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- I don't have anything to add to the Simpson-Bowles plan to punish the poor to ease the burden on the rich, so I'll just agree with Kevin Drum's pithy summary: "This document is a paean to cutting the federal government, not cutting the federal deficit." Republicans certainly aren't letting a crisis go to waste, and Democrats are going out of their way to help them.
- Larry Sabato and Alan Abramowitz use a combination of humor and data to demonstrate that midterm election results have nothing to do with presidential re-election chances. And as Brendan Nyhan explains using the example of Harry Truman's 1948 comeback, a president's fate is overwhelmingly tied to the state of the economy. But then, you already knew that, right? Perhaps skittish members of Congress need to be reminded of it.
- Jonathan Bernstein clarifies John Sides' argument that it's not so much incumbents who dominate Congress but parties. They're both right, of course, but who wants to hear me talk about poli-sci truisms that were hashed out 30 years ago? Instead, let's talk about the unending belief that at some point in the not-too-distant future, a third party will matter, perhaps even win the presidency, and that third party will amazingly hold all of your respective beliefs, which are reflected in a growing majority of the public.
- Remainders: Political scientists still face an uphill battle getting their work recognized by the press; all might be officially forgiven concerning Joe Lieberman, but he continues to damage the party he caucuses with out of spite; and will the Voting Rights Act prevent Republicans from redistricting their way to congressional dominance?
--Mori Dinauer
