Newsday

So is Mike Huckabee an "easy kill" for the Democrats? And are the Republicans the distinct underdogs, no matter whom they nominate for the presidency?

Maybe. After all, in public opinion surveys, the critical "right track/wrong track" question shows negative feelings predominating by a 2-1 or even 3-1 margin. That's bad news for the incumbent party, in terms of holding the White House.

But some Democrats maintain that the former Arkansas governor, in particular, has a "glass jaw." Hence the headline in… more

Is Mike Huckabee too Christian to be president? Is Mitt Romney Christian enough? We'll find out soon.

The former governor of Arkansas is on the cover of Newsweek, and though the headline, "Holy Huckabee: The Unlikely Rise of a Preacher Politician," might suggest a mainstream media hatchet job -- in which yet another Southern Baptist gets the full Elmer Gantry-Pat Robertson treatment -- the article itself comes as a pleasant surprise.

Perhaps Newsweek, too, was surprised to discover that Huckabee's political views… more

The latest National Intelligence Estimate on Iran -- suggesting that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government is not an imminent nuclear threat -- will undercut some of the tough-talking foreign policy positions staked out by most of the Republican presidential candidates. Still, Democrats must beware, because the American people, inclined toward hawkishness since 9/11, will be suspicious of too-eager doves.

In the meantime, the seeming stand-down with Iran brings back memories of past presidential elections, won and lost.

I worked for George H.W. Bush in… more

Our politics lesson for today is tertius gaudens -- Latin for "the happy third." That is, the one who gets to sit on the sidelines as two others duke it out. We can see the main event happening now in Iowa.

So the smart strategy in a crowded presidential caucus is this: Stay out of the way of enemies destroying each other -- and then dash to victory.

The idea of tertius gaudens goes way back, of course, to ancient… more

Clausewitz is the name, and war is my game. You'll forgive a little levity from a dead Prussian, won't you?

I, Carl von Clausewitz, wrote the book on war. Literally. It's called Vom Kriege ("On War"), and I'm proud to say it's been required reading at military academies for two centuries. So when Herr Pinkerton told me he was writing a column about American military strategy in the Middle East -- I told him to take the day off.

Ironically,… more

As New York backs down on driver's licenses for illegal aliens, San Francisco rises up, offering new help for illegals.

The deliberate defiance of federal law, coming now from the West Coast, is a test for our nation, and we should respond as one nation. Why? Because the basic principle of national responsibility for national problems -- reaffirmed by, among other events, the Civil War -- must prevail.

New York's Democratic governor, Eliot Spitzer, backed down on his plan for issuing driver's… more

Privacy doesn't mean anonymity. Think about that for a bit -- and get used to it.

Or if you don't like it, get a plan. But it had better be a good one.

On Oct. 23, Donald Kerr, deputy director of the Office of National Intelligence, outlined the new order of things: "Too often, privacy has been equated with anonymity; and it's an idea that is deeply rooted in American culture." Well, yes, the Bill of Rights, for instance, includes protections against… more

What lessons can we draw from the recent elections? Here are three:

First, being a competent executive matters. In Mississippi, Republican Gov. Haley Barbour, having demonstrated his competence during the Katrina disaster of 2005 and the subsequent rebuilding, sailed to re-election.

By contrast, incompetence is fatal. In Louisiana, the incumbent governor, Democrat Kathleen Blanco, having made a fool of herself during Katrina, had to be on her way out. She was at least smart enough not to run again, thereby avoiding further… more

The Democratic presidential front-runner is charging ahead, blowing past weak opposition. A lagging Democratic rival raises a critical issue in a candidates’ debate, but does so in a halfhearted manner that gets little traction among Democrats. So the front-runner stays out front, as the others falter and fall out.

But damage has been done to the front-runner. A wound has been opened, a slow hemorrhaging has commenced, even if Democrats don’t notice.

Over on the other side of the aisle, Republicans see… more

Al Gore and Newt Gingrich are very different figures, but they are both going through a similar process: They are becoming elder statesmen.

And how does one become an elder statesman, anyway? It’s an easy, two-step process: First, have something important to say and be tireless in saying it. Second, stop running for president, because then people will let their guard down; they will listen to the substance of your message, not worry about tracking your upward political mobility.

Oh, and a… more