Evan Thomas

The fund-raiser was unremarkable, by L.A. standards. Under enormous chandeliers at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, wealthy donors mingled with showbiz types (Dennis Quaid, Samuel L.

Yes, we can? Your answer to this question may depend on just how far you are from northwest Washington.

What Obama promises. How Washington really works.

A general who didn't peddle the Pentagon's line.

He was reckless and cautious, passionate and also an old-school pol.

How Team Bush could have avoided a damaging tell-all.

Given his successes, it's easy to argue that Barack Obama doesn't need advice. But how he'll handle race going forward is by no means a settled issue. Our open letter.

Hamilton Jordan, who died last week of cancer, may be remembered, wrongly, as the good ole boy who got Jimmy Carter elected president in 1976 and was bizarrely investigated (though never charged) with snorting cocaine at New York City's Studio 54.

Going back to school with John Kerry and the St. Paul's class of '62.

The vital strategic of a strong naval force

We all know Nixon was nasty. A stunning new book argues that he was also the grandfather of today's politics of hate.

Two new books point up the power of democracy.

Barack Obama is a Niebuhr-reading ESPN watcher. The origins of his troubles with the 'other' tag.

What Obama should have done to allay 'Bittergate'

Do today's candidates even know what that means?

Oratory is not enough. It often takes a national crisis to persuade Americans to make sacrifices.

Sen. John Warner and Congress's money culture.

The finale of the Spanish-American war, rooted in misunderstanding and racism, still reverberates.

There's no way to have predicted his recklessness. But a look at Eliot Spitzer's past helps explain his capacity for risk.

Should we prepare for big wars or small ones? After Afghanistan and Iraq, the answer might seem obvious, but the truth is harder and more expensive: both.

An unguarded comment from Michelle Obama speaks volumes about race and assimilation in modern America.

She is undeniably resilient. But it seems that Hillary Clinton is often recovering from her campaign's self-inflicted wounds.

Is the mainstream press unbiased? No, but we aren't ideological. What we really thrive on is conflict.

He united the conservatives. But William F. Buckley did more than that: he crafted a winning alternative to New Deal liberalism. Now the right is adrift and needs … another William F. Buckley.

McCain's denial that he had a romantic relationship with a lobbyist was firm, but it invited a game of catch me if you can.

Two new books lay bare enduring myths about the CIA.

The moral force behind a drive to rid the world of nukes.

Journalism, objectivity and John McCain.

On Super Tuesday eve, McCain traces his turnaround.

He may be JFK's heir. But Barack Obama lacks Kennedy's crucial ally.