Barack Obama may have made a shout out to non-believers in his inaugural, Tuesday (good for him [non sarcastically]). But he also took an unnecessary shot at cynics. I take this personally, in today’s Post:

To borrow from H.L. Mencken, the cynics are still right nine times out of 10.

What President Obama’s rhetoric fails to acknowledge is that most political disagreements are real. They’re rooted in competing interests, conflicting values and differing judgments.

While transcendent rhetoric can get one through a campaign and even a transition, the real challenges of governing won’t simply wither away from decrepitude.

I look at nine issues where the stale political arguements that have consumed us for so long still, most definitely, apply.