TNR has a blistering critique of Arianna Huffington. It is over 6000 words long. Here's a sample: "Huffington is one of those writers who mistakes press criticism for the entirety of social and political criticism. Her condescension toward the press is endless: 'Someone please alert the media: not every issue fits into your cherished right/left paradigm. Indeed, that way of looking at the world is becoming less and less relevant–and more and more obsolete. And more and more dangerous.' After reading these sentences, I checked the book's cover to make sure that I was reading a book called Right Is Wrong. That looks pretty binary to me. To understand [...]

Not only did Eliot Spitzer screw New York by leaving it in the hands of his incompetent lieutenant, he screwed the entire worldwide financial system by investigating AIG. Or so says CNBC's Charles Gasparino, who argues that the then-attorney general's probe into the insurance giant's accounting practices so discomfited the firm's leadership that they HAD NO CHOICE but to go deep into risky credit default swaps.

Michiko Kakutani reviews Renegade: The Making of a President, by Richard Wolffe, the MSNBC analyst who can claim the important distinction of having been in the tank and on the trail for almost as long as anyone else who covered Barack Obama's race for the White House. Wolffe claims Obama suggested that the reporter "write a Theodore White-type book" about the campaign (younger readers might want to click here); if so, it's yet another example of Obama's savvy press management.

With the recent defection of Arlen Specter and a spate of new polls putting party identification at a distressing 20%, Republicans are engaged in a pressing debate about the shape of their organization. Basically, they're asking whether they want it hard and straight or broad and loose.