To Understand The Workings Of American Politics,

Obama's Democrats Have Become The Part Of No. Real Cuts To Federal Budget? No. Entitlement Reform? No. Tax Reform? No. Breaking The Corrupt And Fiscally Unsustainable Symbiosis Between Public-sector Unions And State Governments? Hell No.

Winning Control Of The Senate Would Allow Republicans To Pass A Whole Range Of Measures Now Being Held Up By Reid, Often At The Behest Of The White House. Make It A Major Reform Agenda. The Centerpiece Might Be Tax Reform, Both Corporate And Individual. It Is Needed, Popular And Doable. Then Go For The Low-hanging Fruit Enjoying Wide Bipartisan Support, Such As The Keystone Xl Pipeline And Natural Gas Exports, Most Especially To Eastern Europe. One Could Then Add Border Security, Energy Deregulation And Health-care Reform That Repeals The More Onerous Obamacare Mandates.

Ideas Matter. Legislative Proposals Matter. Slick Campaigns And Dazzling Speeches Can Work For A While, But The Magic Always Wears Off.

Some Will Protest That In A World With So Much Human Suffering, It Is Something Between Eccentric And Obscene To Mourn A Dog. I Think Not. After All, It Is Perfectly Normal—indeed, Deeply Human—to Be Moved When Nature Presents Us With A Vision Of Great Beauty. Should We Not Be Moved When It Produces A Vision—a Creature—of The Purest Sweetness?

Chess: It's Like Alcohol. It's A Drug. I Have To Control It, Or It Could Overwhelm Me. I Have A Regular Monday Night Game At My Home, And I Do Play A Little Online.