In All Things

Who knew that John McCain was his own stuntman What else to call his decision to suspend his campaign and fly back to Washington to help solve the economic crisis Was McCain earnest about the importance of being back in the Senate or was he merely confused about the word order of the Oscar Wilde

Back during the Anglican communion crisis I half-mischievously suggested that the Archbishop of Canterbury should dispatch his quarrelling bishops to the Marian shrine of Lourdes in south-west France because nbsp — and here I was in deadly earnest — it is the one of the greatest forgers of commun

Some people hate subways but as a twice daily user ndash two trains into Manhattan from Brooklyn and two back ndash I have learned not only to accept that hour-plus ride each way but even to enjoy it Leaving Brooklyn soon after 5 a m I take my first train from the Crown Heights area four stops

I remember a conversation I had with a Washington sage in December of 2000 shortly after the Supreme Court stopped the counting of votes in Florida awarding the presidency to George W Bush The country will be fine It will be like the 1840s and 1850s my friend said No one remembers the pres

The British prime minister who arrives today in New York is for the time being safe from his own party following a vigorous speech at the Labor conference Gordon Brown saw off the vultures circulating around his leadership and bought himself time with what has been widely praised as the speech

When I read Holland Carter s near rhapsodic review in the August 7th edition of The New York Times of the current exhibit at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles Bernini and the Birth of Baroque Portrait Sculpture –you will excuse the pun–I knew I had to see that Gian Lorenzo Bernini show or bust

Barack Obama rsquo s convention speech was the last time he had the undivided attention of the American people to make a sustained argument for his candidacy The debates will be critical as everyone agrees But in the meantime he can frame the race by delivering four soundbites that hit on key is

How about doing virtue scans on the candidates in this crucial election Surely such background checks and assessments would lead to better choices than simply listening to campaign rhetoric and spin nbsp Predictions of actual responses to future challenges can be most accurately based on virtuous

Fr Jim Martin presents his third video blog on prayer this time on the practice of lectio divina Previous video blogs covered the examination of conscience and Ignatian contemplation Tim Reidy

One week from today the eyes of voters will turn to Mississippi for the first presidential debate of the 2008 general election The editors of America have put together a list of some of the questions they feel should be asked The online editorial can be found here