Jeb Bush’s plunge into presidential waters ”“ few politicians “actively explore” a White House run without knowing where those explorations will lead ”“ ends some uncertainties about the 2016 campaign and creates others. It gives shape to the Republican campaign and, if Mr. Bush prevails and if Hillary Rodham Clinton wins the Democratic nomination, sets […]

Kennebec (Maine) Journal, Dec. 10: It had all the makings of the rarest of rare events ”“ a political scandal in Maine. The recount of a razor-tight race in a hotly contested state Senate seat found that there were more ballots cast than voters to cast them in the small town of Long Island. The […]

The start of a New England winter is always a good time for families to look for common sense ways to reduce energy costs by improving efficiency. That’s why, recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched our new Energy Star Home Advisor ”“ an online tool to help consumers save money and improve their homes’ […]

The “lame duck” Congress limped to an end and was able, despite gridlock, to make some accomplishments. For the record, this was the 113th elected Congress. Historians have already labeled it the “least productive” Congress in decades. NBC researchers found only 203 bills became law, down from the previously least productive 112th Congress, which enacted […]

Voters said in November they wanted bipartisan cooperation in Congress next year. They got their wish early as this year’s Congress move toward its end. They may have also helped create a Congress next year composed of four political parties ”“ not only the deadlocked Republicans and Democrats. Both of the major parties have split […]

Providence (R.I.) Journal, Dec. 10: One has to wonder what is going on when the Coventry Fire District Board convenes an emergency meeting at 8 a.m. on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, conducts its business in secret, and then offers conflicting reasons for it. State Rep. Patricia Morgan, R-Coventry, who rushed to the scene that morning […]

Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton badly need each other. They cancel out each others’ greatest weaknesses and deprive their foes of some of their strongest arguments. Both have similar flaws and are vulnerable to the same charges: that they are too old (Jeb would be 63 on election day 2016; Hillary, 69), too out of […]

Everybody’s got talents. Some people can sing a pretty tune or dance in rhythm to a sonorous waltz; others can swallow swords while juggling bowling pins with one hand and humming “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” in a lilting falsetto. Pretty sure I saw that on the Internet once. Both feats are impressive, but […]