By JOHN IBBITSON, Toronto Globe and Mail

Janet Napolitano has a message for Canadians: It's a border. Get used to it.
The new Homeland Security Secretary had only stern comments this week about the state and future of the Canada-U.S. border at a symposium hosted by the Brookings Institution.

Rush Limbaugh's ratings practically doubled last week, thanks to Barack Obama.
Ever since White House operatives decreed that America's most popular talk show blowhard was the de facto leader of the Republican Party, the GOP has been tearing itself apart.

Much of America's current psyche has become intertwined with Barack Obama and the promise of his presidency. But the potential for disappointment is immense.

The mess of Bill Richardson's resignation as commerce-secretary-in-waiting eats up more of the goodwill Barack Obama badly needs if he is to implement his audacious agenda -- an agenda that is being undermined by petty state-level scandals.

WASHINGTON -- The speculation is over. Let the speculation begin.Primary season ended with Barack Obama clinching the Democratic presidential nomination.So what's next? Trying to figure out who will be vice president, of course.