More politics

Since Jean mentions Karl Rove's nasty bit in the Wall Street journal yesterday, I have to mention Gail Collin's excellent piece, published the same day by the Times. She says that Hillary got a pass in NH because: "Hillary was a stand-in for every woman who's overdosed on multitasking." I really agree there--I think the moment of emotion was genuine, called up, as such moments are, not by hostility but by the surprise of having someone be kind and supportive.

Rove was remarkably nasty in a subtle way, even for him. Note particularly the use of the word "lazy" which is clearly untrue of any presidential candidate this far along--but feeds racial stereotyping. Fred Thompson, by contrast, is famous for being lazy and his polls show it. Collins, on the other hand, reflects on how much more moving Barack is than Hillary--and how he manages to make moderation sound exciting while she manages to turn highly emotional subjects into dry policy-wonk language.

Obama's endorsement by Kerry is very interesting.