As my shortness of breath lasts longer, doctors line up hypotheses like bottles at a carnival, toss test after test at them, but never win the giant stuffed panda. After 18 months of failing to hit my symptoms with any of the usual causes, they tell me the heart can retain iron, making it too [...]

Campaign promises glitter like leaves, and while voters enjoy the fall colors, they expect fruit as rewards, not beauty. Winners might be patient, but losers will cry “I told you so,” at any delay in delivery on even forgotten pledges. Before someone rakes his fallen foliage into ugly piles, Obama needs to produce a pruned [...]