As public policy challenges go, this one shouldn’t have been that difficult.

Maybe the recently shuttered Borders bookstore chain did not perish in vain.

While U.S. President Barack Obama puts personal politics ahead of his country’s critical need for oil via the Keystone XL pipeline, Canada’s wooing of the Asian option should move quickly beyond simply courtship.

The National Basketball Association is losing big in the court of public opinion. The damage will be compounded if the 2011-12 season is lost, which appears to be a real possibility after the latest breakdown in negotiations.

Before the end of 2011, Congress will vote on legislation that would essentially nationalize the permits that states issue for people to carry concealed weapons. Lawmakers should reject this bill, which would curtail the rights of states that do not allow or that limit carry-permit reciprocity with other states.

By a vote of 261-165 on Friday afternoon, the House of Representatives fell 23 votes short of the two-thirds majority required for passage of a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would have required the federal government to balance its budget.

Americans love their horses, both real and fictional. Not long ago, a book about a beloved Depression-era racehorse, Seabiscuit, became a bestseller and an Oscar nominee for best picture.

With his stint as President Obama’s Middle East peace negotiator behind him, former Sen. George Mitchell now has time to chat with fellow Mainers about politics. He spoke in Portland the other day and his remarks produced this headline: “George Mitchell: Partisanship ‘worse than it’s ever been.'”

It might be the most eagerly anticipated decision in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court. It is certain to be, as suggested in a Washington Post news story, the “most high-profile ruling since Bush vs. Gore in 2000.”

Can this be happening? Newt Gingrich? Roll this around on your tongue: Republican presidential nominee Newt Gingrich. Or this: President Newt Gingrich.