Gen. David Petraeus, the tarnished war hero who resigned as CIA director this week over an affair with his biographer, testified before Congressional Intelligence Committees today over the 9/11 attacks in Libya. Many wondered if he would continue to support the president or confirm new reports that he argued against covering up missteps in Benghazi that resulted in the death of a U.S. ambassador and three others.

According to Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), who serves on the House Intelligence Committee, the retired four-star general was clear that he believed the attacks were the result of terrorists and not demonstrators.

He also pointed out that testimony from the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Acting CIA Director Mike Morell indicated they did not know who changed the agency's initial talking points. Options include the State Department, National Security Council, Justice Department or the White House. more >>

On the night of September 12, 2011, the Republican Party began to lose the 2012 election. On that night, in a presidential primary debate in Tampa, Florida, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (believe it or not the most moderate presidential candidate on immigration reform) was booed loudly by the audience for defending having supported and passed (with overwhelming bipartisan legislative support) in-state college tuition for the children of undocumented workers in Texas.

From that moment on, even stronger anti-immigration sentiment took an ever greater hold among significant segments of the party. In the subsequent 2012 GOP primaries, the various candidates seemed to be competing with one another to become the toughest candidate in their opposition to immigration reform, throwing around talking points like "self-deportation" and reducing undocumented workers through "attrition."

Giving the children of undocumented workers in-state tuition and other forms of aid is the "low-hanging fruit" of immigration reform. These children were brought here by their parents. They did not break the law. In our country, we do not normally punish children for their parents' infractions. In most cases, these young people desperately want to be Americans and fully integrate into society by educating themselves to be more productive contributors to this economy and by willingly serving in our military services. more >>

A map of the 2012 presidential election results created by Chris Howard, a fantasy and science fiction author and illustrator, takes into account vote percentages and population density to show a more nuanced understanding of the election results.

Looking at the election results by county (map #2), as a CP blogger recently did, may lead one to wonder how President Barack Obama won. The map is mostly red because Mitt Romney won most of the nation's counties.

The reason this happened is that most rural areas vote Republican and most urban areas vote Democratic. So while Obama won fewer counties, the counties he did win are densely populated. more >>

Inside sources close to Rick Santorum are saying the former Pennsylvania senator and 2012 GOP contender is already organizing for a run in 2016. On the other side of the aisle, investor Warren Buffett is already touting his choice to succeed President Obama in the White House.

A leading evangelical leader who is close to Santorum and asked not to be identified, told The Christian Post on Wednesday that Santorum is "organizing and making all the necessary preparations" for another run in the 2016 Republican primary.

"Rick's getting ready organized and is not going to be behind the eight-ball when it comes to fundraising and building a grassroots organization," the anonymous source said. "I think you'll see and hear a lot from Rick in the next 12 months." more >>

Late last year when a presidential primary candidate was asked how he was going to reach women voters, he responded that he was polling well with women. Oh, oh. He seemed clueless about what most women really want. Once again, women were being taken for granted and once again we could lose – big time. And lose, we did.

Reaching women is not a new concept. The importance of our vote should be well-known, as women have registered and voted at a higher rate than men since the 1980.

One would think every campaign would have a proven strategy by now. But, while I don't claim to speak for all American women, no doubt many of us rolled our eyes and sighed or cringed at some of the conservative candidates' messaging. We may not relish the haranguing and rudeness, but we are willing to ignore it if our candidate can clearly articulate how their positions and plans will improve life for us and our families. more >>

While Latinos are concerned about immigration, jobs and education rank higher among their concerns, according to a study of Hispanic Americans conducted by Barna Group in partnership with American Bible Society, National Hispanic Leadership Conference and OneHope.

Like most Americans, Latinos are concerned about the current high rate of unemployment. But what distinguishes Latinos from most Americans is that they also rank education as their main concern along with jobs, according to David Kinnaman, president of Barna Group, in a Tuesday conference call with reporters.

When asked to identify the "single most pressing challenge" for the Latino community, 27 percent answered employment, 24 percent said education, and 22 percent said the break-up of Latino families (which is related to immigration for many Latinos). more >>