Frank Rich -- "The Moose Stops Here"

Columnist Frank Rich had a good article in yesterday's NY Times, taking apart the current Republican post-election desperate feeding frenzy. "The Moose Stops Here" cogently and accurately nails one of the most damning Republican party traits, the overwhelming racial-divide that formed a lot of their rabid rhetoric -- see Saxby Chambliss' campaign -- and that managed to secure their win in the South among voters who still obviously mourn Gen. Lee's surrender at Appomattox. (I lived in Georgia for well over a decade -- you didn't have to drive far out of Atlanta to find bastions of dejected Confederates with rebel flags plastered on their trucks, searching in vain for a CSA recruiting station.)

For a great read on the current economic mess, read NY Times vet Thomas Friedman's column from yesterday, too, entitled "Gonna Need a Bigger Boat". Friedman skillfully gives us the really bad news, using a nifty -- and completely appropriate -- Jaws analogy to make his point. I've seen Friedman on many TV news shows, including yesterday's Meet The Press, and he's always really smart and on the nose, plus delightful. (He and Paul Krugman both have tremendous telegenic presences, combining brilliant erudition and natural wit that makes them must-sees in any appearance.)

Whoever thought things were going to simmer down after the election didn't foresee a nation vitally interested in its future and wanting to learn. That's what happens when you have a smart President-elect. Lovely, isn't it?