The Unbearable Lightness of Broder

In recent days the dean of American political reporting, David Broder, has taken his particular brand of anodyne, tepid centrism to dcat's home state of New Hampshire. In two columns for The Washington Post Broder has made unobjectionable, but also largely uninteresting, arguments about how Granite State voters perceive the fall's races with implications for what that might (or might not! No sense being hasty or rash with conclusions in what is supposed to be America's premiere opinion column!) mean for other swing states. In the first column he implies that Barack Obama has work to do to convince New Hampshire voters even though the evidence he reveals actually seems to indicate that both candidates have work to do and that many voters are yet undecided. Earthshattering! In the second he lets us know that New Hampshire is in play for both presidential and Congressional politics because the Democrats have spent a great deal of tiem an energy there. Well I'll be! (Of course, as he notes, Democrats won all significant elections in the state in 2006, so perhaps this will not be all that surprising news to those who follow politics.)

But hey, who said New Hampshire only matters once every four years during the presidential season. David Broder has cast his eye upon the flinty denizens of the state. Let a thousand flowers bloom!