Past Columns By Rita Braver
CBS News Sunday Morning Correspondent Rita Braver looks at the issues and asks some tough questions in her weekly column for CBS.com, The Braver Line. Following is a menu of previous columns that have appeared here.color>
A Cabinet That Looks Like America
George W. Bush has confounded Democrats by picking a Cabinet that brings to mind a diversity commercial. Yet Dems are recoiling in horror at some of his choices, Rita Braver observes.
Now Playing In Florida
Lights, camera, action! Florida is the setting for some true drama. CBS News Sunday Morning Correspondent Rita Braver reports.
Warning: Gridlock Ahead
What a tight presidential race means for the future government taking the reins in Washington.
Farewell To An Entertaining Race
Anticipating that the contest "Who Wants to Be a President" will be over soon, Rita Braver reflects on its entertainment value.
Survivor Summer
Rita Braver explains how a new TV show has her hooked.
Pols With Names We Don't Know
What if candidates didn't come with so many political ancestors, legacies or heirs?
An Insider's Guide To Laura Bush
We don't get to pick presidental candidate's wives; their spouses do. But we sure get know a lot about them. Meet Laura Bush.
Surviving Manhattan's Crosswalks
Do feel like you're taking your life in your hands ever time you cross the street in the Big Apple? You're not alone.
What's Cooking In The Laboratory
Scared of botulism spores in your soup or scarfing down E. coli-laden burgers? Consider the range of opinions on gene-altered food, as a menace or a boon to your health.
A Court Of Opinion That Matters
The recent spate of Supreme Court decisions only serves as a reminder of the important role the next president may play in selecting justices.
LOUD ENOUGH FOR YOU?
Turn down that racket! Rita Braver speaks out about noise pollution.
Decoding The Second Amendment
The Bill of Rights provides a good foundation, Rita Braver says. But using it to inform a balanced view on gun regulation poses a challenge.
The Homecoming That Wasn't
Company D's reservists went on 947 missions, killed at least 100 enemy soldiers and won 538 medals. But these Vietnam War soldiers were not ready for what awaited them back in America.
Leaping The Digital Divide
It's a catchy phrase, but how wide is the gap beteen those who have online access and those who don't? Maybe it depends on which side of the divide you're on.
Matters Of Life And Death
Northwestern University law students and others have been successful ferreting out some erroneously confined to death row. So is capital punishment always a poor choice?
Beyond The Right To Bear Arms
Do a 3-year-old and a gun cabinet mix? Should police frisk someone for weapons based on a tip? Rita Braver contemplates guns and violence.
Revisiting Bradley
If John McCain can break through the clutter and capture the popular imagination, why not Bill Bradley? After meeting with Bradley for the second time in six months, Rita Braver casts some doubt.
Driving While Black Or Brown
Police departments vehemently deny that it's their practice or policy. Maybe you doubt it really happens. Rita Braver explains what she learned while reporting on "racial profiling."
New Hampshire Hindsight
Though Rita Braver was not among the pack of reporters swarming the Granite State, she offers her insights into Tuesday's primary from afar.
Street Corner Negotiations In Haiti
Five years ago, the U.S. began Operation Restore Democracy in Haiti. Now, as it ends, Rita Braver visits the island and finds it still deeply troubled.
Do grandparents have rights? Should anyone claiming to have a close bond with a child be allowed to visit? The Supreme Court will soon decide.
Why would wealthy parents abandon their child? An attempt to try to understand this glitch in human behavior.
A Cause For Joy
Is your cup half full or half empty? A look at one family's approach to the holiday season in the face of adversity.
Soft on Linda Tripp? Oh, no! Well, maybe.
Remembering A Great Teacher
If you are lucky, you may meet someone like the late Bill Crawford, producer extraordinaire.
Dump The Electronic Babysitter?
Remember the olden days when there was only one television in the house and watching it was a family activity?
Smokey Gets In Your Soul
Smokey Robinson, that is.
Recalling Rabin's Brave Steps
On the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Rita Braver shares her personal memories.
Stranger In Hollywood
In Hollywood, it's sometimes hard to tell who's in cotume and who isn't.
In other parts of the world reporters are often persecuted for doing something we take for granted here: reporting the news.
What If Your Child Enlisted?
The answer to that question often brings out a modern ambivalence about America's Armed Forces.
A First-Class Texas Cowboy
Meet Frankie McWhorter, old-style Texas fiddler and first-class Texas cowboy.
Cheat Sheets On The Web
The learning experience probably isn't seriously damaged by StudentU.Com, the site that offers class notes to the college masses.
Fiery Questions In Waco's Wake
Was it a lie or an oversight? That's the key question about the FBIs recent admission that agents had indeed fired incendiary devices at the Branch Davidian compound.
Give Iowa A Try
Like Meredith Wilson in The Music Man, Rita Braver thinks "You really ought to give Iowa a try."
Dog Days In Iowa
These days, it doesn't pay to take some events like the Iowa straw poll too seriously.
Brash Conduct
General Wesley Clark may have known his days were numbered even before his imminent departure from his post hit the news.
A Goal Of Perfection
Like the U.S. Women's Soccer Team, the members of dance troupe Streb take joy in what they do, whether anyone is watching or not.
A Diplomatic Firestorm
James Hormel's ambassadorial appointment fueled the debate over acceptance of homosexuality.
Down-Home Boys And Girls
Some politicians are traveling pretty far in order to announce their candidacies in Smalltown U.S.A.
It may sound corny, but a visit with the people on duty here would make any American feel proud.
Paper Zillionaires
The titans of the Web on both coasts are a bit sensitive on the subject of their newfound wealth.
Kidder's 'Hometown'
Northampton hasn't really hit the headlines since 1805, but it's still worth a visit.
LaShonda's Explosive Issue
Young LaShonda Davis fought her case all the way to the Supreme Court, and won, with a ruling that public schools can be held liable for sexual harassment by students.
True Wisdom
John Minor Wisdom was a judge who had every reason to uphold the status quo, and didn't.
The Spinmeister And The Media
In the age of the "spin doctor," finding the truth is getting tougher by the minute.
The Rebel Next Dor
Is there a lesson to be learned from this week's tragedy at Columbine High School?
A Man Of Conviction
Sen. John McCain knows what he thinks the U.S. should do in Yugoslavia, and isn't afraid to say so.
No Safe Haven
What can and what should the US offer Albanian refugees fleeing Kosovar?
The Road Traveled
A look at American involvement in the Kosovo crisis, and sentiment here and abroad.
Tall In Character, Too
Janet Reno - the nation's top law enforcement official, is not easily intimidated.
Inappropriate Conduct
Are women's groups hypocritical by standing behind Anita Hill, but not Monica Lewinsky?
Equal Lab Time For Girls
It's not aptitude that continues to keep girls from pursuing careers in science and engineering.
Grand Dame Margaret McElderry
Hats off to the woman behind some of the best children's classic literature.
The Presidential Character
George Washington wasn't perfect, but he was a great role model for the American politician.
Life After Lewinsky
What happens now to the major players in the year-long saga of White House Under Fire? Let's guess.
An American Ambassador
A perspective on Kosovo, from a participant in the peace talks outside Paris.
Slouching Towards A Final Vote
A look at the view from the inside out on the scandal in Washington.
This face is certainly familiar. But who is George W. Bush?