There is a reason that Fred Thompson's recent California speech was a giant dud: He does not have anything to say that would elect him to the presidency.

The Republican candidates have a possibly insurmountable problem in 2008, which is that America desperately wants to put George W. Bush into the past, while the Republicans who want to succeed him must appeal to a right-wing base far out of touch with the nation.

The single most powerful political fact is the enormous and overwhelming repudiation by political independents of George Bush, his political agenda, and his style of polarizing and divisive politics.

Fred Thompson's problem is that his opening is on the right of the party, while the right of the party is what destroys Republican appeals to political independents. Read more...

Well, it’s Mother’s Day again. Just recently, the queen was in our country and we fell in love with her all over again. My connection with her was that she and my mother were born in the same year, a mere week apart. I have never met a senior citizen I couldn’t talk to and I finally figured out why: because my sensitivity and dedication to my own mother as she grows old has made me more sensitive and caring toward those in their jubilee years.

My mother, now in her 80s, is sweet and adorable and is in much more need of her children than ever before. Yes, she gives the impression that she’s still tough and independent, but the simple things remind me that she’s getting older and that I need to enjoy every waking moment with her.

Every morning without interruption, at 5 a.m. I call my mother and every time it’s as if she’s hearing from me for the first time. The Bible’s definition of love could not have described a mother’s love more poignantly. Read more...

This country needs a realistic optimist as its president.

A realistic optimist would look at all the assets of this great country and all of its debits, and understand that we don’t need a great social revolution or monumental reforms, but some changes here and there to improve what is really a pretty good place to live.

Yes, we are in a war with people who want to take the world, or more particularly their world, back into the 12th century. But let’s face it, we ought to be able to beat these crazy people in the long run. The world is not going back into the Dark Ages. A little more realistic talk would be helpful here. Read more...

We have posted a new Quick Poll! on this page to see where you stand in the dispute over immigration reform: Which is more important, border security or a guest worker program? Scroll down the page and cast your vote.

I believe there's a looming battle in the Republican Party over what America's role in the world should be, and the Iraq war spending bill may very well bring this fight out into the open in a matter of months, if not weeks.

From my point of view, and it is a view shared by many conservatives who e-mail and call me, none of the GOP presidential candidates is offering a coherent, thoughtful, philosophical explanation of what the future of U.S. foreign policy ought to be. To say we must fight terrorism isn't enough. It's too nebulous.

Today, Mitt Romney's campaign launched a new ad in which the former Massachusetts governor suggests now is not the time for America to "shrink from conservative principles" but rather to "stand in strength" so that we might remain "the world's military superpower." How, you ask? By rebuilding our military and leading a "great coalition of strength." For whom? "For our families, for our future, for America." Read more...

I always wondered how the White House would respond when that dismal day came and the poor Republicans in Congress would have to tell Bush they had had enough. Indeed, we now know that 11 moderate Republicans went to Bush to tell him Tuesday that he has lost credibility on the war and has spent nearly all of their patience. But the characterization of this event by Tony Snow, who I am a huge fan of, almost made me fall out of my chair this morning. It is not another "marching up to Nixon," and "not one of those cresting moments when party discontents are coming in to read the president the riot act," Snow said.

OK, so what is it? Read more...

What’s the role of the church?

That eternal question is being put to the test again today, this time by churches in five cities — Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Chicago and New York — that have opened themselves up as sanctuaries for illegal aliens.

This “New Sanctuary Movement” is driving INS officials and anti-immigration activists crazy. They accuse church leaders of aiding and abetting lawbreakers and warn they could suffer the legal consequences. But they just don’t understand what faith is all about.

Catholic, Protestant and Jewish sanctuary leaders acknowledge that government’s role is to enforce the law. But they rightfully insist that the church’s job is to care for people — all people, whether they’re here legally or not. Read more...

These days, anytime an alleged transgression or racial wrongdoing has taken place towards a person of color, the Rev. Jesse Jackson or the Rev. Al Sharpton elbow their way to the microphones to speak on behalf of Black America. That the media accepts them as legitimate surrogates on behalf of an entire race of people is a subject we’ll save for another day.

Yes, don’t get in the way of Sharpton if he can profit from media exposure or some other form of financial benefit by standing in front of the cameras and professing his outrage. Duke lacrosse players? Right out in front. Don Imus case? Leading the charge and meeting with senior executives at television networks demanding justice and equality.

I’m curious, though unsurprised, about the lack of wall-to-wall coverage generated by Rev. Sharpton’s comments the other day regarding former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R). Lest anyone accuse me of taking this out of context, here’s what Rev. Sharpton said verbatim: Read more...

What must it be like? Dick Cheney sitting in the U.S. compound in Iraq, more highly fortified than Fort Knox, as the windows shake, the plaster cracks, and a bomb goes off outside.

Mr. "Red Carpet," Mr. "Greeted as Liberators," Mr. "Last Throes" — now he has to explain, to all in the room, the disaster that he has created. The generals who served are now creating TV ads that denounce this administration for not listening to the troops on the ground, those in charge, as they kept telling Rumsfeld and Cheney and Bush that the war was failing and that they could not control the civil strife.

We had the chance to pull out many times, starting with the moment we captured Saddam. We had the chance to turn over the job of being the policeman to the police on the ground, except that Bremer fired them. Read more...