Hill column  .

Much as we might like to deny it, voters are creatures of habit.   In only 13 of the 51 states (including the District of Columbia) did Bush’s two-party margin…

Last week I argued that if the “political environment” determines election outcomes, ’06 will be a great year for Democrats.   Rarely have we had a president so unpopular going…

Each new poll elicits more excitement among Democrats while deepening Republicans’ depression. If the national political environment alone determines electoral outcomes, 2006 is shaping up as a banner year for…

The point was debated endlessly: Was the 2004 election about mobilization or persuasion – exciting the base or bringing the swing? In the immediate aftermath, many proclaimed proof for the…

Diagnoses of the ills of the Democratic Party abound. The brain, heart and spine are among the body parts commentators have implicated. Often though, the discussion returns to issues. Compelling…

Wherever Democrats debate strategy and tactics, conversation inevitably turns to the Republican’s Contract with America. It is the Rorschach inkblot in which everyone sees something different but most visualize salvation.…

The Bush White House governs poorly but campaigns well. One part of campaigning President Bush’s people have perfected is lowering expectations. In 2000, they had the press and public convinced…

I’m writing before President Bush’s State of the Union speech; you’re reading after it has been delivered. So here are four questions you can use to help guide your evaluation…

Two new state-level data compilations should be bringing heartburn to Republicans and modest smiles to the lips of Democrats. The first, released by Gallup, uses its 42,500 interviews conducted in…

If Samuel Alito is confirmed to the Supreme Court, Republicans will rue the day. At some future moment, having lost the Senate, the House and the White House, they will…