Cynthia Burton

The tale of the supposed fake tea party candidate in New Jersey's closest congressional race just won't go away. At a meeting with The Inquirer editorial board Wednesday, Democratic U.S. Rep. John Adler again denied any role in recruiting a so-called sham candidate to siphon votes from Jon Runyan, his Republican opponent in the Third District.

Only in Philadelphia could a politician who went up the river for racketeering, mail fraud, tax evasion and obstruction of justice come home to a hero’s welcome. Former City Councilman Jimmy Tayoun, one of the city’s most colorful political felons, came home yesterday after almost three years in jail. He flashed a million-dollar smile as he got off a Capitol Trailways bus in the dark and dirty 11th Street tunnel outside the Peter Pan bus terminal.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) has an interesting analysis of why President Obama has had trouble moving his agenda. Sanders says an inspired grassroots coalition swept Obama to victory. But after his election, the president devoted himself to the work of being a president without tending enough to the grassroots activists who had helped elect him. "Obama got elected and said: 'Hey, thank you so much for your help.