On The Trail: Manufacturing A Victory
  By Amy Walter
  Wednesday, April 16
Can McCain buck historical trends and win the White House by carrying Rust Belt voters in a recession?

Off To The Races: Bitter Pills
  By Charlie Cook
  Tuesday, April 15
Although Barack Obama's controversial comments about small-town voters are costly, the incident is hardly enough to derail his campaign.

Other Recent Cover Stories

COVER STORY: Surveillance Standoff
By Shane Harris, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, April 4, 2008
The digital revolution has generated a 20-year clash over wiretapping, a push and pull between the federal government and technology corporations and civil-liberties activists to control the balance of power in the information age.

COVER STORY: The Fatal Embrace
By James Kitfield, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, March 28, 2008
As the Bush administration's Annapolis peace initiative falters, time may be running out for a two-state resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

COVER STORY: Good Times, Bad Times
By Peter H. Stone and Bara Vaida, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, March 21, 2008
For all the money made on K Street, lobbyists and lobbying firms are feeling a bit besieged by Congress' recenty crackdowns on industry practices.

COVER STORY: The Bills Come Due
By Sydney J. Freedberg, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, March 14, 2008
The cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is limiting the Air Force and Navy from replacing planes and ships that are becoming outdated.

COVER STORY: 2007 National Journal Vote Ratings: The New Center
By Richard E. Cohen and Brian Friel, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, March 7, 2008
The freshmen Democratic "majority makers" are overwhelmingly moderate in National Journal's 2007 congressional vote ratings. They hope their willingness to buck liberal orthodoxy will help them keep their seats in 2008.

COVER STORY: A Party Transformed
By Ronald Brownstein, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Feb. 29, 2008
The primary race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton is turning the Democratic Party into a younger, more affluent, and more liberal institution.

COVER STORY: The Art Of Wooing
By James A. Barnes and Peter H. Stone, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Feb. 22, 2008
Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are courting superdelegates as if they will decide the outcome of the Democratic presidential race.

COVER STORY: Higher And Higher
By Bara Vaida, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Feb. 15, 2008
The job is highly demanding, but the financial rewards of running a Washington trade group or other non-profit have never been greater.

COVER STORY: The Right Stuff?
By Kirk Victor, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Feb. 8, 2008
John McCain is still fighting to make the sale that his put-up-your-dukes demeanor is in the past and that his party's conservative base can trust him.

COVER STORY: Battlefield Now
By James A. Barnes, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Feb. 1, 2008
Forget any ideas about brokered conventions; the GOP and Democratic contests are going to be won on the front lines of the primary states.

COVER STORY: State Of Disorder
By James Kitfield, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Jan. 25, 2008
With six overseas trips already planned for 2008, a lame-duck Bush tries to repair relationships abroad before the new president takes office.

COVER STORY: Raise Your Right Hand
By Brian Friel, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Jan. 18, 2008
With the odds stacked against major legislation in 2008, oversight may be the name of the game on Capitol Hill.

COVER STORY: The Road Ahead
By Ronald Brownstein, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Jan. 11, 2008
The key to the outcomes of the upcoming primaries will be the underlying ideological and demographic characteristics of the next states on the calendar.

COVER STORY: Data Bomb
By Neil Munro and Carl M. Cannon, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Jan. 4, 2008
A 2006 report claimed that 654,965 Iraqi civilians had died, a figure 10 times higher than other estimates. Was it driven by science — or politics?

COVER STORY: The Guard's Turn To Surge
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Dec. 14, 2007
National Guard soldiers are increasingly becoming full-time, and for 2008 and 2009, they'll again do long relief in Afghanistan and Iraq for the Army.

COVER STORY: Super Donors
By Eliza Newlin Carney, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Dec. 7, 2007
A small influential group of lobbyists, with their spouses, donate as much as $200,000 from their personal bank accounts per election cycle.

COVER STORY: Bipolarization
By Brian Friel, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Nov. 30, 2007
National Journal asked more than 200 Congressional and Poltical Insiders how political partisanship can affect the legislative process in Washington.

COVER STORY: The New Washington
By Kellie Lunney, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Nov. 16, 2007
A more diverse, tech-savvy generation is making Washington less insular and more accessible and accountable to the rest of the country.

COVER STORY: Rather Be In Iowa?
By Brian Friel, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Nov. 9, 2007
For the presidential contenders trying to manage a successful campaign while serving in Congress, life on the Hill can be a real drag. But duty calls.

COVER STORY: Rangel's Reach
By Richard E. Cohen, National Journal
National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Nov. 2, 2007
The tax bill Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel has dubbed the "mother of all tax reforms" is causing a stir in the House.

