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Obama did not grow up in a religious household and became a practicing Christian as an adult. He has written more extensively about his spiritual awakening than almost any other modern president, addressing it in two books before he was elected to the White House and in more than a dozen speeches since. His faith had been central to his identity as a new kind of Democrat who would bring civility to the country's political debates by appealing to Republicans through the shared language of their Judeo-Christian values. With just one year left in his second term, Obama now holds...

-snip- WINNERS Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush Bush had by far his strongest performance in any debate to date. The former Florida governor, whose last election campaign was in 2002, had looked rusty and hesitant in all his previous outings. On Tuesday night he made a far crisper and more assertive showing. Bush delivered the most memorable line of the debate's early stages when he said Trump was "a chaos candidate. And he'd be a chaos president." In a later exchange, he told the businessman, "You're not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency," a phrase...

President Barack Obama says his administration will continue releasing terrorists from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, so long as those released are less dangerous than the jihadists currently fighting against the U.S. and its interests. The bizarre argument comes in a new interview with Olivier Knox of Yahoo! News and is one of several comments in their discussion that reinforces the president's stubborn nonchalance on issues related to jihad. Obama also shrugs off concerns about recidivism of former Guantanamo detainees, suggesting that only a "handful" of former detainees have returned to the fight and claiming that only "low-level"...

President Barack Obama will use his Sunday night address on terrorism to urge the American people not to 'give in to fear' after the California shootings, and may also ask Congress to take action on gun control in the name of national security, according to Attorney General Loretta Lynch. Speaking on NBC's 'Meet the Press' on Sunday morning, Lynch said that 'dealing with guns is one way to handle the violence crime issues that we have in this country'. The White House confirmed Obama would provide an update on Wednesday's shootings in San Bernardino that killed 14 and wounded 21,...

Washington (CNN) President Barack Obama said in an interview that aired Thursday that he is confident the U.S. is safe from a Paris-style attack from ISIS and that American law enforcement is well equipped to protect the nation during the holidays. "ISIL will not pose an existential threat to us. They are a dangerous organization like al Qaeda was, but we have hardened our defenses," Obama told CBS. "The American people should feel confident that, you know, we are going to be able to defend ourselves and make sure that, you know, we have a good holiday and go about...

Republicans are riding high with white voters, but need to win over American minorities if they expect to recapture the White House in next year's presidential election, influential GOP consultant and policy adviser Karl Rove tells Newsmax TV. "It's not just Latinos. Republicans have to do better among African-Americans, Latinos and Asian-Americans because we're tapped out — we're taking six out of every 10 white voters," Rove said Wednesday on "Newsmax Prime" with J.D. Hayworth.

POLITICO Caucus shows Cruz gaining ground and Clinton pushing Sanders aside in the early voting states. After months of waiting for Donald Trump’s decline, Republican insiders now concede the poll leader could take two of the first four early voting states, though they caution his hold on Iowa is weak. That’s according to the POLITICO Caucus, our weekly poll of the top strategists, operatives and activists in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. For this Thanksgiving holiday week, POLITICO analyzed seven months-worth of responses to our weekly benchmark question: Who would win your state if the voting were today?...

President Obama calls the upcoming climate summit with world leaders in Paris a “powerful rebuke” to Islamic State terrorists who attacked the city earlier this month. “What a powerful rebuke to the terrorists it will be, when the world stands as one and shows that we will not be deterred from building a better future for our children,” Obama marveled, after previewing his attendance at the summit which begins next week in Paris.

Appearing in a new BBC Three documentary, Young, Trans and Looking for Love, they let viewers see a glimpse of their lives as they struggle to find love. The doc shows the moment Claire, from Virginia, meets a guy that she likes, only to be rejected by him as soon as he finds out she was born a boy. She says: "In a lot of ways, I don't like telling a guy. Once I tell him all respect goes out of the window. "Straight guys just can't get over you having the male parts.

Following on the heels of the Swedish foreign minister, the chairman of the Dutch Socialist Party in the Netherlands justified the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists who conducted Saturday's brutal attacks in Paris that left 129 dead, blaming it on "frustration" at Israel. According to Jan Marijnissen, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs somehow ignited the attack on French civilians at cafes, show venues, soccer stadiums and restaurants. "Their behavior eventually is connected also to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," claimed Marijnissen in an interview with the Dutch NPO Radio1 on Monday. ...

