POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

Where Clint Eastwood draws the line

By LEONARD PITTS JR.

Clint Eastwood has had it up to here with sensitivity. ''A lot of people are bored of all the political correctness,'' he recently told The New York Times. ''. . . The country has come a long way in race relations, but the pendulum swings so far back. Everyone wants to be so'' -- and here, he gave a make-my-day grimace -- ``sensitive.'' 1231342382

MARRIAGE ACT

Singing the wedding blues

BY BOB BARR

In 1996, as a freshman House member, I wrote the Defense of Marriage Act, better known by its shorthand acronym, DOMA, than its legal title. The law has been a flash-point for those arguing for or against same-sex marriage ever since President Clinton signed it into law. Even President-elect Barack Obama has grappled with its language, meaning and impact.

POLITICS

No longer Reagan's America

BY E.J. DIONNE

The message sent over the weekend may have been unintentional, but it was nonetheless powerful. While the candidates to chair the Republican National Committee prepared for a debate on Monday sponsored by Americans for Tax Reform, a Reagan-era group, the Democrats leaked word that their next national chairman would be Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia.

What will Obama say?

BY FRIDA GHITIS

President-elect Barack Obama has so far said nothing about the war raging between Israel and Hamas in Gaza because he has nothing to gain and much to lose by making his position clear. His silence, which he defends deferring to President Bush -- ''We have only one president at a time'' -- is not exactly a shining example of courage and leadership. Instead, it reveals once again a man defined more by caution than boldness. And one who knows just how much is at stake for the Middle East and for his...

Diplomacy is crucial

BY DAVID PRICE

For observers of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict committed to a peaceful and lasting two-state resolution, the conflict in Gaza brings the temptation to throw one's hands in the air in despair. Mistaken assumptions and lessons left unlearned seem to guide each of the protagonists down a course that is at odds with the long-term interests of both Israelis and Palestinians.