A new book by longtime Jerusalem correspondent Patrick Tyler argues that while Iran and other countries in the Middle East have no doubt contributed to the stalemate in the region, Israel's bellicose outlook has also impeded the prospects for peace. Tyler is the author of "Fortress Israel: The Inside Story of the Military Elite Who Run the Country – And Why They Can’t Make Peace."

As the host of CNN's State of the Union and the network's chief political correspondent, Candy Crowley has made a career of holding politicians accountable. A new challenge awaits her this political season: On Tuesday, October 16, Crowley will moderate the second presidential debate.

The BBC's Dan Damon is in Ohio this week for an in-depth look at the Midwest perspective on President Obama and Mitt Romney. This year, Ohioans are also in the midst of a contentious Senate race. Takeaway Washington Correspondent Todd Zwillich explains the shifting Ohio race, and looks at close Senate races across the country. 

As Saturday Night Live's head writer and host of the show's "Weekend Update" segment, Seth Meyers eagerly awaits the presidential election every four years. In 2008, his first year as head writer, Meyers and SNL alum Tina Fey co-wrote the show's award-winning parodies of Sarah Palin.

Burmese democracy activist Aung Sung Suu Kyi will receive the Congressional Medal of Honor in Washington today. Robert Lieberman explores Burma, ruled for years by a repressive military government, in his new documentary, "They Call It Myanmar."

"Regarding Warhol: Sixty Artists, Fifty Years," attempts to capture the scope of Warhol's extraordinary influence on contemporary American art, featuring the work of artists like Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Richard Prince — famous artists in their own right.

After the eruption of anti-American sentiment across the Middle East and the death of the U.S. ambassador to Libya, American policymakers and citizens might be thinking twice about our involvement in post-Arab Spring countries. But it is precisely because of this violence and unrest that Shadi Hamid thinks the United States should remain involved in the region.

Family values is an oft-repeated in phrase in all presidential campaigns, but the definition has definitely changed over the past few decades. Brown University historian Robert O. Self explores the rightward shift of American politics through the lens of family values in his new book, "All in the Family."

When the United States agreed to a no-fly zone over Libya in 2011, the Obama Administration famously "led from behind," and intervened only with the help of NATO, and with approval from the Arab League. But the United State's reliance on international institutions has an inconsistent history. Mark Mazower details this dizzying history in his new book, "Governing the World: The History of an Idea."

Today the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will hear a controversial case that's been winding its way through the state's courts throughout the summer. The case will determine the constitutionality of Pennsylvania's voter ID law, but Pennsylvania is in good company: over a dozen state legislatures have enacted voter identification requirements over the past year.

Throughout the 2012 presidential campaign, politicians have largely ignored poverty as an issue, so Cornel West and Tavis Smiley are hitting the road to expose the problems facing the American poor.

As Yale Law School professor Akhil Reed Amar notes in the introduction to his new book, "America's Unwritten Constitution: The Precedents and Principles We Live By," our founding documents consist of only 8,000 words. Therefore, our country's Founding Fathers, Amar writes, purposefully structured our Constitution with an invitation to interpretation using outside texts.

On March 16, 1970, 46 of Newsweek’s female employees publicly accused the magazine of gender discrimination in hiring and promotion. It was the first class female class action lawsuit, and Lynn Povich was proud to be a part of it. 

Whether or not President Obama is reelected in November, Clinton plans to leave her post in December 2012. How will Americans reflect on her tenure as Secretary of State? Will she run for President in 2016?

Bill Clinton campaigned on the promise of a co-presidency with his wife, "two for the price of one." But the dynamics of their relationship nearly ruined Clinton's presidency.

The role of the candidate's wife has evolved over time, but at political conventions, she is often called upon to "soften" her husband. This was certainly Ann Romney's approach at last week's Republican National Convention in Tampa. How does first lady Michelle Obama's speech compare?

Every four years, political conventions inspire absurd antics, from Vice President Al Gore's excruciatingly long smooch with then-wife, Tipper, to Clint Eastwood's recent conversation with an empty chair. Is it time to put an end to political pseudo-drama every four years?

A new biography of Strom Thurmond examines the Senator’s influence on the modern Republican Party, and explores how third party candidates who may seem extreme often have serious influence on the two-party system.

The Takeaway has been meaning to do a story on procrastination for a while — they just haven't gotten around to it. But philosophy professor John Perry assures us that this is not unusual. Not only that — Perry says procrastinating isn't as bad as we think.

When astronaut Neil Armstrong took those first steps on the surface of the moon 43 years ago, he became a hero to millions, an icon of mankind’s potential and a symbol of the triumph of American democracy over Soviet communism.