COVER STORY: Judging The 2008 Health Plans
By Marilyn Werber Serafini, National Journal
National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Oct. 26, 2007
Health care reform is shaping up to be a hot item on the campaign trail. National Journal asked 10 health care experts to rate the candidates' plans.

COVER STORY: Senators At Risk
By Jennifer E. Duffy, National Journal
National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Oct. 19, 2007
Democrats have a very favorable hand in the 2008 Senate elections, but can they play their cards right and capitalize on a weakened Republican Party?

COVER STORY: Shoot/Don't Shoot?
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., National Journal
National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Oct. 12, 2007
The kinds of aggressive acts that win battles for the U.S. Military in Iraq can all too easily slide into the kinds of aggressive acts that lead to war crimes.

COVER STORY: Blogging On
By Bara Vaida, National Journal
National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Oct. 5, 2007
Senators and their staffs are starting to use blogs as a way to personally touch base with their electorate and explain their unfiltered messages and ideas.

COVER STORY: Heir Unapparent
By Carl M. Cannon, National Journal
National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Sept. 28, 2007
The 2008 presidential campaign, the first in more than half a century without a sitting president or vice president in the running, is a wide-open affair.

COVER STORY: Time's Running Out
By Carl M. Cannon, National Journal
National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Sept. 21, 2007
Two years after Hurricane Katrina, what can President Bush still do to help Louisiana's recovery? State and local officials have plenty of suggestions.

COVER STORY: Iraq: What Now?
By James Kitfield
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Sept. 14, 2007
Officials in the U.S. government are pinning their hopes for Iraq's future on a bottom-up approach based on the success of the "Anbar Awakening."

COVER STORY: Game Changers
By James Kitfield
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Sept. 7, 2007
With America distracted in Iraq and deeply divided at home, some experts discern the present as a period unusually ripe for strategic surprises.

COVER STORY: After Gonzales
By Edward T. Pound, Peter H. Stone, Shane Harris, and Corine Hegland, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Thursday, Aug. 30, 2007
At the top of the To Do list for the next attorney general will be seven challenges, including repairing a battered Justice Department, reducing political interference with the department¹s decisions, establishing credibility with the public, and patching up relations with Congress.

COVER STORY: Gummed-Up Gatekeepers
By Edward T. Pound, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Aug. 10, 2007
Despite years of attempted fixes, the process for getting a security clearance from Uncle Sam is tedious, slow, and antiquated. And evidence suggests that the background investigations aren¹t very thorough. Could a terrorist get hold of national secrets?

COVER STORY: Guantanamo, The Day After
By Corine Hegland, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Aug. 3, 2007
If Guantanamo Bay closed today, what would we do with the suspected terrorists we capture tomorrow?

COVER STORY: Fowl Territory
By Carl M. Cannon, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, July 27, 2007
No U.S. president is ever completely lame, but President Bush is hobbled by an unpopular war, scandal, a strong opposition and circumstance.

COVER STORY: Power Surge
By Richard E. Cohen, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats are clashing with the formidable Rep. John Dingell about a new energy legislation package.

COVER STORY: Baghdad, Surged
By James Kitfield, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, July 13, 2007
The "surge" in U.S. forces was meant to slow the paralyzing cycle of violence threatening to engulf Iraq, but determining how effective the troop buildup has been is more an art than a science.

COVER STORY: Hot Opportunities
By Margaret Kriz, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, July 6, 2007
American industries are bracing themselves for global warming's effects and anticipated federal controls that could pressure companies to draft "greener" business plans.

COVER STORY: Surviving The Information Age
By Carl M. Cannon, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Networks have made political discourse easier but not more civil. Will technology undermine the primacy of political parties as well?

COVER STORY: Hill People
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Every four years, National Journal goes behind the scenes of Capitol Hill, to examine often-anonymous but always crucial senior aides and staffers. In this year's Hill People issue, we feature more than 330 such profiles.

COVER STORY: Open-Field Politics
By Michael Barone, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Politics have changed. Surprises have become the norm as political alliances change overnight and voters feel free to move beyond party lines.

COVER STORY: The Thin Iraqi Line
By James Kitfield, National Journal
  Friday, June 8, 2007
Can the U.S. train Iraq's military and police to be the anchor that steadies the country, or will they become part of the sectarian storm that terars it apart?

COVER STORY: The Utility Man
By Brian Friel, National Journal
  Friday, June 1, 2007
Sen. Charles Schumer has parlayed his party's 2006 victory into a unique role for himself. He's a savvy spokesman, stategist and Harry Reid confidant.

