WASHINGTON — The public campaigns being waged by Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama are tough enough. But behind the scenes, the campaigns of the two presumptive nominees are even tougher.

McCain’s side keeps sending reporters zinging messages about the “audacity…

WASHINGTON — As the veepstakes winds down, two intriguing pairs of possible running mates showed up on the Sunday television talk shows.

One program had Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., squaring off against former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.

McCaskill is seen as an unlikely…

WASHINGTON — The political battle continues for a key constituency — the nation’s veterans.

Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign unveiled a new group, ”Next Generation Veterans for Obama,” on a conference call Monday with reporters. Such activities are aimed at overcoming the natural ties…

WASHINGTON–The folks at JibJab, creators of the savvy, satirical political web videos, have weighed in on the 2008 presidential race. And it’s wickedly funny. Nothing I could write would do it justice, so click here to watch for yourself.

WASHINGTON — Missouri, wrong only once in the past century in reflecting the nation’s choice on a president (for Adlai Stevenson against Dwight Eisenhower) is getting a great deal of attention from both Barack Obama and John McCain, including some possible veep…

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama has been under assault recently from John McCain’s campaign for allegedly lacking substantive achievements and a bipartisan track record.

But interestingly, some of Obama’s best work during his tenure in Washington has involved an area that is critically…

WASHINGTON — Washington has been talking Friday about the prospect of John McCain choosing a conservative, dynamic Republican woman for his ticket in a bid to add some excitement to what even supporters acknowledge has been a rather unexciting campaign effort thus far.…

WASHINGTON — Is Barack Obama qualified to be president?

This question was posed to Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, a Republican leader of the House, over lunch at the Post-Dispatch bureau today.

Most politicians would shy away from answering such a question, or deflect…

WASHINGTON–Don’t ask Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, for her take on Missouri’s hotly contested Republican gubernatorial contest. Unlike other Missouri Republican insiders, Emerson is steering clear of the showdown between Rep. Kenny Hulshof, R-Columbia, and state Treasurer Sarah Steelman.

Emerson,…

WASHINGTON–The vice presidential guessing-game is getting more intense by the minute, as the clock ticks down toward the party’s respective nominating conventions.

Last week, the Washington Post ran a front-page story reporting that Sen. John McCain’s decision about his No. 2 pick…