National

Editorial cartoonists Mike Luckovich and Mike Peters have mixed feelings about the looming presidential vote. As the pair looked back on their recent work, they acknowledged a worry: It's not easy to make fun of Barack Obama, the front-runner.

Editorial cartoonists Mike Luckovich and Mike Peters have mixed feelings about the looming presidential vote. As the pair looked back on their recent work, they acknowledged a worry: It's not easy to make fun of Barack Obama, the front-runner.

Perhaps nowhere are residents more sensitive to potential voting problems than in Palm Beach County, Fla., home of the infamous butterfly ballot from the 2000 presidential recount. The county has a new voting system, but officials still worry about problems on Election Day.

Perhaps nowhere are residents more sensitive to potential voting problems than in Palm Beach County, Fla., home of the infamous butterfly ballot from the 2000 presidential recount. The county has a new voting system, but officials still worry about problems on Election Day.

Tell Me More host Michel Martin shares what's on her mind. In her latest commentary, Martin takes on "wardrobe gate" and the controversy surrounding GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's $150,000 shopping spree, and explores whether women are unfairly held to a higher standard.

Tell Me More host Michel Martin shares what's on her mind. In her latest commentary, Martin takes on "wardrobe gate" and the controversy surrounding GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's $150,000 shopping spree, and explores whether women are unfairly held to a higher standard.

The Obama machine is new kind of hybrid of top-down leadership and bottom-up energy. While many of its activities are initiated from above, it is also benefiting from a huge outpouring of voter-to-voter self-organizing. By putting the power in supporters' keyboards, the political machinery of 2008 has differed dramatically from that of previous election years.