The New Republic

According to this report in The Huffington Post, The New York Times has just decided to hire Bill Kristol as a columnist. The piece isn't exactly clear on the matter, but it appears as if Kristol will only write one column a week, as opposed to the usual two. Here's Andrew: READ MORE >>

This may be the lamest line ever from a campaign aide. It comes from the NYT story this morning on John Edwards' chronic lateness: Speaking in general about Mr. Edwards’s tendency to run late, Mark Kornblau, the campaign’s traveling press secretary, offered a more obscure explanation: “Fighting hard for change sometimes takes a few extra minutes.” --Isaac Chotiner  READ MORE >>

In a troubling sign that the media's love for Condoleezza Rice has managed to infect the public at large, this Rasmussen poll reports the following about whom "the people" would have chosen as Person of the Year:. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of Democrats would have selected Gore, 11% Rice, and 6% Putin. READ MORE >>

Even for those of us who enjoy annual Top 10 lists, it's still a drag to read every critic tiresomely disown the activity they are taking part in. Here's Manhola Dargas today, in an especially egregious example: READ MORE >>

Chris' post below on how Huckabee actually hurts Rudy does nothing so much as to make one think about the monumentally stupid electoral strategy that the former mayor's campaign has followed all year. Giuliani's (probable) loss of the nomination, however, may have at least one good side effect for ailing fans of smart politics. Namely, the idea of committing halfway to states will be permanently put to rest. READ MORE >>

The most amusing part of Zev Chafets' big Huckabee profile has for some reason been getting scant attention. Here's Chafets: The governor regards 1968 as the dawning of ‘‘the age of the birth-control pill, free love, gay sex, the drug culture and reckless disregard for standards.’’ Gay sex, huh? That wasn't around before 1968? Perhaps scientists invented it along with the pill... --Isaac Chotiner  READ MORE >>

The worst debate of the campaign--by far. The questions were boring, the candidates did not have enough time to answer, and Keyes was allowed to be bullying and obnoxious. More substantively, Romney and Huckabee both did very well (the Fox focus group, for what it's worth, overwhelmingly liked Romney), while McCain and particularly Giuliani seemed almost invisible. Thompson had some good lines, but isn't going anywhere. In short, not much of a debate, and probably not very significant. --Isaac Chotiner  READ MORE >>

That front page New York Times/CBS News poll has been getting a lot of ink, and you can see the full results in PDF form here. Although not really mentioned in the write-up, the numbers on the economy are striking. Bush's approval rating on the economy specifically is 5 points lower than it's ever been. READ MORE >>

A charming story (third item) about White House Press Secretary Dana Perino: Appearing on NPR's light-hearted quiz show "Wait, Wait . . . Don't Tell Me," which aired over the weekend, Perino got into the spirit of things and told a story about herself that she had previously shared only in private: During a White House briefing, a reporter referred to the Cuban Missile Crisis -- and she didn't know what it was. READ MORE >>

The excellent Steve Coll has an extremely confusing and unsatisfying Comment in this week's New Yorker. Here's Coll: READ MORE >>