http://kccu.org en http://kccu.org/post/goodbye-again-obamas-most-audacious-hope The sudden eruption of second-term scandals in his administration will have many costs for President Obama, but surely the most grievous will be the lost opportunity to transcend the partisan wars of Washington. That aspiration was his fondest dream for his second term, much as it was for his first. Now it seems destined to be dashed once again.<p>Of course, there are those who believe Barack Obama never intended to be anything but a conquering hero of the left. Tue, 14 May 2013 23:26:00 +0000 Ron Elving 33991 at http://kccu.org Goodbye, Again, To Obama's Most Audacious Hope http://kccu.org/post/logic-behind-obama-news-conference-hard-fathom On Tuesday afternoon, President Obama declared May as Older Americans Month, National Foster Care Month, National Building Safety Month, Jewish American Heritage Month and National Physical Fitness and Sports Month.<p>The president also issued a statement on the investiture of the new king of the Netherlands.<p>While small and routine, these moves were all easy to understand, as were the accompanying proclamations from the White House press shop.<p>What was not clear was the executive thinking behind the <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/04/30/180026256/obama-to-hold-news-confe Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:26:00 +0000 Ron Elving 33067 at http://kccu.org Logic Behind Obama News Conference Hard To Fathom http://kccu.org/post/reluctant-justices-may-be-forced-make-history Now and then, an issue before the U.S. Supreme Court changes the course of the nation's political history — whether the justices like it or not.<p>It's happening again with gay marriage. This week the court heard oral arguments in two key cases. One could restore legal same-sex marriage in California; the other could end discrimination against gay married couples in the administration of more than 1,000 federal programs.<p>The questions from the pivotal justices indicated they might prefer these cases — and these issues — be decided by someone else. Thu, 28 Mar 2013 22:04:00 +0000 Ron Elving 31028 at http://kccu.org Reluctant Justices May Be Forced To Make History http://kccu.org/post/fiscal-cliff-debate-why-very-few-rule-many-congress In the final hours of the latest budget crisis in Washington, several salient facts are increasingly clear.<p>First, the leaders of the two parties in the Senate might still put together a negotiated deal that would avert the combination of tax increases and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff. Sun, 30 Dec 2012 20:48:00 +0000 Ron Elving 25624 at http://kccu.org http://kccu.org/post/hawaii-sen-daniel-inouye-dies-88-respiratory-complications Transcript <p>ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: <p>From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.<p>MELISSA BLOCK, HOST: <p>And I'm Melissa Block.<p>Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii has died. He was 88. He was the president pro tempore of the Senate, an honor held by the most senior member of the majority party and a position that stands third in the presidential line of succession. Inouye died today at Walter Reed hospital outside Washington, D.C., from complications of respiratory disease. Mon, 17 Dec 2012 23:17:00 +0000 Ron Elving 24975 at http://kccu.org