TAOYUAN COUNTY, Taiwan — As one inhales the fresh air in this island’s many nature reserves and parks, it is hard to imagine that the environment looms as a major concern. But, then, before the widespread global realization that the era of climate change was upon us, most people around the world – except those [...]

SAN FRANCISCO — What does one do when the excitement of a presidential race dies down, when no surprising, new or inspiring perspectives seem to emerge, when larger-than-life issues such as economic turmoil threaten to restrict the prospects of change – in short, when campaign fatigue sets in?
Certainly, that is not the case, many of [...]

The staggering economic turmoil of recent months has left people around the world scratching their heads, worrying more than they have in almost a century and often blaming the United States. These are, no doubt, troubling times, but they are hardly the worst that could occur. Further, I have every expectation that we – in [...]

Among the issues that Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and Republican standard-bearer John McCain should take up in this week’s presidential debate is the tragedy of delayed casualties from the U.S.-led intervention in Iraq.
Most Americans are familiar with the official Iraq toll – as of this week, 4,169 U.S. dead, along with a several hundred [...]

The rare moment of national unity that Hurricane Gustav delivered, with the usual politicking on pause, reminded me of another time, when Americans more commonly joined together in a bipartisan manner.
It should not take the potential drowning of one of the United States’ most storied cities – or other crises, at home and abroad – [...]

Now that both the Democratic and Republican presidential-campaign teams have a strong component of foreign-policy expertise, how will they use it?
They had better act quickly, because time is short. During the few months before Election Day, voters should demand that the presidential contenders address the international challenges facing the United States with clarity and [...]

Whether Barack Obama’s multi-nation, overseas tour amounts to a political stunt – as critics claim – or not, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president and U.S. senator from Illinois is moving in the right direction. So far, foreign-policy issues have played a pitifully small role in the campaign. To those who believe that discussing Afghanistan, [...]

To unify Democrats, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois – should he secure the party’s nomination – will have to offer U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York the vice presidency. And that combination, though improbable, would be the party’s dream team. On the Republican side, the strongest running mate for U.S. Sen. John McCain [...]

WASHINGTON — More than two centuries after America’s first president, George Washington, dramatically freed his personal slaves, President George W. Bush grapples with the issue of involuntarily subjugated people. So will his successor, which leads me to ask:
Will human trafficking, as it is now known, ever end? Equally important, does anyone care?

When I wrote about presidential dream tickets nearly a year ago, with U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona leading Republicans and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois as the No. 2 for Democrats, criticism rained from many directions.
“There is no way McCain will be the Republican nominee,” hundreds of people said. “Obama does not have [...]