You can call it the plea for "small town values," or "getting in touch with the Regular Joe," but I'll continue to call it what it really is: Voting for Dummies. And the worst part is the notion that these politicians are working-class folks is, of course, entirely fiction.

My American friends argue that this president is the victim of some of the nastiest racism possible. There are people who would prefer to see the States go down rather than see him succeed. Perhaps this is so, but Mr. President, rise to the challenge and speak directly to the American people!

The complexity of passing legislation through Congress with an intransigent Republican Party is something we should be worried about here in Canada, too. There is the prospect that the federal government, Canada's largest province, and Canada's largest city could all be governed by ideological conservatives.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama appealed for public support Saturday to push Congress to avert an unprecedented default on America's national debt...