There are two vital measures of the health of a political party: One is the depth of its backing by young people, voters who can build a strong, long-term base of support. The other is the depth of its bench, the strength of its leaders who are not yet national figures but soon might be. […]

The average debt for Maine college students has jumped 25 percent since 2008 to nearly $30,000 ”“ ranking Maine seventh in the nation for having the highest debt per student in the nation. Worse, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Liberty Street Economics report, student loan debt has surpassed credit card […]

She seemed friendly enough, so I figured I’d start rubbing her face to see what happened. “She,” by the way, was a Labrador retriever. That made the whole scenario a lot less awkward. Actually, it was rather pleasant ”“ a hard dose of puppy love to inject some innocent warmth into the workday. I was […]

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers around New England: The Hartford (Conn.) Courant, Feb. 5: The U.S. Senate took a first step toward stemming the horrifying epidemic of suicide by armed services veterans. It’s long overdue and desperately needed. On Feb. 3, the Senate unanimously passed the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans bill, […]

Hillary Rodham Clinton has played many roles in her 67 years: first lady and secretary of state, senator and presidential candidate. All those titles have one thing in common: They are intensely political and largely partisan. One identity Clinton recently acquired is very different from all the others: Grandmother. That title transcends politics. It’s about […]

Less than a year from now, voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and elsewhere will gather in town centers, gymnasiums, local libraries and school cafeterias to kick off the 2016 presidential sweepstakes. Ever since the modern political process made running for president a four-year job, this is the time when potential candidates started making their public […]

By now, we have all heard about the scandal involving NBC news anchor Brian Williams, who has been caught embellishing a story from more than 10 years ago. Williams has apologized for claiming a helicopter he was riding in was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade during the Iraq war in 2003. He stated that the […]