In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinions in The Times.

Bob Herbert/A Different Kind of Election

The Short Version: Even racist Democrats might vote for Obama given how much they hate Bush!

In his words: “The table is set for the Democrats.”

Score: B- (Basic)
Nothing here to disagree with, but nothing you haven’t heard a zillion times already.

David Brooks/A Network of Truces

The Short Version: The surge is really great!

In his words: “That will mean drawing down U.S. troops at a slow pace, continuing the local reconstruction efforts, supporting local elections and reaching an informal agreement with Iran and the Saudis to reduce outside interference.”

The Score: D (Disingenuous)
Brooks paints a rosy picture of what’s happening in Iraq right now. Although we agree with his assessment of the misguided “founding fatherism” that got us into the war, we would like him to apply a similarly skeptical lens to the new narrative being fashioned, one that has much less to do with Iraq than to make The Maverick look good heading into the general election.