SERIOUS THINKERS. The inimitable Dave Weigel reports from an parallel land where President Rewt Ringrich was in office on 9/11 and responded by preparing a multifront, regional war against Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. It should be noted that this is the guy who not only the right, but a fair swath of the nation's pundits, believe to be the model of thoughtful, intellectually engaged politician. --Ezra Klein