The New York Times 2010s: on Principles & Values

Kamala Harris: Impeachment: McConnell doesn't want trial, wants cover-up

Nikema Williams: Sees her story, born in South Korea, as the American dream

Donald Trump: Mueller: Presidents may not be indicted for obstruction

Lieu said, "I'd like to ask you the reason, again, that you did not indict Donald Trump is because of the O.L.C. opinion stating that you cannot indict a sitting president, correct?" he asked, referring to the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel.

"That is correct," Mueller said. That assertion directly contradicted the report itself and Mueller's statement in May describing it, in which he said that he and his team had decided not to decide whether to charge the president because of the O.L.C. opinions.

By afternoon, Mueller walked back the inconsistency, saying that Lieu had incorrectly described his decision. "What I wanted to clarify is the fact that we did not make any determination with regard to culpability in any way," Mueller said.

Amy Klobuchar: Heartland Amy: an experienced bipartisan pragmatist

While she is hardly a conservative, Ms. Klobuchar has distinguished herself in the campaign by breaking from the new liberal orthodoxy that has dominated the primary. She does not favor a "Medicare for all" health care system, preferring a more graduated approach; she has called the Green New Deal "aspirational"; and she has said the country cannot afford to fund free tuition for students at public colleges and universities. Ms. Klobuchar said she backed legal marijuana, but would leave the decision to individual states rather than endorsing federal legalization.

Jon Ossoff: Supported by national anti-Trump neophyte networks

Locally, Ossoff was aided by formal and informal networks of progressives that sprouted and grew like mushrooms after Trump's victory. Many participants were political neophytes and women who had taken part in the anti-Trump marches after the inauguration. Hundreds of highly motivated volunteers knocked on doors, wrote postcards to voters and drove them to the polls.

Georgia's Sixth District, which encompasses a number of majority-white suburbs north of Atlanta, is home to a well-heeled professional class. Ossoff's r‚sum‚, if not necessarily his politics, is the type that would make any soccer mom proud.

Jon Ossoff: Campaign slogan: Make Trump Furious

James Mattis: Dislikes nickname Mad Dog Mattis

Bill Weld: Hillary's "public and private view" makes her vulnerable

Hillary Clinton: "You have to figure out how to balance the public and the private efforts that are necessary to be successful, politically. Politics is like sausage being made. It is unsavory, and it always has been that way, but we usually end up where we need to be. But if everybody's watching, you know, all of the back room discussions and the deals, you know, then people get a little nervous, to say the least. So, you need both a public and a private position.

Bill Weld: Hillary is vulnerable on both the "public and private position" and the "people in the industry know what regulation is best" quotes. She skated on this, by quoting Honest Abe [Lincoln, who applied that concept as president].

Gary Johnson: I offer choices beyond the same old red vs. blue

Scott Walker: My relationship with God drives every major decision

During his political rise in Wisconsin, Walker did not often emphasize his faith. But evangelicals make up nearly 60% of Republican caucusgoers in Iowa. They are an important factor in Southern primaries. And they continue to have an outsize influence on the Republican nominating process.

Scott Walker: Raised as a "P.K.", Pastor's Kid, by his father Pastor Llew

Before the elder Walker retired in 1995, at the age of 56, he struggled with depression. His wife, Pat, and the teenage Scott Walker shouldered some of his pastoral duties. "There were Sundays when Scott would preach the sermon," the current pastor said.

Martin O`Malley: History celebrates courage, not triangulation

In words that echoed those of Senator Barack Obama when he battled Clinton in 2007 for the Democratic nomination, O'Malley added: "Triangulation is not a strategy that will move America forward. History celebrates profiles in courage, not profiles in convenience."

The politics of triangulation is a phrase often used to describe former President Bill Clinton's brand of centrism. It has also been used to criticize Hillary Clinton as overly poll driven, and liberals have long used it as a cudgel. In a pivotal Democratic primary speech in November 2007 in Iowa, Obama deployed "triangulation" as an attack line against Mrs. Clinton.

Jason Carter: Grandfather Jimmy Carter participates in grandson's campaign

Senator Carter is the son of Jack Carter, the eldest of Jimmy and Rosalynn's four children. Like his grandfather, he is seeking the governorship after just four years in the State Senate.

"He wants it both ways," said one supporter of Gov. Deal. "He wants his granddaddy's help with contributors, but when it comes to the issues, he distances himself. My guess is if his last name were Jones, you and I might not be having this conversation."

John Edward Walsh: OpEd: 2007 Master's thesis plagiarized from online sources

Walsh completed the paper, what the War College calls a "strategy research project," to earn his degree in 2007, when he was 46. The sources of the material he presents as his own include academic papers and books that are almost all available online.

A line-by-line analysis of Walsh's thesis shows that he took much of it from other sources without giving them credit. Most strikingly, the six recommendations Walsh laid out at the conclusion of his 14-page paper, titled "The Case for Democracy as a Long Term National Strategy," are taken nearly word-for-word without attribution from a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace document on the same topic.

Tom Cotton: Served in military, academia, and as management consultant

The resumes of Sasse (R, NE) and Cotton (D, AR) do not exactly fit the profile of populists. That is especially true for the lines dedicated to the Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey & Company, firms that advise corporations on strategy, efficiency and ways to increase profitability.

Most of Cotton's adult life has been in academia and the military, and he has spent a year in Congress. His time at McKinsey was also barely more than a year, during which time his group leader immersed him in the intricacies--and the value--of the Affordable Care Act.

