Random Reads

A former pollster for Howard Dean crunches Obama’s path to the 270 magic-number in the electoral college. His analysis demonstrates that no matter how popular a candidate might be — and no matter how disillusioned voters are with the Republican brand — the electoral college remains a daunting challenge, an eternal equalizer, a stubborn flatliner of lofty expectations.

On diplomacy vs. appeasement: Proof yet again that wisdom, logic, and common sense can still be found in the most remote corners of the non-professional punditry. Kudos to the young author and h/t Andrew Sullivan.

Sullivan also directed my attention to this Michael Totten review of Michael Yon’s book on Iraq. A thousand essays could be written from the first sentence of that review: “Iraq is where ideologies go to die.” Sullivan poignantly adds: “The long-term consequences of staying [in Iraq] indefinitely remain awful. But the possibility of a less traumatic departure needs to be grasped if we can.”