On Thursday, President Barack Obama declared in an interview that ISIS had been "contained," asserting that the terror cell had been stalled in Iraq and Syria. The next day, ISIS claimed responsibility for one of the worst terror attacks in European history, shattering what had been a growing sense of momentum in the global fight against extremists and driving home the frightening ability of ISIS to inspire and possibly coordinate attacks outside their power base in Iraq and in Syria. "We, including the President, have said from beginning the fight against ISIL would be long and have both good and...

....Obama seemingly downplayed the threat of ISIS in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos that aired on Friday's broadcast of "Good Morning America." Stephanopoulos asked Obama if ISIS was gaining in strength, to which Obama denied they were. "I don't think they're gaining strength," Obama responded. "What is true is that from the start, our goal has been first to contain and we have contained them. They have not gained ground in Iraq, and in Syria they'll come in, they'll leave, but you don't see this systemic march by ISIL across the terrain."

Jihad: Amid fresh terror strikes in Paris and Beirut, and the FBI arrest of an Ohio Islamic State operative who sought to kill U.S. soldiers and American shoppers and students, President Obama downplays the IS threat. 'ISIS is gaining strength, aren't they?" ABC's Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos asked the president Friday, citing this month's suicide bombings in Beirut and the bombing of a Russian commercial jetliner by the Islamic State, which killed 40 and 244, respectively. "I don't think they're gaining strength," Obama asserted. "We have contained them." This may go down as one of the most irresponsible...

Friday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” President Barack Obama seemingly downplayed the threat of ISIS in an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that aired on Friday’s broadcast of “Good Morning America.” Stephanopoulos asked Obama if ISIS was gaining in strength, to which Obama denied they were. “I don’t think they’re gaining strength,” Obama responded. “What is true is that from the start, our goal has been first to contain and we have contained them. They have not gained ground in Iraq, and in Syria they’ll come in, they’ll leave, but you don’t see this systemic march by ISIL across the...

With terror situation still underway in Paris, President Obama said he didn’t want to speculate on who is responsible for the attacks. He is in full scrub-a-dub mode. At Least 18 Dead, Hostages Held as Simultaneous Shootings and Explosions Hit Paris,” Naharanet, November 13, 2015\At least 18 people were killed as multiple shootings and explosions hit Paris Friday, police said.Police also said there was an ongoing hostage crisis in the Bataclan concert hall in the French capital.French President Francois Hollande formed a crisis cell after heading to the interior ministry in the wake of the attacks.Earlier, The Associated Press quoted...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Yesterday ABC News on the website, Jonathan Karl interviewing Jeb Bush. Here's the first audio sound bite... KARL: New poll out this morning. Four percent! I mean, did you ever think you'd be -- JEB: I don't even care! It's not... It's not relevant. KARL: Is there any scenario that you would drop out of this race before Iowa? JEB: No. No way. KARL: No way? JEB: No way. No how. RUSH: "No way. No how." Jonathan Karl said, "Well, you recently hired a media consultant who's gonna coach you on interviews and the debates. What is...

There’s been a lot of Monday-morning quarterbacking about how firearm violence prevention played in Virginia elections this year. Let’s look at the two state Senate races where the issue played a central role: Senate District 10 in the Richmond area and Senate District 29 in Prince William County. In both races, gun safety was either the winning factor or helped tighten a race in a previously non-competitive GOP-held district. First, polling in and outside of Virginia shows more than 85 percent of Americans support common-sense firearms-violence prevention rules such as universal background checks or keeping firearms out of the hands...

Jeb Bush guaranteed victory in New Hampshire's first in the nation primary. Despite tanking poll numbers, the governor told WMUR he remains confident he can win. "I'm going to win it," Bush said. "Is it a must-win for you?" asked WMUR's John DiStaso. "Oh, I'm going to win it," Bush repeated. "I honestly believe I'm going to win New Hampshire."

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz said Donald Trump's campaign has been "immensely beneficial" to his own campaign but added that his supporters will soon turn to him as they become "more educated." "I think Donald's campaign has been immensely beneficial for our campaign and the reason is, he's framed the central issue of the Republican primary as, who will stand up to Washington," [sic] Trump told "Meet the Press" moderator Chuck Todd. "Well, the natural follow up if that's the question is, who has actually stood up to Washington?" [sic] Trump continued, adding that he's the only one with the...

Secretary of State John Kerry predicted on Thursday that nine in 10 Americans would back President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran once it has been in place for a year or more. “The fact is, a lot of polls show that the country actually supports it, and that’s a fairly even divide,” Kerry said of enthusiasm for the agreement now, according to The Huffington Post. “I think that’s pretty good, considering the amount of money that’s spent with myths being promulgated.” “If Iran destroys its Arak plutonium reactor core, filing it with cement, and it exists no longer, and Arak...