Most Popular Opinion

Washington; and DeNver, Colo. - In the United States, the decision to go to war rests with the elected representatives of those who will do the fighting and dying. It's one of the defining – and critical – elements of the republic.

Creators Syndicate - The American people should be eternally grateful to Old Europe for having spiked the Bush-McCain plan to bring Georgia into NATO.

Their names were Denise, Carole, Cynthia and Addie Mae, and 45 years ago next month, on an overcast morning in Birmingham, Ala., their lives were taken as they prepared for a Sunday school program. A dynamite bomb, planted by thugs from the Ku Klux Klan, exploded outside the city's Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, killing the girls instantly and tearing an irreparable hole in the American conscience.

The California Supreme Court made one thing perfectly clear this week as a matter of constitutional law: When it's a case of religious liberty vs. sexual liberty, sexual liberty wins.

Back in June, we expressed the hope that Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, the surprise winners of their parties' nominating contests, would conduct a spirited, substantive debate on the direction of the country. Unconventional picks with compelling personal stories, both candidates said they wanted to reach across party lines and change politics as usual.

There is no good argument for a legacy preference in college admissions. Legacies are less qualified and perform less well academically than their non-legacy peers. The preference is inefficient for fundraising, and it undermines the role of colleges as engines of socioeconomic opportunity. Schools should do away with it voluntarily, or Congress should ban it just like discrimination against racial minorities.

It's fair to say that the latest college rankings from U.S. News and World Report, due out Aug. 22, will be more widely read than the Higher Education Act signed last week by President Bush. There's a good reason for that, and it's not because the act is 1,158 pages long and a foot high.

Oasis of Peace, Israel - In Israel, there is a village where Arabs and Jews live as neighbors. Both groups endeavor to create a just society that can be a model for peace in the region.

The best advice to President George W. Bush on how to conduct foreign affairs with Russia is still the comment of Teddy Roosevelt, "Speak softly and carry a big stick." Regrettably, the Washington, D.C. crowd, including the President and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, are instead speaking harshly. They seem unaware that we no longer have a big stick in hand.

Ah, yes, this is how it's done in Chicago. Emil Jones, Jr., Barack Obama's political "Godfather" and the man who once said about Obama to a colleague, "I'm gonna make me a U.S. Senator," is retiring from office and has already put plans in motion to bequeath his State Senate seat to his son:

Creators Syndicate - The American people should be eternally grateful to Old Europe for having spiked the Bush-McCain plan to bring Georgia into NATO.

The California Supreme Court made one thing perfectly clear this week as a matter of constitutional law: When it's a case of religious liberty vs. sexual liberty, sexual liberty wins.

Creators Syndicate - The Democratic Party platform is like a bag of pork rinds. You never know what high-fat liberal government morsel you're gonna get.

I must be getting old.

The good news: DNA testing has confirmed that John Edwards is not the father of Rielle Hunter's baby.

Creators Syndicate - Mikheil Saakashvili's decision to use the opening of the Olympic Games to cover Georgia's invasion of its breakaway province of South Ossetia must rank in stupidity with Gamal Abdel-Nasser's decision to close the Straits of Tiran to Israeli ships.

Back in June, we expressed the hope that Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, the surprise winners of their parties' nominating contests, would conduct a spirited, substantive debate on the direction of the country. Unconventional picks with compelling personal stories, both candidates said they wanted to reach across party lines and change politics as usual.

Washington; and DeNver, Colo. - In the United States, the decision to go to war rests with the elected representatives of those who will do the fighting and dying. It's one of the defining – and critical – elements of the republic.

WASHINGTON -- I have seldom swooned since I was 17, many years ago, but I could almost swoon -- with gratitude -- in thanks to pastor Rick Warren for what he did for common sense and, his favorite word, "civility," in the candidates' visit to his California church Saturday night.

Recent political polls have shown that the slice of Americans who consider themselves independents is about the same size or bigger than those who consider themselves Republicans or Democrats. If that's the case, then why should the candidate who wins the November election surround himself exclusively with members of his own party?

Washington; and DeNver, Colo. - In the United States, the decision to go to war rests with the elected representatives of those who will do the fighting and dying. It's one of the defining – and critical – elements of the republic.

Oasis of Peace, Israel - In Israel, there is a village where Arabs and Jews live as neighbors. Both groups endeavor to create a just society that can be a model for peace in the region.

It's fair to say that the latest college rankings from U.S. News and World Report, due out Aug. 22, will be more widely read than the Higher Education Act signed last week by President Bush. There's a good reason for that, and it's not because the act is 1,158 pages long and a foot high.

The Nation -- Issue divides do not get much more stark than the one that Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama outlined when both presidential candidates took the stage Saturday at pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Civil Forum in Lakeside, California.

Evanston, Ill. - At 8 o'clock on a beautiful Summer morning, I'm walking to the train station in my quiet neighborhood of big trees and elegant houses. Suddenly, an ear-splitting screech pierces the peaceful setting.

The Nation -- There's yet to be a solid, point-by-point effort to expose John McCain's pre-2003 views on Iraq, when (along with his neocon advisers and cheerleaders) he led the charge to Baghdad. Barack Obama, so concerned about how to end the war in Iraq, seems to have forgotten the importance of questioning how it began, especially McCain's pernicious role.

Michael Phelps' performance in the Beijing Olympics was a stunning individual achievement. But make no mistake about it, he never would have won eight gold medals without being part of a great team.

The Nation -- Popular pundit Rachel Maddow will host a new talk show on MSNBC, catapulting the Air America host and progressive favorite into a prime time field largely dominated by male and conservative anchors.

There is no good argument for a legacy preference in college admissions. Legacies are less qualified and perform less well academically than their non-legacy peers. The preference is inefficient for fundraising, and it undermines the role of colleges as engines of socioeconomic opportunity. Schools should do away with it voluntarily, or Congress should ban it just like discrimination against racial minorities.

Provo, Utah - As the party conventions draw near, there has been a flurry of media speculation about the McCain and Obama choices for vice president.