The New Republic

Jindal had a few funny lines, but he too often sounded like a guy trying to calm down an aggravated parrot: sing-songy, every sentence soothingly the same, the delivery totally unmatched to the content. And the mantra "Americans can do anything," repeated at least five times, reminded me of nothing so much as a cassette tape given to me by a child therapist I (briefly) visited when I was eight. It was called the "Affirmation Tape," and it repeated banal self-esteem or joy-of-life boosters like "You can do it!" and "You love eating meatballs!" over and over. READ MORE >>

"And I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it." Huh? The Germans invented the internal-combustion-engine automobile. Our own government agrees: The Library of Congress answers the question, "Who invented the automobile?" with the answer, "Karl Benz." Attributing the automobile to the Americans sounds a little like the old Soviet claim that the Russians invented baseball. --Eve Fairbanks READ MORE >>

McCain, sitting in the audience for Obama's first State of the Union, has a surprising -- and lovely -- proud look on his face, like a proud daddy. Judd Gregg looks sour. Lieberman has a slightly bored, ruminative look, like he's chewing on his cud; John Boehner appears over-moisturized and on the verge of falling asleep. Mitch McConnell has a slightly goofy, befuddled look, like he isn't quite sure exactly why he is where he is: "Who, me?" Actually, McConnell kind of always looks like that -- doesn't inspire much confidence. --Eve Fairbanks READ MORE >>

HuffPo's excellent Ryan Grim debunks one of the most frustrating myths in Washington: that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is a big weenie for failing to force Republicans to "actually" filibuster bills they don't like. READ MORE >>

While looking into my piece on the McCainification of the GOP, I came across a speech, "The Steamroller of Socialism," that Republican rising star Paul Broun delivered during the House's stimulus debate. There's a lot to love in this neglected piece of Websterian oratory -- neologisms, metaphors, antithesis -- and one particular section deserves reprinting for your enjoyment: READ MORE >>

What to make of our hometown paper's new Sunday Outlook section? READ MORE >>

Roll Call reports that Roland Burris "has not considered resigning," because [t]he Senator believes he has been honest and above board, but feels he is suffering in part because of a faulty communications strategy in relation to how he has dealt with this latest scandal. READ MORE >>

Jason, you said of the Roland Burris follies that "something's got to give." Well, something gave -- his press secretary, who just abruptly quit. READ MORE >>

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