Live Q&As

You're referring to Rick Perry's quote about Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. Really? Does "almost" make it just fine with you? And the subsequent warning that he would be treated "ugly" in Texas is peachy, too? Really?

Good question. Jon Huntsman warned that the GOP can't become the anti-science party. My observation is that he's awfully late. The crazy thing is that for some Republicans, it's all an act. Not for Rick Perry, I fear. But look at Sarah Palin, who's such a  "skeptic" about climate change. When she was governor of Alaska (for those brief two years and change), she was actually quite reasonable and empirical about climate change. Permafrost was melting, waters were rising, whole villages had to be relocated. She wrote about curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Now, however, she denies ever being reasonable on the issue.

Well, we already know who the Democratic candidate is. And it's not too early. As for my readership among GOP primary voters, they have my personal invitation to read as often as they'd like.

Um, how often do those tickets pay off? The realistic view, I think, is that the economy will still be struggling next fall. Democrats have a chance of taking back the House, with a few breaks; but the Senate might well go Republican. President Obama's prospects are good, though -- and get much better if the Republican nomination process is all about who hates government most, who has the least regard for science, who favors the biggest tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy...

No. Since when did the EPA (established by Richard Nixon) become the right's favorite scapegoat? I happen to believe that the environment is important. And I know that the EPA has been limited in recent years to a far less proactive role than it once had. There is, and has always been, a tradeoff: Yes, that mercury-spewing plant provides jobs, but it also makes people sick. The EPA's prime directive is to protect human health, and I want the agency to be successful. I want you to be healthy.

I believe he's already said he doesn't know how old the Earth might be. So I can ask, but I doubt I'll get a satisfactory answer.

Obviously, I'm not likely to be privy to that sort of conversation. But do you really think the media have ignored expressions of racial animus from Tea Party members and leaders? I was at the Capitol when African American members of Congress were buillied and hectored by Tea Party types right before the health care vote. We report this stuff when we see it and hear it. But reporting doesn't make it go away.

There are only 300 million of us but, as you probably know, we are responsible for far more carbon emissions per capita than anyone else (with the possible exception of Australians and Canadians, as I recall). But no, we can't solve the problem by ourselves. China, India and other burgeoning economies have to cut emissions as well.

Americans, in general, should pay more attention to the rest of the world. We don't have the best health indicators anymore. We don't have the best primary or secondary education, by a long shot, and the primacy of our great institutions of higher education is being challenged. The tallest buildings, fastest trains and most modern airports are all in Asia and the Persian Gulf. We've got work to do.

I don't get it, I really don't. I thought Christianity demanded generosity and compassion. At least that's what I learned in Sunday School.