Barack Obama

Education policy has gotten short shrift so far in this year's presidential campaign season, yet both Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama and GOP hopeful Sen. John McCain have offered visions of education reform, and the differences between them could not be more striking. Mr. Obama wants to strengthen public schools by boosting funding for early childhood education, rewarding good teachers with higher pay and offering tax credits for college tuition. Mr. McCain's plan centers on giving parents vouchers for private schools, eliminating most federal regulation of education and expanding online programs that let students take advanced math and science courses in schools where they aren't offered.

I looked around as the television screen flashed: "Obama projected winner of the presidency." Some stood, in shock, unable to even applaud. Others hooted, high-fived, cheered and hugged, congratulating each other on what was obviously a communal victory. But it was the third response that was most captivating. They melted - some to the floor, some against the wall, some into another person's arms. They sobbed with the force of centuries, unleashing tears of joy they never thought they'd get the chance to shed.

It's been eight years since Sept. 11, 2001, and we are still at war in Afghanistan and still have not captured Osama bin Laden or Mullah Mohammed Omar. Reconstruction on the site of the World Trade Center has only just begun. We still have not figured out how to handle combatants in the global war on terror in a way that is fully consistent with our values. We are not close to declaring victory, and sometimes it seems that we may never be. But on this anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon and in the skies over Pennsylvania, it's important to recall why we are fighting and what is at stake.

Traffic backed up on the Capital Beltway starting about 3 a.m. Washington subway riders were packed together like Tokyo commuters. Lines at some stations forced would-be riders to wait for hours amid the crowds seeking to return home after witnessing the inauguration of President Barack Obama. But overall, the transportation system in the Washington region appeared to have passed with flying colors its biggest-ever stress test - moving more than 1 million people to the National Mall and inaugural parade route and getting them home.

Mitzi McCain's huge hopes for Inauguration Day included a grand gospel brunch at a Washington hotel in the heart of Pennsylvania Avenue's pomp and pageantry. Jumbo television screens on three spacious levels would broadcast President Barack Obama's history-making oath. And the hotel balcony's giant floor-to-ceiling windows would make the perfect place to gaze at the first couple striding down the inaugural parade route. Instead, McCain found herself in a meeting room in the bowels of the JW Marriott, about to bear witness to a defining moment in American history as she might in her Pikesville home - on a small, run-of-the-mill TV. "It's disappointing," she said, flatly.

As the second Obama term gets underway, much is being said and written about the president finally emerging as a tougher, stronger Democrat in the liberal mold of past party greats. His second inaugural address pressed Republicans in Congress to accept a broader, more aggressive package of social programs and reforms than he embraced in his first term. Standing at his side, even more visibly during the second inaugural festivities than before, has been Vice President Joe Biden, not merely in ceremonial roles but as a key supporting player in Mr. Obama's most prominent second-term initiatives.

Barack Obama has not been a perfect president. Millions are still suffering from a weak economy, vitally important issues like climate change and immigration remain all but unaddressed, and most disappointingly, the promise of a new politics to move us beyond a long and bitter partisan divide remains painfully unfulfilled. But he has been a very good president. For all the promises on which he has fallen short, he has kept many others. He has provided steady, pragmatic leadership in trying times, and he has set the stage for a stronger, more sustainable America to emerge.

After Sen. Barack Obama won the Jan. 3 Democratic caucuses in white-as-snow Iowa, he and his campaign wasted no time trying to put one idea to rest: that white voters would never accept the candidate because of his race. But some African-Americans remain unconvinced, and their doubts could undermine Obama's presidential campaign, a possibility that grew after his defeat in the New Hampshire primary. Don't get black voters wrong - they say he is their pride, their cause for excitement and hope that the future will hold more acceptance and better times.

Two months ago, NAACP board member Alice Huffman played a pivotal role in a Democratic National Committee meeting that paved the way for Sen. Barack Obama to clinch the party's presidential nomination. Obama's historic victory - the first for a black candidate - has been celebrated as a civil rights milestone. But when the Illinois senator takes the stage at the NAACP's annual convention in Cincinnati next week, Huffman and other board members of the nation's oldest civil rights organization will not be endorsing him. As a tax-exempt nonprofit, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is forbidden to engage in partisan politics.

The time for conservatives to compromise has come and gone. The time for decisive and prudential judgments in our votes has arrived, and that means abandoning Mitt Romney this election. One of the great mistakes conservatives make when voting today is misjudging and mischaracterizing our political opponents. Words such as "socialist, radical, and communist" are tossed around with little regard to their historical meaning or modern implications. Then, we portray every election as a "turning point" in history, making over-exaggerated claims about the consequences of a political loss.