What the Democratic field can learn from Mark Warner.

Third, and most deviously, the stool pigeon. Guilty or not, Ralph should cop a plea and bring the whole administration and Congress down with him. Sure, it sounds crazy and counterintuitive to rat out every Republican from President Bush to Grover Norquist. But Ralph has nothing to lose, and someone has to throw the moneychangers from the temple. For the left, he can aspire to be the next John Dean, an overnight sensation with an overnight salvation. For the right, he can be the next Charles Colson, ministering to the wayward and preaching the virtue of forgiveness.

Ralph may well be innocent of any wrongdoing, apart from hypocrisy and greed. But considering how badly the primary went, why take chances with another jury? In return for immunity from prosecution, tell the story of the whole sordid enterprise. Better yet, pick a televangelist and spill the beans on the 700 Club or in the Crystal Cathedral.

Of course, it may be a long, hard road from the confession booth to higher office. But I can bring myself to forgive and forget—and if takes Ralph Reed decades to clear our last name, I, for one, am willing to wait. ... 11:55 A.M. (link)

Friday, Sept. 15, 2006

The Aspens Are Turning: In today's column in the Wall Street Journal's OpinionJournal.com, Reagan-Bush speechwriter Peggy Noonan  writes that autumn is the time to turn over a new leaf: "My resolution is to try in a renewed way, each day, and within my abilities, to be fair."

In that spirit, Noonan acknowledges that most Americans have stopped listening to George Bush, that he might well be "a catastrophe," and that it's exhausting to watch "this historical drama queen." She even adds, albeit not very convincingly, "I like Democrats."

Then, Noonan promptly predicts that Democrats will lose the election because it's all about Bush. "Familiarity doesn't only breed contempt, it can breed content," she writes even-handedly.

Her article is titled, "To Beat a Man, You Need a Plan." Apparently, the same strategy is needed to beat a drama queen. Noonan concludes, "If you're going to turn away from him, you'd better be turning toward a plan, and the Democrats don't appear to have one."

But, wait—Democrats do have a plan. We even call it The Plan. I guess in that same spirit of friendship, Noonan will have to turn over a new leaf and predict a sweeping Democratic victory. We haven't been friends for long, but it's only fair. ... 1:36 P.M. (link)

Thursday, Sept. 14, 2006

Not a Wimp, But a Seeker: President Bush will be thrilled to learn he's not the only one who sees America in the midst of a spiritual awakening. So does Newsweek. This week's issue even agrees with Bush that the '60s made it happen. The only difference is that while Bush says the '60s sparked a conservative Christian backlash, Newsweek says George Harrison, Sun Myung Moon, and easy access to drugs launched Boomers on a lifelong spiritual journey.