Get off the sideline: The best way to honor slain schoolchildren updated Fri Dec 19 2014 20:12:21 When I saw these words on Twitter, I couldn't help but put down my tablet: "They say the smallest coffins are the heaviest to carry."

After Ferguson we need a national commission on justice updated Mon Dec 01 2014 11:03:16 On the night the Ferguson Grand jury's decision broke, a friend sent me an email:

The sexist attack on Valerie Jarrett updated Tue Nov 11 2014 09:12:37 After the past week's political upheavals in Washington and around the country, we are reminded that certain things remain constant in politics. Unfortunately, one of those things is the sexism leveled at any woman who rises to power in the White House -- under presidents of either party.

Don't abolish teacher tenure updated Wed Oct 29 2014 17:25:38 Time magazine has clearly kicked up a hornet's nest with its downright insulting cover headlined "Rotten Apples," and coupled with the blurb, "It's nearly impossible to fire a bad teacher. Some tech millionaires may have found a way to change that."

Democrats who run from Obama take a risk updated Wed Oct 15 2014 07:53:00 Democratic candidates who run from President Obama in red states where he is unpopular are making a big mistake. Their holding Obama at arm's length deprives voters of a clear choice at the ballot box.

Supreme Court should act on gay marriage updated Fri Oct 10 2014 13:53:00 What is going on inside the heads of those nine Supreme Court justices? This week's legal drama around same-sex marriage makes me worry that they're all thinking more about politics than doing right by the Constitution.

Why does GOP fight early voting? updated Wed Oct 01 2014 11:49:24 As a longtime political operative, I know firsthand how a vote here or a vote there can make a huge difference in a close election. And as Vice President Al Gore's former campaign manager, I understand the impact U.S. Supreme Court decisions can have on electoral outcomes.

When will Ferguson heal? updated Fri Aug 15 2014 16:23:34 President Obama spoke Thursday about the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri -- an unrest that began in response to the shooting of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old boy with no criminal record.

There's a time and place for photo ops, but border is neither updated Fri Jul 11 2014 13:33:32 President Barack Obama is back in Washington after a three-day trip to Colorado and Texas that included fund-raising for his Democratic colleagues and meetings with governors and legislators and mayors and citizens.

Lies, damned lies, statistics and polls updated Thu Jul 03 2014 12:41:20 Mark Twain famously said, "There's lies, damned lies, and statistics." Lord only knows what he would have said about polls.

A day for the real fathers updated Sun Jun 15 2014 12:18:07 Father's Day holds a unique place in America's culture.

Goodbye GOP; the tea party has won updated Wed Jun 11 2014 18:22:00 For many political observers, last night's loss by Eric Cantor was one of the biggest shocks of our political careers.

For Drudge, Rove and Putin, it's silly season again updated Fri Jun 06 2014 16:05:30 The silly season is upon us: the time during an election year when those trying to muck up the other side throw all sorts of nonsense about a candidate onto the public wall.

New climate rules are a breath of fresh air updated Mon Jun 02 2014 13:32:07 The debate on climate change is over.

Maya Angelou: The definition of a phenomenal woman updated Wed May 28 2014 15:06:38 I lost a friend and mentor today.

GOP to first lady: Let them eat ... whatever updated Tue May 27 2014 13:59:27 It's been a long time. A very long time. But I cannot forget my first school lunch.

60 years after Brown, integration is falling apart updated Fri May 16 2014 14:03:58 On Saturday, we will commemorate the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that outlawed school segregation. Across the country, people are reflecting on the current state of educational opportunities for children of color.

Divert, deny, distract: The Republican way updated Wed Apr 30 2014 19:29:07 In beating a hasty retreat from Cliven Bundy, their onetime Lonesome Cowboy icon, Republicans have resorted to a familiar tactic: divert, deny, distract.

Cliven Bundy, the Wild West hero. Or not updated Sat Apr 26 2014 11:32:54 Ah, Cliven Bundy -- poster boy for the anti-government, rugged-individualist crowd. The Marlboro Man for the conservative fantasy world.

'We've got a debt to pay': Voices from the battlefield updated Mon Apr 14 2014 11:55:48 At the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act, four presidents remembered the battles and honored those who fought to form "a more perfect union" on the path to economic, educational and voting equality.

For Adelson, Koch brothers, buying a politician is good business updated Mon Apr 07 2014 00:34:42 Despite Republicans' claims that they're going to shorten the 2016 primary process, the contest is already under way.

The GOP hasn't learned a thing from its autopsy report updated Fri Mar 21 2014 09:00:04 One year ago, the Republican National Committee completed a four-month period of "self-reflection" and "evaluation" after losing its second straight presidential election and the popular vote in five of the past six presidential elections.

3 lessons Democrats must learn after Florida loss updated Fri Mar 14 2014 09:20:38 There's no question about it -- I hate to lose. On Tuesday, Alex Sink, a great Democrat running in a special congressional election in Florida, lost.

Moving the clock for conservatives: Are they springing forward or falling back? updated Wed Mar 12 2014 08:17:24 Time has changed. In fact, most of the country just moved an hour forward.

Brazile: Why I am a Democrat and why your vote should count updated Thu Feb 27 2014 10:59:10 In her 1976 keynote address to the Democratic National Committee, Texas Rep. Barbara Jordan said words I will never forget:

Beware of those who predict updated Mon Feb 24 2014 20:25:06 I suppose we like to predict the future because uncertainty makes us uncomfortable. Or maybe we just like the game of analysis.

