David Archer

In media circles, bipartisanship is often touted as the ne plus ultra of political desirability. A television talking head, usually on CNN or one of the other outlets that pretend, like Janus, to look both ways, will say something along the lines of: “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if those silly squabbling politicians could just set aside their differences and work together to solve our problems?” perhaps followed by “They need to do it for the sake of the children!” which adds an unreasonable dollop of saccharine emphasis. Unfortunately, like much of the common currency of the chattering classes, this is usually a worthless sentiment. (more)

When Rep. Mike Pence (IN-6) edged out Mike Huckabee by 11 votes in the Values Voter Summit straw poll last week, chatter about a potential Palin-Pence presidential bid inevitably jumped a notch or two. I was reminded of a job announcement forwarded to me which originated from Pence’s office a couple of weeks ago. (more)

At the end of War and Peace, in the sometimes abridged epilogue on historical determinism, Tolstoy describes peasants attributing the locomotion of a train engine to the work of the devil: (more)

When President Obama and the Democratic Congressional majorities began their now long, drawn-out efforts to pass health care reform legislation, the president promised the process would be marked by unprecedented transparency. Not only would the public be fully briefed on the content of discussions, they would also be able to watch them on C-SPAN. (more)