In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion columns in The Times.

Maureen Down/Faith, Freedom and Bling in the Middle East

The Short Version: The Middle East is an opulent (and sexist) mess. Guess what? W isn’t helping.

In her words: “It does not bode well for the president’s ability to push the Israelis and Palestinians that he has done so little to push Musharraf on catching Osama, despite our $10 billion endowment, or the Saudis on women’s rights and human rights, even with the $20 billion arms package.”

Score: B
Solid Dowd here. Although there’s a marked tendency to let the eyes glaze over during a double-length opinion piece on W’s latest trip to the Middle East, Dowd’s scathing wit and hopping prose kept us on point. (Not required reading, however.)