, opportunities, and challenges that President Barack Obama faces entering his second term.

If the Republican Party wants a future — particularly in Mass. — it needs to repair the rift it’s caused with youth voters, women and people of color.

We deserve a system that is more consistent with our democratic values and less prone to yielding anomalous results.

Sandy isn’t just some variable in the latest polling data. It’s a category 5 example of the glaring philosophical differences between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.

If Elizabeth Warren is guilty of exploiting her ethnicity for personal gain, Steve Almond says he is too.

Election 2012 is writing a new chapter in the evolution of democracy. And it’s happening so quickly, we’ve barely had time grasp its significance.

Love him or hate him, everyone does what Mitt Romney is being skewered for. We tell one story in public — and another in private.

For the women whose work with the poor and marginalized has brought criticism from the Vatican, parochial-school graduate Marianne Leone has one thing to say: Preach it, Sister.

The popular answer to that question will determine the outcome of this election — and the outcome of this election could change democracy as we know it.

As election season enters its post-convention phase, the underlying reasons for Elizabeth Warren’s inertia have begun to emerge. John Sivolella says the bad news for Warren is that they’re not easy to correct.

In a move that nobody expected, Barack Obama has opened up a foreign policy front against Mitt Romney. Commentator Rob Gray says it’s a risky play that will either backfire for the president, or seal his victory.

Commentator Steve Almond says only if George Clooney were to choose a young Paul Newman to be his running mate would a ticket even come close to matching the combined stud quotient that is Romney/Ryan.

Maybe Mitt Romney isn’t ready to explain his tax returns, but Steve Almond wants to reveal every sordid detail of his own.

Unlike his outspoken late father George, R.B. Scott says Mitt’s mode of political Russian Roulette is saying too little.