President Barack Obama appeared Saturday to be leaning toward appointing a third Republican to his Cabinet, a move that would place the fiscally conservative Sen. Judd Gregg at the head of the Commerce Department even though a liberal Democrat was initially tapped for the post. ...more

January 31, 2009

Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele won a tense election Friday to become the first black chairman of the national Republican Party, an outcome that also was a win for Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer and Gov. Charlie Crist. ...more

January 31, 2009

The Republican National Committee has elected former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele the first black Republican National Committee chairman. Steele was the most moderate candidate in the field and was considered an outsider because he's not an RNC member. He beat back four challengers, including incumbent Mike Duncan, who was forced to withdraw from the field midway through the balloting in the face of a lack of support. ...more

January 30, 2009

The Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation Thursday to provide health insurance to 11 million low-income children, a bill that would for the first time open the program to legal immigrant children and pregnant women. ...more

January 30, 2009

A children's health care bill that set congressional Democrats against President George W. Bush's administration in 2008 now appears headed for passage with Florida's two senators splitting their votes. ...more

January 27, 2009

Afghans were paying close attention last week when Barack Obama was sworn in. After all, Obama has pledged to move Afghanistan to center stage in his new administration's foreign policy concerns. ...more

January 27, 2009

In his inaugural address, President Barack Obama signaled conciliation to America's foes by using the metaphor of an outstretched hand to an unclenched fist. ...more

January 25, 2009

As a new administration settles into its offices in Washington, America awaits the actions of the White House and federal agencies on a host of challenges facing our nation at home and abroad. Whatever these actions turn out to be, and whether they meet with success or failure, it's vitally important that the American people have access to how governmental decisions are made, and by whom. On this front, at least, there's already good news. ...more

January 25, 2009

A recent Op-Ed column was written by Leonard Pitts of The Miami Herald, and reprinted in Highlands Today and other papers. The title of Pitt's opinion column was "Eagerly Awaiting History's Verdict." In his column he hoped that President Bush would live a long life to see all of the mistakes that he had made. The idea is that the future, then history, would surely show him what, in Pitts' own words "an awful president you were." ...more

January 21, 2009

When Barack Obama flubbed a line while being sworn in as 44th president of the United States, a crowd of more than 100 at the New Port Richey Library good-naturedly laughed with him. When the nation's first black president spoke of establishing "unity of purpose over conflict and discord" and said that all Americans "deserve the opportunity to pursue the full measure of their happiness," the enthusiastic crowd applauded loudly. ...more

January 21, 2009