I receive a daily news feed from Salon, and for the past two days I have received articles about Obama-Hagel and McCain-Lieberman unity tickets I have just three words for those who believe such events will happen: it ain't happening

Here in New Jersey, the Garden State, we have a governor who has just proposed to make $500 million in permanent spending cuts, refinance state debt, reduce municipal aid, eliminate two cabinet departments, and introduce tougher standards in math and science education These are proposals that you might expect from a Republican, but Jon Corzine is a fiscally conservative, moderate to liberal social issues Democrat

While I went out on a long limb to suggest that Rudy Giuliani may be the best running mate for Republican presidential candidate John McCain, I am at a loss to guess who would run with whom on the Democratic ticket The highly competitive race between Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Senator Barack Obama has had more than its share of drama — and more than its share of barbs that will only help a Republican deflate the credibility of the eventual nominee

I am not on the inside of any presidential campaign, but I consider myself to be a good student of politics And as a writer, I have the luxury of going against the grain on campaigns and issues

The media has passed enough judgment on former New York governor Elliott Spitzer and I agree with the pundits on all sides; there's no possible defense for his extracurricular behavior and he is not above the law But these past events show that we must consider the behavior that we expect from our elected officials in their public, and sometimes private, lives

My first attempt at fiction, The Sex Ed Chronicles, was based on historical events in my hometown and state, but it was a story of fictional characters However, there are brilliant works of historical fiction that stay truer to history, when they use well-known historical figures in alternate scenarios