• 3/16 Jim Hoagland

 Iraq is a tough situation, and giving politically expedient answers to its problems may come back to haunt the presidential candidates.  

•  3/16 Wrap: Pretty standard “things will need to be said” non-important opinion piece. WaPo writers are really into musing about the future, while saying nothing whatsoever. 

• Charles Krauthammer 

 Since Obama and Clinton don’t differ on policy, the contest has turned into an ugly battle of identity politics.   

• 3/12 Wrap: I like this Kraut quote: “Nationally, the older white woman — Clinton — carries the senior vote, the white vote and the women’s vote. The younger black man — Obama — carries the youth vote, the black vote and the male vote. ” I could find better examples of Krauthammer’s cynicism (See: Iraq War), but the simplicity of this just tickled me for some reason. 

• 3/12 George F. Will The Dem candidates could benefit from having Ohio governor Ted Strickland as a running mate.

• 3/12 David Broder  A dream ticket of Obama and Hillary would be unlikely, in part because Vice President Obama would have trouble dealing with the egocentric Clinton combo.  

• 3/12 Wrap: This quote from a fairly boring GFW piece struck me: “If, however, McCain, whose strongest feelings and only competence concern national security, succeeds in making this a national security election.” This is a bit of a dig at McCain, but it still frustratingly concedes his immense national security strength. Who anointed John with this expertise? What did he do to earn it (Yes, I realize that he fought in Vietnam, but few veterans claim to be experts on foreign policy, based on their fighting experiences)?

• 3/11 Jon S. Corzine and Edward G. Rendell We should have a revote in Michigan and Florida. Otherwise, we (the Democrats) risk alienating these states, and we’ll suffer in the general election. 

• 3/11 E.J. Dionne Jr.Liberals will have to distance themselves from past praises of McCain. He seems to be “running for Bush’s third term” and that must be made clear. 

• 3/11 Richard Cohen The Dems could lose this election in a fashion similar to their electoral loss in 1972.

• 3/11 Wrap: My favorite quote from Cohen’s piece was “John McCain, in fact, oozes national security.” Ah yes, he oozes it. And that’s a fact. No matter what he says or does to disprove his supposed foreign policy expertise, the simple fact that a gooey national security substance seeps out his pores is enough for most pundits. 

• 3/10 Bob Novak

The Dems may move before the Republicans (despite John McCain’s efforts) in stopping the practice of earmarking.

• 3/10 Wrap: Thank God some people are willing to defend Americans from the horrid practice of (gasp!) earmarking. While the surge unravels and the economy collapses, it seems that Republicans have found a distracting wedge non-issue. 

• 3/9 Jim Hoagland

Don’t meddle in John McCain’s campaign. Instead, focus on governing.  

• 3/9 Wrap: Maybe GW should instead focus on baseball? I personally tremble at the thought of what disasters a “focused” Bush Jr might unleash upon the country. Meddle away Mr. President! 

• 3/6 Harold Meyerson

The Dems are stuck in an intractable primary battle.  McCain’s vulnerabilities are going unattacked.   

• 3/6 David Broder

Obama faltered and Clinton made a come back. Now this is a closely contested race that could go on for awhile. 

• 3/6 Bob Novak 

Hillary has made a come back, now this battle could go on to the convention.   

• 3/6 Wrap: Though the math simply does not add up for Hillary, the media (yes, I know that the media is not a monolith, but at times like these, they sure seem monolithy) fuels this “cliffhanger” myth. I can understand how the pundits can fail on an issue like the surge (too much subtlety and nuance for this crowd), but this is basic arithmetic. It’s worth noting that negative Barack coverage seems to be increasing at this juncture. Bob seems somewhat obsessed with the manufactured Rezko “scandal” (I wonder if members of the Keating Five are offended by the lack of attention). Oh and notice anything about all these Op-Eds?  Hmm, no wonder the country thinks the surge is working. Their media mavens all pontificate on the same narrow issues, and shockingly, can’t even bother to differ in their opinions on these issues.