All John Hughes

From correspondent, to editor, to columnist, I've seen radical changes in journalism and the world.

Pope Benedict XVI’s call for 'authentic freedom' during his recent visit to Cuba is unlikely to spur democracy. But other factors suggest economic changes are under way, patterned after the Chinese example, namely creating a market economy under an authoritarian, communist political system.

Whoever wins the US presidency – be it likely GOP nominee Mitt Romney or President Obama – faces an array of foreign-policy challenges that may be as daunting as those of the cold war. For starters, they involve China, Russia, the Arab world, Iran, North Korea, and Pakistan.

Instead of dogmatism and hysterical clamor, we need more of the 'Shields and Brooks' kind of civility in our public discourse in America.

As GOP candidates debate values, I have not heard them address legalizing marijuana. The words of a narcotics agent ring in my ears: 'I can’t say every pot smoker goes on to get hooked on the hard stuff. But I can say every addict I know on the hard stuff got started on pot.'

Barack Obama is proving to be one of the most puzzling presidents. He bravely took out Osama bin Laden but hasn’t had the courage to tackle the deficit. And now he's picked a fight with Catholics – the majority of whom voted for him in 2008.

How long can China's communist regime hold in thrall people who have prospered in an economic system that has many of the hallmarks of free enterprise? Despite attempts to censor the Internet, China's huge, new urban population is aware of the outside world and changes in it.