Israeli troops continue to move into Gaza. I hope their leaders don't fail them as they did in 2006.

Anne Applebaum points out the obvious, which is that there is no "peace process" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These two sides are at war, with the Palestinians still clinging to the belief that they can eventually force the Jews out (or exterminate them) and the Israelis still clinging to the belief that they can survive as a Jewish state.

Richard Cohen describes a past trip to the Israeli town of Sderot, and why it is Hamas which caused this latest war to start.

Leon Panetta, who was Chief of Staff during the Clinton years, and before that he was a congressman from California, is Obama's choice for CIA Director. There is already a lot of squawking about the choice, but I suspect this is more about Obama trying to bring the CIA to heel.

E.J. Dionne believes it is the Democrats who have the best chance of expanding their base in the coming years. I will not even bother to make a prediction, as I suspect outside events will determine which party gains the upper hand, completely irrespective of ideologies or tactics.