Obama’s Race Gambit

In the heady atmosphere leading up to the 2008 presidential election, a messianic Senator Barack Obama proclaimed he was "five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America." That transformation, echoed by Michelle Obama, was to change the conversation, change our traditions, change our history, and move the nation to a different place.

Navy gets $2.7B attack submarine sponsored by Michelle Obama

An attack submarine that is sponsored by first lady Michelle Obama and will be named for her home state has been delivered to the U.S. Navy. Submarine builder General Dynamics Electric Boat, based in Groton, Connecticut, delivered the submarine that will become the USS Illinois to the Navy on Saturday after nearly five and a half years of construction.

Obama returning from summer vacation ready for busy fall

President Barack Obama returns from vacation rested and ready for a busy fall, including pressing Congres... . President Barack Obama is seated in the presidential vehicle as his motorcade leaves his family's rented vacation home in Chilmark, Mass., on Martha's Vineyard, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016.

A runner passes the reflecting pool on the National Mall in…

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER: A runner passes the reflecting pool on the National Mall in Washington as the sun rises on what is expected to be a hot day in the Nation's Capital Friday, August 12. An excessive heat watch has been issued for the area. Fireworks explode over Maracana Stadium during the opening ceremony at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016.

President Obama’s Final White House Birthday Bash Was…

President Obama celebrated his 55th birthday - his last before leaving office - with a big White House bash jam-packed with Hollywood A-listers. Attendees included talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi , Common , Fonzworth Bentley, Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, NBC's Al Roker , George Lucas , interim chair of the Democratic National Committee Donna Brazile, retired basketball player Grant Hill, "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts, Sarah Jessica Parker , Pusha T, Samuel L. Jackson , Nick Jonas , who took a break from his tour with Demi Lovato , called the evening "A night I will never forget" on Twitter.

Joe Biden wishes ‘bff’ President Obama a happy birthday

Washington, Aug 5 - President Barack Obama turned 55 on Thursday and his Vice President and 'best friend forever' Joe Biden celebrated the occasion by tweeting a picture of the Joe and Barack friendship bracelets the President made for the duo earlier this summer. Happy 55th, Barack! A brother to me, a best friend forever, the Vice President wrote alongside the picture.

Dante Ramos Partisans: Sharing wishful-thinking clickbait doesn’t help

But according to the new breed of clickbait headlines that proliferate on Facebook, an oration that's rousing enough, or a tweet that's snarky enough, can singlehandedly vaporize the Republican nominee. "Obama Just Annihilated Donald Trump with the Whole World Watching at DNC," the website PoliticusUSA declared during last week's Democratic National Convention.

politicsTrump Gave the GOP the Choice of Racism or DefeatThe party chose racism. Jonathan Chait

Half a dozen years ago - just before Donald Trump latched on to the birther issue, but when the conservative base was already erupting in racialized terror against President Obama - The Simpsons slyly satirized Fox News with a pretend slogan: " ." The first part was probably too kind to a network that has frequently stoked white racial paranoia .

Obama pointing to strides in veterans’ health care

President Barack Obama is touting strides in reducing homelessness among military veterans as his administration reaches the halfway point in building a massive database on veterans' health. Overall veteran homelessness has been cut nearly in half, by 47 percent, although that's still short of Obama's long-held goal of getting it to zero by 2015.

Beyond Hillary: 10 powerful speeches by women at the Democratic Convention

This week's Democratic National Convention has been a historic one, featuring the country's first nomination of a woman for president as a candidate from a major party. It's also been loaded with star-studded speakers, including appearances from a sitting vice president, a sitting president, two former presidents, and a long list of celebrities and lawmakers.

Staying High In These Days of Going Low

First Lady Michelle Obama's speech on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention rocked, and her words and advice about hate speech resonated especially for many LGBTQ people. In a surprisingly personal speech, Obama shared how she and Barack advise their daughters, Malia and Sasha, on how not to let name-calling, nastiness, and negativity ensnare them by remaining about the fray.

Convention: O’Reilly attacks critics; Trump’s party crashing

An angry Bill O'Reilly defended himself Wednesday against critics who suggested he was justifying slavery with his assertion that slaves who helped build the White House "were well-fed and had decent lodgings provided by the government." . Calling slavery an "abomination," the Fox News Channel host said his statement was "not a justification, not a defense of slavery.