Mitt Romney has all but won the Republican nomination. But his battle for the presidency won't just be against the Democrats.
The fringe has become the new Republican mainstream and many of them still don't trust Romney, don't like him, and don't even believe he can beat Barack Obama.
If Romney does win the presidency, he may find his biggest battles ahead lie with the 'insurgent outsiders' that have so captivated his own party.
What next?
The criminal trials of the 9/11 terrorists may finally be coming to the punch line. But the latest trial might be another variation on previous suspended prosecutions. More
Advertising nirvana
Now that more people are skipping the ads, the integration of advertising into reality television is inevitable. But there are limits. More
The motherhood challenge
Sometimes the most natural of life's adventures can throw you into a headspin. In my case, it was the simple task of parenting. More
Untenable distraction
Barrie Cassidy
The current unholy stand-off is unsustainable. Set new rules now and take Craig Thomson's vote away from him.
Nip and tuck
Annabel Crabb
It's the small stuff - the nips here, the tucks there - that give this budget its intriguing life.
Hey presto!
Stephen Long
Call Wayne Swan a magician. Call him Houdini. Call him dead lucky if he really can pull the surplus rabbit out of the hat.
Pea-and-thimble shuffling
Alan Kohler
This is the budget of an unpopular Government approaching an election, not one that's tightening the belt.
Any takers?
Marius Benson
After everything that has happened would Kevin Rudd still take the top job? Of course he would.
Much ado
Jonathan Green
Political journalism is incapable of holding a thought one moment, obsessed by its own imagining the next.
Get it right
Stella Young
The NDIS is the best chance people with disability have to change our lives and we simply cannot afford to stuff it up.
Washington soundtrack
Jane Cowan
Away from official Washington, the city has a different rhythm and it's pretty easy to like.
Media's old master
Jonathan Holmes
Murdoch first used media power for politics in Australia. Leaning on governments is in News Corp's DNA.
OPINION
No game changerClearly the sound-bite phrases of "fair go" and "battler's budget" imply what Swan wants us to think is the story, but do the cuts match it, writes Greg Jericho.
OPINION
Ignored for too longSmall business people have been ignored for too long. This budget shows that we urgently need a national strategy for the sector, writes Peter Strong.
Pea-and-thimble shufflingThis was supposed to be a tough budget. It is the opposite in fact: it is the budget of an unpopular Government approaching an election, writes Alan Kohler
Hey presto!Call Wayne Swan a magician. Call him Houdini. Call him dead lucky if he really can pull the surplus rabbit out of the hat, writes Stephen Long.
OPINION
Defence sacrificeIn order to get the budget back into balance Swan has made cuts to an area which is the Australian Government's prime responsibility – defence, writes David Barnett.
OPINION
A classic Labor budgetThe 2012 budget is, in many ways, a classic Labor budget. Wealthy people and businesses will pay more, while low-to-middle-income families will receive more, writes Tom Elliott.
Reality TV is manipulative, repetitive snot. The invasive, blatant, condescending advertising that it is apparently now smothered with before being served to its audience is probably quite fitting really.
Asinine Drivel on advertising during reality TV, via comment
I enjoyed it, gave me a feeling that he has a sense of humour. I think he may have connected with the people through this short stint on the news...
Janel Marie Dunn on Prince Charles' debut as a BBC weatherman, via Facebook
The fact that we currently have no charismatic politicians who have the gift of oratory is part of the problem. Keating's command of the English language was formidable and he used it to devastating impact. That can't be taught.
Julie on public discussion in 'the age of the uninformed', via comment
Ask a Grown Man"Everybody farts." And more wisdom from Jon Hamm. [Vimeo]
Welcome to the AnthropoceneAn animation showing the extent of human activity across the globe. [Vimeo]
Convergence reviewedBefore the Convergence Review's Final Report was released the media was busy telling us what would be in it - and getting it wrong. [Media Watch]
Hot air balloons hang over the mist as they come in to land at Coldstream airport on the eastern outskirts of Melbourne on May 10, 2012.
High drama as Thomson stops the clock, but can he wind it back, asks Tony Wright.
"HE SPEAKS! Craig Thomson, once the holder of the most fascinating union-issued credit card in the land, proved that if nothing else, he is capable of breathtaking brinkmanship."
Would the company tax cut have made a real difference to small business owners? Ben Eltham unpacks the rhetoric. [New Matilda]
"In general, the arguments advanced by the business lobby tend to be those that exercise the big end of town, rather than the small players. That’s a shame."
The president's new position is a bet on the future of the Democratic Party, writes Ronald Brownstein. [The Atlantic]
"The modern Democratic coalition has three principal pillars: young people, college-educated whites (especially women), and minorities. And with those groups, gay marriage is generally a much more popular position."
The sense of parental leave is self-evident, yet Zoe Williams says we continue to discuss it in ever-decreasing circles. [Guardian]
"...we can't, from a commercial perspective, afford not to pay any leave. All there is to consider is whether or not to uphold a gender divide, and we should be able to dispatch that pretty quickly."
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