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chatterboxChatterboxGossip, speculation, and scuttlebutt about politics.1NA=1154&NC=1262&DI=4098&PS=58276&PI=7315chatterboxfalsefalseE-mail Timothy Noah at chatterbox@slate.com.Error:System.Xml.XmlException: This is an unexpected token. The expected token is 'EQUALS'. Line 2, position 30. at System.Xml.XmlScanner.ScanToken(Int32 expected) at System.Xml.XmlTextReader.SetLiteralValues(XmlAttributeTokenInfo fld) at System.Xml.XmlTextReader.SetAttributeValues() at System.Xml.XmlTextReader.ParseElement() at System.Xml.XmlTextReader.Read() at System.Xml.XmlValidatingReader.ReadNoCollectTextToken() at System.Xml.XmlValidatingReader.Read() at System.Xml.XmlLoader.LoadCurrentNode() at System.Xml.XmlLoader.LoadDocSequence(XmlDocument parentDoc) at System.Xml.XmlLoader.Load(XmlDocument doc, XmlReader reader, Boolean preserveWhitespace) at System.Xml.XmlDocument.Load(XmlReader reader) at System.Xml.XmlDocument.LoadXml(String xml) at Publisher.PageBase.ExpandPage(Stack PageStack)PoliticsspacernotembeddedchatterboxHealth Reform: An Online GuideTimothy Noah1/123122/2202502/noaht.gif4242http://img.slate.com/mediafalse200912472046PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:20:46 AM633955512469224995200912472046PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:20:46 AM633955512469224995200912472046PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:20:46 AM633955512469224995false2008101711643PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:43 PM6335984620300000002008101711643PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:43 PM633598462030000000falseLinks to everything you might conceivably want to know about the health care reform bill.noHealth Reform: An Online GuideSlate's online guide to the health care reform bill.noThe legislative effort to reform America's health care system is a story that is unfolding online. Newspapers are playing catch-up, sometimes with their own Web sites. What follows is Slate's guide to the best online information sources for anyone who wants to follow this story as it happens. Because valuable new links are appearing on an almost-hourly basis, I add to and update this portal with some frequency.truenotochyperlinkno200961044335PMWednesdayJunJune166/10/2009 8:43:35 PM633802490150000000200912472046PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:20:46 AM633955512460000000chatterboxBaby Einstein's Quasi-RecallTimothy Noah1/123122/2202502/noaht.gif4242http://img.slate.com/mediafalse200912471000PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:10:00 AM633955506002317263200912471000PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:10:00 AM633955506002317263200912471000PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:10:00 AM633955506002317263false2008101711643PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:43 PM6335984620300000002008101711643PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:43 PM633598462030000000falseMaybe Julie Aigner-Clark isn't an American hero after all.noBaby Einstein's Quasi-RecallMaybe Baby Einstein's founder isn't an American hero after all.noIn a January 2007 column ("Bush's Baby Einstein Gaffe") I argued that the Bush White House blundered badly when it singled out Julie Aigner-Clark, founder of the Baby Einstein Co., to sit by First Lady Laura Bush as President George W. Bush rhapsodized, in his State of the Union address, "Julie represents the great enterprising spirit of America." A tradition dating to the Reagan administration required the president to recognize a few American heroes during his annual speech to Congress. Seated alongside Aigner-Clark in the House visitor's gallery were Wesley Autrey, who had leapt in front of a New York City subway train to rescue a complete stranger, and Army Sgt. Tommy Reiman, who had repelled an enemy attack in Iraq with two legs full of shrapnel and bullet wounds in his arms and chest.truenotochyperlinkno2009102563348PMSundayOctOctober1810/25/2009 10:33:48 PM6339209242800000002009102563348PMSundayOctOctober1810/25/2009 10:33:48 PM633920924280000000chatterboxThe Paradox of Health ReformTimothy Noah1/123122/2202502/noaht.gif4242http://img.slate.com/mediafalse200912470958PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:09:58 AM633955505982785888200912470958PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:09:58 AM633955505982785888200912470958PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:09:58 AM633955505982785888false2008101711643PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:43 PM6335984620300000002008101711643PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:43 PM633598462030000000falseEmployer-based health insurance is dying. Why does Obama want to save it?noThe Paradox of Health ReformThe paradox of health reform.noClick here for a guide to following the health reform story online.truenotochyperlinkno20096970224PMTuesdayJunJune196/9/2009 11:02:24 PM633801709440000000200992180723PMMondaySepSeptember209/22/2009 