The animal kingdom has been inhospitable to Mitt Romney in this election cycle.

The man? Texas billionaire Ross Perot. The moment? The 2012 presidential race.

It’s July, and for many of us, that brings back fond childhood memories of family vacations, summer camp or long, happy days spent playing with friends. But this quaint notion of summers as a kids’ paradise is dangerously misleading, evidence from social research suggests.

A generation ago, it was the three I’s. A presidential challenger’s obligatory foreign trip meant Ireland, Italy and Israel. Mitt Romney’s itinerary is slightly different: Britain, Poland and Israel.

The Affordable Care Act remains in Republican cross hairs and very much in the news. In recent days, several patients have asked me what the law will mean for them. Many of the people I care for are incurably ill and need expensive medical care to stay alive.

Why do the Olympics have the events they have? Why don’t they have swimming obstacle races, croquet, rugby or native mud fighting? The answer is that they once did.

Murders — especially random mass murders — are frightening. And when we’re frightened, we look for explanations that will restore some sense of safety to the world.