Trump for dummies II: ‘It’s about the economy, stupid’

The economy, and especially the anaemic recovery, has been a disappointment to all but the top 1 percent, and only the 0.1 percent have really done well. When Bill Clinton ran for president he had a note hanging from the wall beside his desk.

Editorial: Internal budget reports are a harsh reminder

Two months ago, the Brownback administration asked all state agencies to demonstrate how they would handle a 5 percent budget cut. While administration spokeswoman Eileen Hawley called such requests "a common practice," the state's precarious fiscal situation had many agencies worried that substantial cuts were actually on the way.

We must do our best

As the famous ethologist Konrad Lorenz told us in his classic 1963 book, On Aggression, we humans are closer to prey than predator - but that makes us more dangerous in some terrible ways. A "real" carnivore - a massive cat with long razor claws and fangs measured in inches, or a wolf with a long row of exposed flesh-ripping teeth and jaws that can break bones - very rarely kills members of its own species.

Wall Street Journal calls VP debate ‘Trump’s best’

"If Donald Trump could make the case for Donald Trump half as well as Mike Pence makes the case for Donald Trump, the New York businessman would be well on his way to the White House," the newspaper's editorial board wrote in an editorial Wednesday morning. The board applauded Pence's advocating for a more aggressive stance toward Russia while Kaine tried to blast the Republican ticket for being cozy with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As Trump, Duterte and Putin prove, respectful leaders are in short supply today

Paul Letters says the animosity seen in the current US presidential race is reflected in the lack of civil leadership styles elsewhere Last week, a heartfelt hug between Michelle Obama, wife of the current US Democratic president, and former Republican president George W. Bush demonstrated the warmth between the two first couples and went viral. Meanwhile, millions of viewers in the US - and more online around the world - tuned in to the first presidential debate of 2016, anticipating animosity between the two candidates, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Our View: Take a look at vice-president candidate’s voting records

As Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana face each other tonight, they will likely seek to outline what they will do if they become vice president. Pence's House votes from 2007 to 2012, the last half of his 12 years in Congress, are compared to votes cast by current House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Prop. 58 might be most important question on fall ballot: Thomas Elias

Most of the attention this fall has properly gone to the fierce presidential race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Some voters have also given substantial attention to many of the propositions on next month's ballot, covering everything from plastic bags to condoms in pornography, from taxes to legalized marijuana.

Newt Gingrich: The elite media IS Hillary Clinton. They are terrified of Trump

The final minutes of the first presidential debate last Monday night were marked by a startling shift to a 20-year-old story as Hillary Clinton ambushed Donald Trump with an accusation designed to make him unacceptable to women. Despite Lester Holt's efforts to help her, Clinton had lost the early parts of the debate on big issues--jobs, trade, taxes, law and order, etc.

Fat shaming Miss Universe? Where was Hillary when Monica Lewinsky was being abused?: Christine Flowers

Since I was very feminine and cute enough to make grandmothers and elderly nuns smile, I liked to call myself "plump," "pudgy," "roundish," "chubby" or the adverb-turned-adjective "dieting." It never occurred to me to think that I was growing up in a toxic society that judged me by the way I looked.

The Pulse: As next debate looms, time for Trump to hit the books

A Philadelphia lawyer turned political commentator, Michael Smerconish is a nationally syndicated radio host, best-selling author and weekly contributing columnist to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Sunday Currents section. The Michael Smerconish Program is heard exclusively on SiriusXM - POTUS Channel 124 from 9a12p ET - reairing again 6-9p ET.