This is an interesting take on Newt Gingrich:
Inside D.C., it sounds very strange to say that Gingrich is an "outsider." Gingrich has eaten from just about every trough imaginable inside the Beltway. And yet, he's always been very clear that he wants to ("fundamentally," "historically," "categorically" and "radically") overturn the existing order. Some critics always thought, plausibly, that such pronouncements were part of his act or a sign of his megalomania.
We've had discussions here before about one line between legitimate government dictates (those aimed at keeping us from harming others) and inappropriate nannying (trying to keep us from hurting ourselves. The National Transportation Safety Board is jumping into an issue that sort of straddles the line by recommending that all 50 states enact bans on "driver use of personal electronic devices."
Some good news on the Sunday TV front. It looks like Christiane Amanpour may be out as host of ABC's "This Week."
There's been a lot of carping from libertarian quarters about how Ron Paul don't get no respect. But isn't that over now? He's been invited to the debates, and his standing in the polls in some of the early-voting states puts him in the top tier of contenders. But what about Gary Johnson? There's somebody with a legitimate gripe:
Nyah, nyah, nyah. Told you so, told you so:
Hey, let's keep score. It's one oddball against Newt Gingrich:
THEREFORE, I AM OFFERING NEWT GINGRICH ONE MILLION DOLLARS TO DROP OUT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE FOR THE SAKE OF THE NATION.
Sunshine Review is a group that, among other things, grades governments on transparency, comparing what's available on their websites to what should be provided. Here's the good, the bad and the ugly from its latest report:
Today's "well, duh" story:
There are a lot of qualities the governor should look for in a replacement for Chief Justice Randall Shepard on the Indiana Supreme Court. But The Journal Gazette seems to care only about one of them:
Commission members and the governor all need to realize that diversity on the court is crucial and that Indiana's status as one of just two states with no female justices is an embarrassment, with both practical and symbolic repercussions.
This is just a general observation, so please don't take it as an endorsement of Mitt Romney, or even a defense of him. The reaction to his "$10,000 bet" offer to Rick Perry has been just plain stupid:
The other longer-term danger for Romney in the $10,000 bet is that it reinforces a narrative already swirling in the political world: that his wealth makes him out of touch with the economic concerns of average folks.