COVER STORY: Here We Go Again
By Carl M. Cannon, National Journal
  Friday, May 25, 2007
Recent political campaigns have had their share of mudslinging, but it is only going to get worse as the Internet and dirty politics collide.

COVER STORY: Pelosi vs. Bush
By Richard E. Cohen, National Journal
  Friday, May 11, 2007
Everyone agrees that there is a tense relationship between Nancy Pelosi and George W. Bush. But, not everyone agrees on the reason.

COVER STORY: Beyond 'Hillarycare'
By Marilyn Werber Serafini, National Journal
  Friday, May 4, 2007
Although Hillary Clinton is the '08 candidate with the most health care policy experience, she is in no rush to come out with a comprehensive blueprint after being pummeled in 1993.

COVER STORY: Shadow Hunters
By Shane Harris, National Journal
  Friday, April 27, 2007
In the last three years alone, officials in Los Angeles have received and processed more than 4,000 tips on terrorist attacks. A team of specially trained local and federal agents work together wading through fact, fiction and the occasional genuine terrorist plot.

COVER STORY: When The Clock Winds Down
By James Kitfield and Brian Friel, National Journal
  Friday, April 20, 2007
The Iraq war is raging on two distinct timelines, one set by politics in Washington and the other dictated by events in Baghdad. But Washington's clock is about to expire.

POLITICS: Learning From Ike
By Jonathan Rauch, National Journal
  Friday, April 13, 2007
Learning From Ike
Dwight Eisenhower's brand of cold-blooded foreign policy has never been more relevant than it is today. President Bush's successor could learn a lot from Eisenhower's delicate balance of force and diplomacy.

CONGRESS: Member Moms
By Richard E. Cohen, National Journal
  Friday, April 6, 2007
Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., Melissa Bean, D-Ill., and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla. not only share a row house, but also the challenges of juggling motherhood and a congressional career.

LOBBYING: Shifting Ground
By Eliza Newlin Carney and Bara Vaida, National Journal
  Friday, March 30, 2007
Although Democrats promised ethics reforms, lobbyists now face a hodgepodge of bewildering, ambiguous rules while lawmakers up the pressure to raise campaign money.

CONGRESS: The Watchdog Growls
By Marilyn Werber Serafini, National Journal
  Friday, March 23, 2007
Democratic committee chairmen have put administration officials and big business back on the hot seat. But it's questionable whether good government or politics is the motivation.

ELECTIONS: Generation 'We' - The Awakened Giant
  By National Journal staff
  Friday, March 9, 2007
Politicians are ignoring college-aged voters at their peril. The next generation is voting in increasingly larger numbers and becoming more politically involved. They're turning to new places to get information, are more distrustful of the government and don't have strong ties to a political party yet.

SPECIAL REPORT: 2006 Vote Ratings
  By National Journal staff
  Friday, March 2, 2007
Experience in Congress can be a blessing or a curse for presidential contenders. Richard E. Cohen's analysis examines the voting records of the '08 hopefuls currently serving.

POLITICS: The Authenticity Sweepstakes
  By National Journal staff
  Friday, Feb. 23, 2007
From Washington to "Dubya," political candidates have sought to woo the common man with an "authentic" personality. Current WH 2008 candidates are struggling to find their "real" selves before the smear campaigns start in earnest.

COVER STORY: Surging Doubts
  By National Journal staff
  Friday, Feb. 2, 2007
National Journal talks to senior government officials, military leaders and think-tank analysts of all stripes, and finds that the confidence in Bush's troop surge is low.

COVER STORY: Special Report: The New Congress
  By National Journal staff
  Friday, Jan. 26, 2007
After a whirlwind transition from the minority to the majority, congressional Democratic leaders are just beginning to map their long-term agenda. Meanwhile, liberal advocates — from environmentalists, to labor unions, to abortion-rights organizations — are eager to steer lawmakers toward their long-stalled issues.

COVER STORY: 10 Successes, 10 Challenges
  By National Journal staff
  Friday, Jan. 19, 2007
In advance of this year's State of the Union address, National Journal highlights the Bush administration's biggest hits and flops that have not received much attention.

COVER STORY: The Other Three Thousand
  By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
  Friday, Jan. 12, 2007
Just as every soldier killed in Iraq leaves behind a story of tragedy and loss, every medal winner leaves behind a story of dedication and courage. But an analysis of the awards shows that the services skew their medals for merit and performance toward the higher ranks.

COVER STORY: Leaps Of Faith
  By Paul Singer and Brian Friel
  Friday, Jan. 5, 2007
Over the past decade, taxpayer dollars have supplied faith-based organizations with the means to foster an array of social services. National Journal explores the fundamental church/state questions raised by these under-the-radar efforts.