12:07:23 AM633891604430000000chatterbox"Diversity Is A Disease"Timothy Noah1/123122/2202502/noaht.gif4242http://img.slate.com/mediafalse200912471006PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:10:06 AM633955506064150888200912471006PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:10:06 AM633955506064150888200912471006PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:10:06 AM633955506064150888false2008101711643PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:43 PM6335984620300000002008101711643PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:43 PM633598462030000000falseWhat the 9/12 project is all about.no"Diversity Is A Disease""Diversity is a disease."noI've been puzzling for some time over what Glenn Beck's 9/12 Project was all about. Beck's own 9/12 message is a Capraesque plea, backed by swelling music, to restore the values of the Founding Fathers, with some vague darker stuff mixed in about "quarantining" Washington as you would a patient with swine flu. (Beck here hints ominously that swine flu is a phony conspiracy to inhibit public assembly.) "Nothing in and nothing out ... don't let them pass any legislation."truenotochyperlinkno200991241602PMSaturdaySepSeptember169/12/2009 8:16:02 PM633883689620000000200991241602PMSaturdaySepSeptember169/12/2009 8:16:02 PM633883689620000000chatterboxCIA Switcheroo!Timothy Noah1/123122/2202502/noaht.gif4242http://img.slate.com/mediafalse200912470958PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:09:58 AM633955505981692131200912470958PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:09:58 AM633955505981692131200912470958PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:09:58 AM633955505981692131false2008101711643PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:43 PM6335984620300000002008101711643PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:43 PM633598462030000000falseOne of the "Cheney documents" released this week isn't the one he asked for.noCIA Switcheroo!CIA switcheroo!noEr, whoops. Those two reports the CIA released this week, saying they were the documents Cheney requested last April? The ones Cheney said would show that "enhanced interrogation" (his euphemism for torture) saved American lives?truenotochyperlinkno200982872723PMFridayAugAugust198/28/2009 11:27:23 PM633870844430000000200982872723PMFridayAugAugust198/28/2009 11:27:23 PM633870844430000000200311442615PMTuesdayJanJanuary161/14/2003 9:26:15 PM631781583750000000200941674654PMThursdayAprApril194/16/2009 11:46:54 PM633755080140000000falsetruefalsefalsefalsetruetrue20011018111443PMThursdayOctOctober2310/19/2001 3:14:43 AM631390436830000000200710853640PMMondayOctOctober1710/8/2007 9:36:40 PM633274618000000000Harry Potter and the Bucket of Warm SpitTimothy NoahspacerTimothyNoah1/123122/2202502/noaht.gif4242http://img.slate.com/mediafalse200912475835PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:58:35 AM633955535152275271200912475835PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:58:35 AM633955535152275271200912475835PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:58:35 AM633955535152275271false2008101711643PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:43 PM6335984620300000002008101711643PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:43 PM633598462030000000false11Timothy Noah is a senior writer at Slate.658timnoah@earthlink.net(202) 829-4383202-723-7054616 Whittier St. NWWashingtonDC20012USA110947820011018111443PMThursdayOctOctober2310/19/2001 3:14:43 AM6313904368300000002001101875225PMThursdayOctOctober1910/18/2001 11:52:25 PM631390315450000000leftyesspacer/Slate247/000712_PotterHat.gifhttp://img.slate.com/mediafalseIllustration by Mark Alan Stamaty200912475835PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:58:35 AM633955535152431522200912475835PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:58:35 AM633955535152431522200912475835PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:58:35 AM633955535152431522Pfalse2001101925544AMFridayOctOctober210/19/2001 6:55:44 AM6313905694400000002001101925544AMFridayOctOctober210/19/2001 6:55:44 AM631390569440000000Presidential candidates pondering their vice-presidential choice while queuing up to buy the just-released Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (or having a key aide do same) should consider the advantages of the Sorting Hat. As all Potter initiates know, the Sorting Hat is a magical pointed wizard's hat that assigns incoming students at Hogwarts, the boarding school for aspiring wizards, to one of Hogwarts' four residential houses. Each house has a distinct identity; in choosing which house a student will belong to, the Sorting Hat makes an unchallengeable judgment about that student's character. What better way to size up the strengths and weaknesses of those designated to dwell a heartbeat away from the presidency?If this exercise sounds familiar, that's because Chatterbox earlier proposed using the