Brad Plumer at TNR has a good background article on the recent division among evangelicals that made the news this week. As you've probably heard, the National Association of Evangelicals (led by vice president for governmental affairs Richard Cizik) is getting mean letters from prominent, politically-connected evangelicals like James Dobson, for Cizik's push for more attention to creation care, their word for environmentalism. It's pretty interesting, and worth reading. (SIDE NOTE: I have a TNR login, but not a subscription, so let me know if anyone has problems accessing this.)
That said, if you're only going to read one TNR article this year, make it Ryan Lizza's profile of Young Mr. Obama, and his formative years organizing under Saul Alinsky's method. Great not just for background on Obama, but for an introduction to hardscrabble, power-oriented organizing.