Enough already with the obsession over Hillary Clinton updated Mon Feb 10 2014 12:23:56 Sometimes I think the media live in a time warp. There's so much talk about Hillary Clinton and the expanding/shrinking/expanding field of possible Republican candidates, you'd think we're in the middle of an Olympics ratings battle.

Gladiator sport or a family thing: Why are women so into the Super Bowl? updated Sun Feb 02 2014 13:15:53 The NFL markets the Super Bowl as the ultimate game, the ultimate contest. Helmets clash like gladiators in ancient Rome. Stadiums resemble coliseums -- especially those without a roof. The contest is macho all the way. Players talk about "manning up" (not a reference to the quarterback family) and other testosterone-leaning terms.

Obama hits the road to push State of the Union message updated Wed Jan 29 2014 01:33:31 Another State of the Union address, another road trip for President Barack Obama to push now-familiar policies that he said he would pursue on his own if Congress won't cooperate.

Obama's message: A dysfunctional Congress, but we'll get it done anyway updated Tue Jan 28 2014 09:14:55 On Tuesday night, President Barack Obama will deliver his fifth State of the Union message. He will declare to a dysfunctional Congress, weakened by years of gridlock, that the union is sound -- even if effectively only two-thirds of the government is functioning.

'Change is gonna come': Poverty from Johnson to Obama updated Mon Jan 20 2014 10:37:02 Oh there been times that I thought I couldn't last for long But now I think I'm able to carry on It's been a long, a long time coming But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will. ?Sam Cooke

Is 'Philomena' an anti-Catholic film? updated Wed Jan 08 2014 16:52:19 As a practicing Catholic all my life, my faith and the church are never far from my mind. The lessons I learned in the church have structured the way I've approached my life and my career. They were lessons of grace, kindness, forgiveness and compassion.

Who wins in the GOP civil war? updated Fri Jan 03 2014 08:26:44 2014 is shaping up to be a pivotal political year for Republicans.

Give thanks with acts of kindness updated Wed Nov 27 2013 18:52:33 When the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 16,000 earlier this month, headlines throughout the country trumpeted the milestone as a sign of recovery for the economy.

Can the right wing ever compromise? updated Tue Nov 05 2013 09:05:02 A remarkable thing just happened in Congress. Republicans and Democrats sat down together to work out a budget. This hasn't happened since 2009.

Donna Brazile takes on food stamp critics updated Tue Oct 01 2013 07:41:56 After the vote in the House of Representatives to slash the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, I wrote a column against cutting food stamps. This column generated more than 5,200 online comments and hundreds of e-mails.

Food stamp cuts a cruel proposal updated Mon Sep 23 2013 15:43:42 We are in the middle of a fight to preserve the dignity and grace that makes all of us Americans. We have big hearts and great souls. I know. I have seen them, felt them and watched them in wonder when my family was lost and unreachable in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Can Obama sell America on its own values? updated Tue Sep 10 2013 08:41:25 Tonight, President Obama will give a pivotal speech, perhaps the most pivotal speech of his second term. He will address the nation from the Oval Office and make the case for an air attack against Syria.

At March of Washington, we're closer to the American dream updated Mon Aug 26 2013 09:27:07 "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last."

Obama, Trayvon, and a path to healing updated Fri Jul 19 2013 18:39:41 I finished this column at 7 a.m. Friday morning, interrupting my vacation to write it. About six hours later, President Obama made an impromptu appearance in the White House briefing room, sharing in detail his thoughts and feelings about the verdict in the case of George Zimmerman, who was acquitted of killing Trayvon Martin.

In Zimmerman case, doing what's right not just about law updated Sun Jul 14 2013 14:15:13 Like so many others, I am distraught. It will take many days to sort through my feelings and reactions to the verdict of not guilty in the Trayvon Martin case. Still, some thoughts and lessons are obvious, immediate and, in a sense, imperative.

Congress, give us new Voting Rights Act updated Wed Jun 26 2013 08:06:39 In an earthshaking 1965 speech to Congress and to the nation, President Lyndon Johnson spoke directly to the sinister forces that had restricted black Americans' right to vote across the South -- laying out the goals of the Voting Rights Act in the form of a command to this shameful cabal.

Abortion bill sponsor said what? updated Sun Jun 16 2013 15:37:04 "The stupidity is simply staggering," Rep. Charlie Dent, a moderate Republican from Pennsylvania, told Roll Call. He was referring to the political miscalculation of anti-abortion forces in the House Judiciary Committee who insisted this week on reviving the culture wars, years behind us, still again, with yet another proposed abortion bill.

Two different marriage bans, both wrong updated Wed Jun 12 2013 07:48:03 Today is the 46th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that declared unconstitutional any ban on interracial marriage. More than four decades after the historic and aptly named Loving decision, the U.S. Supreme Court is once again poised to rule in a case that could put an end to discriminatory bans prohibiting marriage, this time for gay and lesbian couples.

We're pointing a gun at our democracy updated Sat May 18 2013 14:01:49 Our democracy is endangered. Not by the Russians, North Korea, the Iran regime, or even terrorists. To quote Pogo: "We have met the enemy and he is us."

GOP using Benghazi to smear updated Wed May 15 2013 20:07:43 For some Republicans, 2016 is 1992: Hating Hillary Clinton is chic again. Only more so, since the former secretary of state is also the partner of and potential successor to the last two Democratic presidents?Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.