"All" politicians are inauthentic? Seems a little too simplistic a characterization. Unless I missed a tongue-in-cheek reference. By the way, I've been catching up with your columns on NYT. Some good material.

Brendan, the New York Magazine article just lists a bunch of nobodies with Jack Welch and Allen West. It makes it seem like the whole article wasn't worth the time it took to read. And TPM should've done their due diligence in seeing if in fact, Sen. McCain was accusing the administration of manipulating the jobs' numbers. It seems to me he went right on to the next topic.

Another good read. I have a question, though. Midterms are often referendums on the President. Is it possible that some national elections are referendums on state governors? Like, will Scott Walker's unpopularity in Wisconsin help the President?

As a non-Romney fan, this still annoys me. Romney did not use the "Etch-A-Sketch" analogy, a campaign aide did. But campaigns are verbal tete a tetes. Anything to give either Gingrich or Santorum an advantage in the war of words, I suppose.

Brendan, do you think in the future you can post more articles with references to '80s cartoons? You just don't do it enough, I think. I'm half-way through your paper, by the way. It's a great read, even if I give some paragraphs a double-take to understand what's being said.

For all the attention this guy commands nationally, don't people know he's only a county sheriff? Besides, I'm pretty sure even IF Obama were born in Kenya, his mother Sarah was an American, thus by extension, he is too.

I suspect many politicians get into politics for various issues, some more than others. To me, Romney's changing stance on abortion isn't so much about convenience (well, it is) but the fact that maybe abortion isn't as high on his list as having an agenda that is solidly pro-business. That he may less concern of some issues over others may be the "real Romney" and that on various social issues, he was willing to make tradeoffs for political gain. Just like his father, George was here.

Another good read Brendan. Only Obama's critics were implied to have some sort of racial undertones when talking about who the "real Obama" was. Hasn't happened to Romney, I've noticed.

Had they waited another couple of days, United Republic could've added one more question to the Stupid Debate Questions: Why would your wife make a better 1st Lady?

George McGovern was considered a contender for President in 1992? Really?

On black QBs: one of the things that nobody posted about the racial composite of college and NFL QBs is the journey that one goes through to get to the next level. I do agree with the one poster that race plays the biggest factor into a lot of coaches/recruiters/programs' decisions to use white QBs over black QBs. Everyone knows to get to the NFL at whatever position you play, you've gotta be the best of the best. You’re the 1% (and I was definitely the 99% by the time I was in junior high). I won't rehash what we already know. But it is not uncommon the twists and turns that players go through to get to the next level, be it high school to college and then to the pros. Many players will change positions throughout their careers. Lineman will switch sides from offense to defense, move from guard to tackle, or defensive end to defensive tackle or to linebacker. It happens all the time. If you played linebacker in high school, it's plausible some recruiter might ask you to come play at his school as a safety and you'll go along because of the doors it'll open up (NFL, free tuition, girls). A lot of this has to do with size and skill set. What worked in college doesn’t always work in the pros – note that there are a lot of Heisman trophy winners who didn’t excel in the NFL. A lot of the gifts QBs have are the same gifts wide receivers have – good hands, good feet, speed, and ability to read defensive coverage. But some of the systems that QBs play in at a college level are gimmicky, like the spread offense, and won’t work in the NFL. They don’t work because they’re too simplistic and an NFL defense would exploit every flaw easily. And because they’re not very complex – they don’t require having to make many reads (watching what the defense does) – a lot of the playmaking is due to athleticism and not the mental decisions. Going back to what I said about getting recruited, a lot of these recruiters go into the inner city schools that are predominantly black, and they tell some of these QBs that if they come here they can play wide receiver, or tight end, or something on defense, because there can only be one QB on the field at a time, but there can be two, but as many as five WRs, three or four LBs, six DBs, and so on, and off they go to college learning a new system and a new position. Sorry if this post is so long, but it’s something to consider.

I'm sure that statistic you cite from the Humphrey School is correct, David. But the fact of the matter remains, most of the Republican candidates make claims that cannot be substantiated; most the Republicans PolitiFact checks on lately are the contenders for President. There happens to be more Republicans running for President than Democrats lately, for obvious reasons. You can't blame PolitiFact for the fact (no pun intended, I swear) that Republican candidates make very bizarre claims (e.g. Bachmann's HPV-mental retardation claim). It's not their fault many Republicans have lost their minds.

Congratulations, and your article was a great read. I'm curious to know if you have an opinion on other states having moved their primaries/caucuses up to compete with New Hampshire and Iowa. I realize that isn't what the article was about, but in the opening paragraph, I thought you'd be headed in that direction. Happy Thanksgiving!

David - the short answer is yes. I have an old friend who I went to college with has 8 years of school in total = 5 years undergrad from Eastern Michigan and 3 years of law school from Penn State, and has accumulated $275,000 in debts. 3/4 of that $275,000 are from federal Stafford loans. So about $206,000 can be forgiven after 25 years, but the remaining balance forgiven is considered income and will be taxed in addition to whatever you're currently making. If I'm not mistaken, you cannot file for bankruptcy for student loan debt. But if you go to work for public service or a qualified non-profit, the debt can be forgiven in 10 years with no tax liability.

Don't forget David, the student loan forgiveness plan really isn't "forgiveness." The debt remaining after 20/25 years that's "forgiven" is actually considered "income" and gets taxed by the IRS.

There isn't much to disagree with over the TNR article about overrated thinkers. I wish they would have included Bill Maher, but this is the first time I've noticed TNR produced annual lists. Maybe he was on a list a few years back and I didn't catch it. I used to be all about him - even have an autographed copy of one of his first books and a photo that was signed, too. I enjoyed his unpredictability, but since he was fired from ABC, he's become somewhat stale and predictable (but he's still funny).

Please keep them. I only find about 10% of them click-worthy, but it does make it easier to surf around looking for interesting articles like from Enik Rising. Thanks, Brendan.

Somehow, I knew the latest Truman article from TNR would be referenced here. Give it a week, and here it is.

Brendan, honestly, what kind of control will David Leondhardt have over writers? The NYT has to fill columns with stories. Is there any telling if he change the culture there to publish stories that have more of an empirical basis as opposed to the usual 'crude narrative' as you call it? I know nothing of how newspapers work, but even if Leonhardt produces more stories like the ones you wish to see, there's still the David Brooks and the Maureen Dowds to the contend with who will still manufacture the same old hackneyed commentary when it comes to politics anyway.

Bert and Ernie gay? Really? A modest compromise: How about instead of petitioning for Bert and Ernie to get married, why not have the creators at Sesame Street introduce two new puppets of the same gender living together in a relationship? Can we then get on with life?

Okay, but let me ask a related question though. Since the economy was expanding so rapidly in the 1990s, how were the Republicans able to win both houses of Congress in 1994? I was always taught that the party in opposition almost always gains seats in Congress during the midterms, just as an historical norm.

I think Abramowitz missed discussing a point about why closet partisans refer to themselves as independents. Labels help us identify and understand people/things in general, but to do so carries a stigma. Along with the good comes the bad. I.e., you're a Republican/conservative, therefore you're this, this, and that, but the reality most conservatives or liberals are not 100% conservative all the time. Thus, giving a label about someone gives us blanket assumptions about who they are, when really there's depth and nuance that isn't immediately looked at.

Brendan, isn't RDPI - real disposable personal income - itself a lagging indicator that gets reported the same way unemployment figures do?