Italy may want to be Europe's "good guy," but much stands in the way.

Despite rumors of change and rhetoric, Italy is masterful at standing pat.

Like Richard J. Daley in old Chicago, Silvio Berlusconi is a man with a machine.

The Rupert Murdoch scandal aside, media ethics have fallen into tatters.

The death of Osama Bin Laden is the culmination of his failures and those of his enemies.

When Muammar Qaddafi vanishes from the scene, despotism will lose plumage.

Sympathy for the devil helps assess what's occurring in the Middle East.

The absence of leaders-in-waiting makes Middle Eastern dissent into much ado about rage alone.

If Berlusconi falls, what comes after? For now, more of the same.