Chris Christie: Parties should become pragmatic when they are out of power

Milton Wolf: Career politicians are changed by Washington

"I think career politicians are changed by Washington," said Milton Wolf, Roberts's opponent, who is a radiologist and a second cousin of President Obama on the president's maternal side.

Given the changing political climate, Gov. Brownback, [a conservative who served alongside Roberts in the Senate], says that Roberts is doing precisely what he needs to do to win another term. "Being active, being aggressive, being conservative," the governor said. "He's got to get through a Republican primary, and people are pretty fired up about what's going on at the federal level."

Pat Roberts: Resides in Virginia but votes in Kansas

Roberts acknowledged that he did not have a home of his own in Kansas. The house on a Dodge City country club golf course that he lists as his voting address belongs to two longtime supporters and donors--C. Duane and Phyllis Ross--and he says he stays with them when he is in the area. He established his voting address there the day before his challenger, Milton Wolf, announced his candidacy, arguing that Roberts was out of touch with his High Plains roots.

"I have full access to the recliner," the senator joked. Turning serious, he added, "Nobody knows the state better than I do." That assertion is disputed by Tea Party activists.

Jill Stein: Occupy Movement: coming of age of a younger generation

A. Occupy is very much a part of a broader move for democracy and economic and social justice. That is alive and well around the world. Just look at what is going on in Wisconsin which is directly linked to Occupy. It doesn't have the name of Occupy, but they slept for three weeks in the statehouse. If that's not Occupy, what is? The Occupy movement, beneath the surface, represents a political coming of age of a younger generation who have been on the receiving end of a generally exploitative economy. One of those groups to exploit has been young people. They have been exploited in education. The unemployment crisis hits them the hardest. They are bearing the burden for the climate disruptions that are coming down the pike.

Jill Stein: Dems & GOP are both sinking ships; one just sinks faster

A. You might look at one party as a rapidly sinking ship and say we're going to vote for the other guy because the ship's not going down so fast. We don't like him but he's not sinking the ship so fast. But the real question is, if both of those ships are heading for the bottom of the ocean, do you want to be on either of them? No. There's no question about where those ships are heading if you are looking at the economy.

Jack Conway: An honor to run for Wendell Ford's senate seat

Paul replied, "I didn't know it was Wendell Ford's seat. I thought it was the people of Kentucky's seat."

The response mirrored an exchange that occurred in Massachusetts earlier this year, when a debate moderator made a reference to the late Ted Kennedy's senate seat and Scott Brown, the insurgent Republican, shot back: "It's not the Kennedy's seat. It's not the Democrat's seat. It's the people's seat."

"The people's seat" became the rallying cry for Brown, who won the race.

Wendell Ford, a Democrat, holds a Kennedy-like place in the Kentucky political firmament. He represented Kentucky for 24 years in the Senate, also served as the state's governor and was the unofficial head of the state party for three decades until he retired in 1999. Time will tell whether Mr. Conway's reference is perceived as a slip-up.

Rand Paul: This is not Wendell Ford's seat; it's the people's seat

Paul replied, "I didn't know it was Wendell Ford's seat. I thought it was the people of Kentucky's seat."

The response mirrored an exchange that occurred in MA earlier this year, when a debate moderator made a reference to the late Ted Kennedy's senate seat and Scott Brown, the insurgent Republican, shot back: "It's not the Kennedy's seat. It's not the Democrat's seat. It's the people's seat."

"The people's seat" became the rallying cry for Brown, who won the race. The phrase neatly captured the zeitgeist of a year in which insurgent grass-roots candidates across the country have been a forceful presence.

Wendell Ford, a Democrat, holds a Kennedy-like place in the Kentucky political firmament. He represented Kentucky for 24 years in the Senate, & served as the state's governor.

Bob Smith: Only one in this race with real-world experience

Smith went on, "I'm intent on showing people that I am the only one in this race with real-world experience and Senate experience." In his two terms--from 1990 to 2002-- Smith gained a reputation as a bit of an odd duck. He briefly declared himself an independent in 1999, and he also briefly endorsed John Kerry's presidential campaign in 2004 (Smith later retracted the Kerry endorsement.)

Marco Rubio: God does not love America more than Belgium

Rubio's political resume essentially began right after he graduated from the University of Miami Law School. He served as a city commissioner in West Miami before winning his first term in the Florida House of Representatives in 2000. He was sworn in as speaker in 2006, the youngest person and the first Hispanic to hold that position. The centerpiece of his speech is a sweeping homage to conservative principle. "We are not debating stimulus bills or tax codes," he said. "We are debating the essence of what government should be and what role it should play."

Paul Kirk: Worked for Robert Kennedy & Ted Kennedy campaigns

After Harvard and Harvard Law, Mr. Kirk worked for Robert F. Kennedy's presidential campaign in 1968 and almost quit politics after Mr. Kennedy's assassination. But when Edward Kennedy told him "he had a responsibility to fight on," Mr. Kirk went to work for him in 1969, becoming Mr. Kennedy's chief political strategist and one of his most trusted confidants.

Mr. Kirk returned to Boston in 1977 to join the law firm Sullivan & Worcester, but rejoined Mr. Kennedy in 1980, serving as national political director for his unsuccessful presidential campaign. He was elected chairman of the DNC in 1985, with crucial support from Mr. Kennedy and his allies in organized labor

Paul Kirk: Chair of DNC from 1985 to 1989