Tuesday night I was listening to the radio simulcast of the News Hour. The first big story of the show was Gerald Ford's state funeral, followed by Shields and Brooks. Both spoke of Ford's "midwestern values" and bipartisan soul. The second big story of the show was a history of Nancy Pelosi, which was pretty fair and informative as these things go, followed again by Shields and Brooks.

Here's Lehrer's first question:

A divided nation, Mark. Can Nancy Pelosi be a healer, in the context we were talking about earlier, about Gerald Ford and others?

I will mail you a five dollar bill if you can document any time someone in the mainstream media asked if Newt Gingrich or Tom DeLay or Dennis Hastert were supposed to be healers. Not if they could be healers, asked if they were supposed to be healers.

Digby's already gotten there, but this is one side of the duel-edged meme-sword Democrats have to fight. If they assert their power to the certain opposition of the Republicans, they've failed as healers. If they play nice, they'll be consigned as appeasers.

Democrats can choose to be bitches or biotches (the meme of Democrats as the woman to the Republican male carrying extra Pelosi weight, after all) - they'll be damned by Conservatives and the MSM either way. Why Democrats, in a country needing to survive two more years of dWindle, would govern with any smaller aim than disabling the GOP - thus serving the country as well as their own power - is a mystery.

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Edward Champion grades dWindle's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.

Sure, I believe dWindle "wrote" it. "Let them say of the next two years: We used our time well," is the sub-head. Dead give away.

TBogg has thoughts.

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God told Pat Robertson to wipe the Metamucil from his chin, which Pat's interpreted as God's way of saying 2007's gonna bring some massive mass killing.

That's not true - it was Pat's accountant who told Pat about the mass killings, knowing nothing bucks up those coffers like armageddonists buying Heaven-insurance for the after-Rapture.

JA has more over at BoB - and I stole my own snark here from my comment there. Meta-plagiarism.

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Froomkin's back from vacation. Daily required reading, yo.

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Landru's Alive! Surly but alive. Check out Ilse. Vouch!

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Stupidest column since the last stupidest column and until the next stupidest column - Ruth Marcus tells Obama real audacity is NOT running for President in 2008. Wait til 2012 or 2016, whelp.

What's not considered, beyond the simple fact that Obama may never have a better shot than 08, is he can run in 2008 and, if he doesn't win, he can...... wait for it..... run AGAIN in 2012 or 2016.

Speaking of Obama, give him credit for savvy - he understands the principles of innoculation.

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EARLY THURSMORNING UPDATE: OBAMA IN TODAY'S WASHPOST

I have long proposed a nonpartisan, independent ethics commission that would act as the American people's public watchdog over Congress. The commission would be staffed with former judges and former members of Congress from both parties, and it would allow any citizen to report possible ethics violations by lawmakers, staff members or lobbyists. Once a potential violation is reported, the commission would have the authority to conduct investigations, issue subpoenas, gather records, call witnesses, and provide a report to the Justice Department or the House and Senate ethics committees that -- unlike current ethics committee reports -- is available for all citizens to read.

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Speaking of savvy, how smart(ass) is Keith Ellison using Thomas Jefferson's Koran for his private swearing-in ceremony?

Pragered!

To be fair, I have no idea if Ellison is trying to be a smartass. Me? I have an idea.

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EARLY THURSMORNING UPDATE: ELLISON IN TODAY'S WASHPOST:

We need a politics of generosity based on the reality of abundance as opposed to a politics of not-enough. The richest 1 percent of the nation, on average, owns 190 times as much as a typical household. The child poverty rate in the United States is the highest of 16 other industrialized nations. Employers are shifting health insurance costs onto workers. Not only are fewer employees receiving health insurance through their employers, but those who still do are paying more for it.

Recently, I have become the focus of some criticism for my use of the Qu'ran for my ceremonial swearing in. Let me be clear, I am going to be sworn into office like all members of Congress. I am going to swear to uphold the United States Constitution. We seem to have lost the political vision of our founding document -- a vision of inclusion, tolerance and generosity.

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Mannequins get boob jobs. Robert Reich on the minimum wage. I'm a Marylander: I could have told you Ellen Sauerbrey is a Pig. The General analyzes the Army's new recruiting ads. Attaturk has dWindle's Ten Step Program to Fucking Up.