Could George Pataki's national aspirations be sacked by former football player Phil McConkey, who's now warming up for a run as the Conservative Party spoiler?

War with Afghanistan seems inevitable, but how far will the U.S. go in its campaign against terrorism? And which other governments are we willing to topple?

With the tax cut squeezing his budget, how will W. sell voters on dipping into the Social Security surplus he swore he'd never touch? Maybe by changing the subject.

After a decade of unparalleled prosperity, it hasn't been very fashionable to care about the working poor. Tell that to Barbara Ehrenreich, our newest left-wing celebrity.

In Washington, you're not cool unless you've got your own security detail. We all know wealth corrupts power, but does safety corrupt, too?

Republicans like to crank up the Washington-is-the-problem rhetoric for midterm elections. Remember the Contract With America? What'll they do now that government is the solution?

David Brock was the lead gun on The American Spectator's anti-Clinton hit squad -- that is, before he switched sides. Now he says Ted Olson, Bush's lawyer, was, too. Should we care?

Ralph Nader tapped into an angry liberalism that has been sleeping throughout the boom. Who'll inherit the movement? Don't laugh -- John McCain.

Granny D.'s campaign-finance-reform campaign has the style of a Frank Capra movie. Does it have the substance of one, too?