same method to nominate presidents. (See "Harry Potter and the Iowa Caucuses.") Chatterbox's previous item detailed the Sorting Hat's methodology. (The hat sings a song that explains how it works. Click here and scroll down two paragraphs to read the version in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.) Here Chatterbox will simply summarize:Gryffindor: For those possessing "daring, brave, and chivalry." It's the good-guy house, where Harry Potter lives.Hufflepuff: For those who are "just and loyal," "patient," "true/ And unafraid of toil." The dependable (and sometimes boring) kid house.Ravenclaw: For those "of wit and learning." The smart-kid house.Slytherin: For "cunning folk" who "use any means/ To achieve their ends." The bad-guy house, where Harry's nasty rival Draco Malfoy lives. It once housed the series's most fearsome villain, Lord Voldemort.Let the sorting begin.leftyesspacer/Slate247/000712_PotterChart.gifhttp://img.slate.com/mediafalseGraph200912475835PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:58:35 AM633955535152431522200912475835PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:58:35 AM633955535152431522200912475835PMFridayDecDecember1912/5/2009 12:58:35 AM633955535152431522Pfalse2001101944009AMFridayOctOctober410/19/2001 8:40:09 AM6313906320900000002001101944009AMFridayOctOctober410/19/2001 8:40:09 AM631390632090000000  Commentary: Chatterbox, who will be voting Democratic in the next election, was surprised to discover how few Democrats made it into Gryffindor. Besides Joe Lieberman and Jim Hunt, the only two Democrats Chatterbox would even consider putting in Gryffindor are Robert Rubin and Kathleen Townsend. (Townsend's omission may reflect an excess of scruple in avoiding favoritism; she is a friend and former employer of Chatterbox.) At any rate, Gryffindor may not be the best place to look for a veep. Gryffindors tend to wander off the reservation; they can be blowhards; and some (e.g., Rudy Giuliani) can easily transmogrify into Slytherins. Neither presumptive presidential candidate was judged a Gryffindor in Chatterbox's earlier sorting. Al Gore was (and remains) a Hufflepuff--though perhaps one with Slytherin tendencies. (See James Fallows' recent Atlantic Monthly article about Gore-the-debater.) George W. Bush was, and, contrary to the conventional wisdom, still is, a Slytherin. (See Tucker Carlson's Bush profile in the August 1999 Talk magazine, which included the now-famous scene where Bush mocked Karla Faye Tucker's pleas for clemency. The article is offline, but National Review Online has a good excerpt and analysis here.)There is no Hogwarts house for benign opportunists. If there were, quite a few Hufflepuffs would have to resettle there. There is also no Hogwarts house for weirdos, which is the only place Chatterbox would dream of putting Bob Kerrey.The good news is that there are very few Slytherins among the vice-presidential considerees of either party. Moreover, the two Chatterbox placed there--John Kerry and Liddy Dole--aren't remotely in Lord Voldemort's league. Neither, let it be said, is Dubya.Illustration by Mark Alan Stamaty.10Office2000Office2000O10StamatyStamatyS10PresidentsPresidentsP10CandidatesCandidatesC10Harry PotterHarry PotterP10DubyaDubyaD10Click hereClick hereC10Vice presidentVice presidentV10PartyPartyP10Bob KerreyKerrey, Bob People10OnceOnceO10potterpotterP10sorting hatsorting hatS10ExerciseExerciseE10LiddyLiddyLReader Response from The Fray: Noah didn't mention the author of the Harry Potter books. Isn't that a breach of journalistic ethics? --Mimir (To reply, click here.) Where would Chatterbox put Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)? He might be a Gryffindor... --M.K.Cronin (To reply, click here.) [XYZ replied: definitely Hufflepuff.] An omission: Where's our frisking friend from New Jersey? Or does that episode make Chatterbox think she's not even under consideration anymore? --Melanie (To reply, click here.) (7/13)1Presidential candidates pondering their vice-presidential choice while queuing up to buy the just-released Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (or having a key aide do same) should consider the advantages of the Sorting Hat. As all Potter initiates know, the Sorting Hat is a magical pointed wizard's hat that assigns incoming students at Hogwarts, the boarding school for aspiring wizards, to one of Hogwarts' four residential houses. Each house has a distinct identity; in choosing which house a student will belong to, the Sorting Hat makes an unchallengeable judgment about that student's character. What better way to size up the strengths and weaknesses of those designated to dwell a heartbeat away from the presidency?potter, sorting hat, vice president, office20000000false2310falsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalse247200071273157PMWednesdayJulJuly197/12/2000 11:31:57 PM630990271170000000200071273157PMWednesdayJulJuly197/12/2000 11:31:57 PM630990271170000000