Kevin Maurer, 08/31/12

Co-author, 'No Easy Day'

The public deserves to hear Mark Owen's account of the Bin Laden raid for many reasons. Chief among them is that though Bin Laden is dead, others will plot to attack the United States. We will need more men like the SEALs who answered the call in Abbottabad last May.

Arianna Huffington, 08/31/12

This week's double issue of Huffington arrives in the brief lull between the conventions. It's all about the November election, featuring Ryan Grim and Sam Stein on President Obama's "engagement gap," Michael Calderone on how Obama biographies reflect our political polarization, and Alice Hines on what the candidates eat on the campaign trail.

Howard Fineman, 08/31/12

Editorial Director, AOL Huffington Post Media Group

Mitt Romney did some of what he needed to do, but not everything he needed to do, at the Republican convention that ended Thursday night.

Mohamed A. El-Erian, 08/31/12

CEO and co-CIO, PIMCO

Greek officials should certainly hope that collective European action will succeed in stabilizing these other two countries' economies. But they should also realize that too great a success could, ironically, map into a higher probability of a Grexit.

Robert L. Borosage, 08/31/12

President, Institute for America's Future

For all the talk about "introducing" Romney to America, Romney has to remain an enigma. He can't talk honestly about the economic calamity that Obama inherited because he champions the very policies that led to it. He must make us forget it.

Karin Kasdin, 08/31/12

Author, 'Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy: Confronting Motherhood, Womanhood and Selfhood in a Household of Boys'

I'm sorry ladies, and I want you to know I'm eating my just desserts. I've left my phone or my sunglasses in restaurants and shops all over town. I vividly remember the lasagna I served at my sweet 16 party, but can't recall what I ate for dinner last night.

Robert Reich, 08/31/12

Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy, University of California at Berkeley; Author, 'Beyond Outrage'

Republicans claim the rich are job creators. Nothing could be further from the truth. To create jobs, businesses need customers. But the rich spend only a small fraction of what they earn. The real job creators are the vast middle class, whose spending drives the economy and creates jobs.

Ashbey Riley, 08/31/12

Writer, Filmmaker, Entrepreneur

I learned that if I'm grateful to be here, I have to accept the consequences of what it took to save me.

Robert Creamer, 08/31/12

Political Organizer, Strategist, Author; Partner Democracy Partners

The Republicans tried very hard to tell stories that humanized the otherwise robot-like Romney. But here is the bottom line: when multiple speakers have to testify how authentic you are -- you're not.

Chris Rodda, 08/31/12

Senior Research Director, Military Religious Freedom Foundation; Author, 'Liars For Jesus'

Thanks to the Republicans' favorite pseudo-historian David Barton, "American exceptionalism," a nineteenth century insult about the undeserved prideful nature of Americans is being proudly touted by Republicans everywhere. The irony is killing me.

Ari Ratner, 08/31/12

Former Obama Appointee at State Department

Despite his absence in Tampa, George W. Bush is omnipresent in W. Mitt Romney's campaign for president. He's just too big of an elephant to hide.

Dori Hartley, 08/31/12

Author, 'Angels and Echoes'

I'm so glad that I was part of the spark that ignited this eternal flame. I'm so glad I was there when it all began. It will forever prove to me that we can indeed rise like Phoenixes from the ashes of our own devastating personal events.

Rep. Brad Miller, 08/31/12

U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 13th Congressional District

I have a pretty good idea what legislation in the last decade could have "corrected" the housing crisis, and what legislation made it worse. Ryan voted wrong every time.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, 08/31/12

U.S. Representative from Ohio's 10th District

There can be no better way to honor the American worker then to support an increase in the minimum wage to a living wage of at least $10 per hour. That would be one Happy Labor Day.

John R. Talbott, 08/30/12

Author, "Survival Investing: How to Prosper Amid Thieving Banks and Corrupt Governments"

In speaking with my financial advisory clients, I find the most misunderstood concept is the difference between nominal returns and real returns. And Wall Street brokers and bankers are very quick to take advantage of this situation.

Nathaniel Frank, 08/31/12

Author, 'Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America'

On Medicare, Ryan thundered, "We need this debate." But on the social values that Republicans claim stand at the core of their being, they want no debate, just underhanded cues to appease the social conservatives in their fragile coalition.

Gov. Rick Snyder, 08/31/12

Governor of Michigan

There are a lot of great stories of success in Michigan, and each of them has the same theme: Michigan is open for business, and together we're reinventing our state with relentless positive action.

Terry O'Neill, 08/31/12

President, National Organization for Women

Converting Medicare to a privatized voucher system is a key element of the Romney-Ryan scheme: take health care coverage for retirees out of the hands of the U.S. government, where it has worked comparatively well, and shift it to the private market, which has proven to be a high-cost failure.

Jamin Raskin, 08/31/12

American University Law Prof, MD State Senator, People For the American Way Senior Fellow

With Robert Bork at the helm, we will see more impunity and more unaccountability in corporate structures that are "too big to fail" and "too big to jail."

Michael Roth, 08/31/12

President, Wesleyan University

Rick Levin hit the sweet spot of academic leadership more than most over the past 20 years. I'm grateful and wish him well.

Christina Pesoli, 08/31/12

Writer, Founder "Emotional Hard Body Divorce Boot Camp"

Admit it. You feel guilty about your divorce. So guilty, in fact, that you want to buy your kids presents to try to make it up to them.

Steven Conn, 08/31/12

Author

The Republicans have raised the bar very high for the Democrats when they meet in Charlotte. It will be difficult for Democrats to supply a more rousing defense of their own party's programs than the one Republicans just gave them in Tampa.

Willard Sterne Randall, 08/31/12

Professor of history, Champlain College; Author, 'Ethan Allen: His Life and Times

One of the enduring American myths we cherish is the two-party system. We must have two parties! To have three parties or more is impossible; to have only one, unthinkable.

Govindini Murty, 08/31/12

Co-Editor of Libertas Film Magazine

Was the rise of the supermodel a sign of female empowerment or female objectification?