"I honestly can't get worked up about that. It's the way the court always works, I'm afraid, and I have never thought that Obama's team would be above such things. Certainly it doesn't seem beyond the pale in the case of Greg Craig who made his bones in the campaign by using his creibility as a former Clinton insider and good friend to ruthlessly criticize her claims to expertise. He did nothing wrong, of course, it's a rough game, but if he's now been maneuvered out by rivals it's hard to feel too sorry for him. Indeed, I would guess that his willingness to savage his former friend might possibly be something that made Obama mistrust him a little bit. (That's always the danger of doing such things isn't it?)"

If Craig was pushing back, speaking some uncomfortable truths, challenging the administration - you know, the kind of thing Obama once said was healthier and less dangerous than having nothing but yes-men and -women around him - and that's why he got closed out, that's a lot too "dark side" for me, too.

"I went to the dresser and put on some pink capri [pants] and a green and brown blouse. I thought the colors looked pretty. "

For shame! There but for the sake of Prada -- oh wait, that's standard Prada fare. Then all sense of nutrition flies out the window.

"Then I went down to Market Street to buy a hot dog ... "

I used to think the urgency to pass health care "reform" was all about getting a win for its own sake, but lately, as the reform effort has slowed to molasses-in-January speed, and the calls have increased to solve the Afghanistan problem, their voices are beginning to squeak with desperation on health care, and I've begin to wonder.

What we always hear is that it's so important to get Afghanistan right, and so, the word is that Obama is not dithering, as has been suggested, but deliberating.