Christian Science Monitor

Problems with American elections run deeper than shoddy voting equipment and inadequate election administration. For instance, there is the problem of our top leaders winning with less than a majority of the popular vote.

The last two California governors, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, won their elections without support from a popular majority. In Massachusetts, the Democratic primary for governor was won by a candidate with a mere third of the vote. Since 1990, most states have had governors who won elections with… more

President Bush has put tax and social security reform high on the agenda for his second term. He's highlighted the need to increase retirement savings and called the tax code a complicated mess that hinders the economy. Another fundamental drag on long-term growth is our low personal savings rate, and the tax code doesn't help here either. But there's a simple reform to the tax system that can help millions of Americans increase their savings without changing any laws or… more

It wouldn't be the holiday shopping season without schmaltzy commercials, mall Santas, and Halo 2, the most hotly anticipated video game in American entertainment history. Expected to gross $80 million, this "shoot-'em-up" sensation may not change the world, but it could help put the compassion back into conservatism with a financial boost for chronically under-funded domestic policy programs.

The Bush administration has talked a good game about supporting federal programs designed to keep kids safe from abuse and neglect, drugs, gun… more

Alan Greenspan's honesty is tough for politicians to swallow in an election year, but he is saying things that the nation and political candidates need to hear. Not only has he uttered a truth that most people know but don't want publicly to accept -- Social Security and Medicare are functionally insolvent without a cut in benefits -- but he has warned that the dangers of "creeping protectionism" springing from the high profile debate over offshoring US jobs may seriously… more

A little more than a year ago, after a long legislative struggle, Congress passed the most sweeping international trade legislation in 15 years. After a nearly decade-long deadlock, Congress gave the president authority to negotiate new trade agreements. And just before this summer's recess, Congress overwhelmingly passed the first fruits of that authority: new free-trade agreements with Chile and Singapore.

Unfortunately, implementation of the assistance for workers who lose their jobs because of international trade has not been as swift. If… more

California Gov. Gray Davis signed into law this week the nation's first legislation aimed at reducing the greenhouse-gas emissions of cars and trucks. Because California is America's largest car market, the law could eventually reshape automotive fleets nationwide.

California's pioneering policy stands in stark contrast to the continued foot-dragging of the Bush administration, which just this month told Congress that it needs up to five years to decide what to do about global warming.

Though California's new law may be… more

As the Senate debates the future of energy in the United States, it would do well to look to President Bush's home state of Texas -- not for lessons from the Enron scandal or for proof of Big Oil's influence over Bush policies, but for the nation's most surprising clean-energy success story.

Texas is the nation's biggest consumer of coal, oil, gas, and electricity. As a result, it is also the nation's biggest polluter.

But the "oil and… more

Numerous culprits have been faulted for the technology industry's recent woes, from profligate executives to Pollyannaish stock pickers. But wide-eyed journalists deserve a fair share of the blame, too. During the go-go '90s, Silicon Valley press coverage often seemed more like hagiography than reportage, as high-tech magnates were treated with an awe previously reserved for rock stars and astronauts.

In "The New Imperialists: How Five Restless Kids Grew Up to Virtually Rule Your World," Mark Leibovich offers an antidote to… more

Legal pundits regard David Boies as the digital era's Clarence Darrow, a go-for-the-jugular charmer who could explain HTML to a Neanderthal.

Mr. Boies was, of course, on Al… more