Entry 9:

Good morning Dearheart,

Woozy Wednesday. A surfeit of R.W. Apple, a double portion from David Broder, several bushels of Bradley and McCain eulogies. I ate so much news analysis for breakfast that I may have damaged my colon. Call Katie Couric!

The great unfairness in today's coverage: The punishment of John McCain. Yes, of course, Senator Hero has gotten a free ride from reporters till now, but today's criticism is wrongheaded. Maureen Dowd sings the theme: McCain destroyed his once-promising campaign by becoming bitter and aggressive about Bush. Instead of sticking to his noble principles, he ruined himself with personal attacks and growing aggrievement. Not fair, I say. McCain may have lost, but he ran as good a campaign as I have ever seen. Facing unbelievable obstacles--a huge cash shortfall, total opposition from his own party establishment, a popular rival, and the hatred of the conservative core of the Republican primary vote--McCain managed to bankrupt Bush, shake that establishment to its bones, and come within a hair of knocking off the crowned nominee. It was a sublime performance. The story of Super Tuesday is not that McCain blew it, but that Bush nearly did.

Speaking of Bush, the Times' top story notes that he "struggled to contain a satisfied grin" during public appearances last night. I saw his interview with CNN: He lost that struggle badly. He was grinning so broadly I thought he might eat the camera. The Super Tuesday win has brought the Bush Smirk back: If I were one of his advisers, I would lock him up in a room and make him read stories about the dead bichon frisé until he's overcome with sadness. Only when that smile has been wiped off his mug for good should he be allowed in front of a camera.

How long do you think till vice-presidential speculation starts? What the heck, let's start it now. For Bush's running mate, I predict a young Catholic northeastern Republican: maybe Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, maybe Gov. Tom Ridge of the same state. Or, if Bush is really bold, Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a McCain ally, but the party's most impressive youngster. As for Gore, I am at a loss. He should pick a woman, but there aren't any really strong women candidates. Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend is not quite seasoned enough. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson is tarnished by the Lewinsky scandal. Perhaps Washington Governor Gary Locke, who could be the first Asian-American elected to national office? Your thoughts?

But enough about the most important presidential campaign in a generation, let's talk about us. While you were devouring the papers' Super Tuesday coverage in bed this morning, I did something that reveals my fundamentally frivolous and self-centered soul: I logged onto the New York Observer's Web site to see what the imperturbable Gabriel Snyder wrote about us. Perhaps our desperate pleas moved the sweet-tempered Gabriel: His "Off the Record" column is almost sympathetic: "Slate readers are being treated to an exchange between Hanna Rosin, a religion reporter for the Washington Post, and David Plotz, Slate's Washington bureau chief, who is also Ms. Rosin's husband. And so the tone of the email between the two has swung back and forth between pillow talk and wonk-speak." That isn't so bad, is it?

One other Super Tuesday point: Did you catch the catchy new term that Al Gore coined during his acceptance speech last night (of course you did, you were sitting on the couch watching CNN with me when he said it). Political language is larded with terms to describe interest groups: "the disabled," "minorities," "senior citizens," "the uninsured," "the needy," etc. Last night, Gore demanded tougher gun controls to keep firearms away from "children, criminals, the unstable ..." The "unstable"--what a sharp and evocative phrase! I hope it sticks.

Love,
Ms. Rosin's husband