Page Two

Do Obama's sky-high approval ratings and unprecedented support indicate unrealistic expectations?

Only the foolish expect a rebirth of wonder from Obama, but a restored sense of decency is a good start

It isn't the outside world but oneself that most often determines the nature of experience

An introduction, then a list of lots of cool things, shoved into 10 slots, that are not necessarily related to 2008

The real history of labor and union organizing is ignored and largely unknown

Snapshots for swiftly passing days

A film review and recommendation for this blur of a year

Nixon film and doc review responses offer different kinds of surprises

Marking time with seasonal ghosts

Neither party is sainted, and dominance tends to encourage the worst of political habits

What if the government isn't broken?

In working together as Americans, there is hope

A series of shapes that all fit together, although not like jigsaw pieces

Proposition 2 and other economic quandaries

A concept in search of an author; characters in search of a form; memory in search of meaning

Navigating the maze of Palin punditry

The GOP masterfully weaves a tapestry of deceit

The backdrop of reality that belies the McCain-Palin pageant

In a growing city, are some citizens more equal than others?

S.R. Bindler's 'Surfer, Dude' continually pulls off the unexpected

How we succeeded in business without really trying

More than ever, the 'Chronicle' is what people make of it

Republicans blame it all on the Democrats, while outraged activists flirt with censorship

The unbound adventures and outrageous duets of a life spent with science fiction

Civil disobedience and free speech are cut from the same unalienable cloth

With 'Hellboy II,' Guillermo del Toro makes the leap from mere great director to cinematic superhero

New sources, new policies provide our only legitimate shot at energy independence

Political arguments depend on mutual respect

We cannot work together unless we can talk to each other

The city takes on live music, again