Ron Fournier

Historians will likely give Obama credit for steering the country away from the brink of economic collapse in 2009.

It's an appeal as old as America and its presidency: This is an extraordinary country populated by hard-working, big-dreaming, freedom-loving people graced by God when they're not pulling themselves up by the bootstraps.

A concrete agenda and landslide victory might not even guarantee a president his mandate in a capital as polarized as Washington.

Obama does not need to worry as much as past Democratic presidents about being labeled soft on national security - not after giving the order that led to the assassination of Osama bin Laden. No, his biggest concern is being labeled tone deaf on joblessness and debt.

At the start of his second term, one wonders less about Obama's fitness than his willingness: Why doesn't he do more to build and maintain the relationships required to govern in era of polarization?

Although we were never pals and occasionally butted heads, my relationship with Clinton and his wife, Hillary, made me a better journalist.

Voters don't have to love him, Romney advisers say, but they will respect him.

A dose of humility goes a long way in life and in politics.

If acknowledging that racial misgivings and misunderstandings are still a part of politics and life in America, I plead guilty.

We're living in an era of unprecedented change, and I want to be a part of documenting it.

Obama still has work to do with the vision thing. Convincing voters that he has a credible, practical plan to turn the nation around is a process, not a speech.

I've been leading newsrooms for a while now and it's been an honor serving as Editor in Chief of N.J., but I really think that my best shot at moving the needle in politics is by getting close to it - by reading, reporting, tweeting and writing.