WASHINGTON -- With its support for gay marriage, the NAACP has done more than strike a blow for fairness and equality. The nation's most venerable civil rights organization has made itself relevant again.

The NAACP's 64-member board approved a ...

WASHINGTON -- The soundtrack of my youth is fading. That's hardly an original observation, I realize, but self-indulgence is a columnist's inalienable right and music has unique power to summon unbidden waves of nostalgia. I'll spend the rest of ...

WASHINGTON -- Republicans say they're eager for the presidential campaign to turn away from "distractions" and focus instead on the economy. Someone should warn them that if they're not careful, they might get their wish.

It is true that voters' ...

WASHINGTON -- President Obama's evolutionary leap on same-sex marriage is a historic advance in the nation's long march toward equality and justice. It is also a bold political gambit that sacrifices some votes in exchange for potentially renewing...

WASHINGTON -- Economic austerity is a dangerous, self-defeating intellectual fad. Perhaps I should say that's what it was, given Sunday's election results in Europe. Perhaps I should also say good riddance.

Voters in France, Greece and ...

WASHINGTON -- Show of hands: Does anybody really understand the U.S. policy in Afghanistan? Can anyone figure out how we're supposed to stay the course and bring home the troops at the same time?

I'm at a loss, even after President Obama's ...