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- Jonathan Zasloff considers the possibility that Republicans might, just might, do a little soul searching in the event they fail to take over one or both houses of Congress: "But if the GOP does take back either or both Houses of Congress, the Movement will see it as vindication. If it fails, perhaps someone on the other side of the political spectrum will realize that it is time to change course." The question is, who? I don't see a great deal of heterogeneity in the Republican leadership, nor do I see how some irrelevant "reasonable Republican" is going to convince them to abandon their wingnut base.
- Speaking of the Great Saviour of the GOP, the gang at Politico can barely contain themselves as they pore over the magnificence that is Mississippi's Haley Barbour. His fundraising prowess, you see, is derived from, and reinforces, his all-but-certain 2012 presidential run. The authors do admit in passing that he does face some obstacles in what is otherwise a lock on being sworn in as president in 2013, but other than that, Boss Hogg is clearly riding high.
- After dazzling us with his penetrating foreign-policy insights, Mitt Romney is now focusing on the economy. In an op-ed praised by Beltway elite journalists, Romney provides a skeleton agenda, which I suppose is laudable. But his proposals simply mirror those in the GOP's economic platform, which the party asserts are "pro-growth" and studiously avoids any discussion of consequences, Can't honestly say this is worse than the Tea Party manifesto, but it's not much better, either.
- Remainders: David Broder continues his lonely search for the Great Man who will deliver us from the rancor of partisanship; Matt Bai takes questions from readers, not one of them points out that the state of the economy is the driving force behind the president's approval rating; and a timeline of Obama's stance on gay marriage.
--Mori Dinauer
