Commentary A Not-So-Civil War Midterm Mind-Readers But What Does It All Mean? Scandalmania! Comic Relief ·   ·   · More Year In Review 2006 Awards Ad Spotlight Poll Track Quote Quiz

By Irene Tsikitas, NationalJournal.com
© National Journal Group Inc.
Thursday, Dec. 14, 2006

Between the war in Iraq, the midterm elections and, uh, "Borat," the political punditry had plenty of meaty material to chew on this year.

On the left, commentators savored the scandals that ensnared congressional Republicans and relished the Democrats' midterm victory, while the conservative commentariat tried to preserve their place at the table by warning of grave consequences for Iraq. And what about those stuck in the middle? Well, they had little choice but to play referee in the great political food fights of 2006.

Round 1: A Not-So-Civil War
The one topic no self-respecting pundit (no, not even Joel Stein) could ignore this year was the war in Iraq. From semantics -- "stay the course," "cut and run," "civil war" -- to strategy -- withdraw? redeploy? talk to Iran and Syria? -- everyone had an opinion on the conflict. And the tone of the debate ranged from the pragmatic solution-seeking of David Ignatius and Fareed Zakaria to the shrill hyperbole of Bob Herbert and John Podhoretz. (Subscription Required)

The increasingly complex picture emerging from Iraq had the commentariat hitting the books -- the history books, to be exact. Herbert was one of the first to trot out the Vietnam metaphor in July, and he was quickly followed by just about everyone else. The trend prompted Jonah Goldberg to complain about the pitfalls of such "historical cherry-picking."

Still, Thomas L. Friedman captured headlines and the attention of President Bush in October when he posited that a spike in insurgent violence in October looked like "the jihadist equivalent of the Tet offensive." (Subscription Required)

Round 2: Midterm Mind-Readers
In a springtime analysis of opinion polling, Charlie Cook sensed that the Iraq war was becoming a "ball and chain" for Bush and, by extension, the Republican Party. That prediction proved prescient; as Election Day grew closer, just about every pundit was predicting major GOP midterm losses, particularly in the House. But it was Chuck Todd who, as early as May, went out on a limb to suggest that a party-flip in the Senate was just as likely. Stuart Rothenberg's pre-election prediction of a "solid Democratic win" in the House and a net gain of "four to seven" seats in the Senate also proved correct. (Subscription Required)

On the flip side, campaign prognosticators at the Washington Times came down with a serious case of denial. On Election Day, Tod Lindberg wrote that "Democrats will win 14 seats net" in the House, "thereby coming up one short" of a takeover. And Donald Lambro held out hope that the GOP would prevail by "playing to its strengths." But perhaps the finest example of against-the-tide midterm commentary came from Peggy Noonan, who wrote of ousted Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum: "The sense among so many people -- including politicians and journalists -- is that the Senate needs his sort, his kind." (Subscription Required)

Round 3: But What Does It All Mean?
The days and weeks following the election were marked by a race to have the last word on the meaning of the Democratic victory. "Say goodbye to the era of Rovian base mobilization," David Brooks declared. Morton Kondracke also saw the election as "a rebuke" to "radio talk-show hosts and other right-wing polarizers," while Goldberg blamed the GOP's own "crapulence, jobbery and malfeasance." (Subscription Required)

And on the left, the requisite gloating was led by Herbert, who hailed the end of "the George W. Bush era," and Harold Meyerson, who claimed that "the American people chose a more pragmatic course." But E.J. Dionne Jr.'s satisfaction was tempered by his concern that "Democrats could spin themselves into useless arguments rooted in the past and ignore the opportunity American voters have offered them."

Bonus Round: Scandalmania!
"Do you change channels as soon as you hear the words 'Pelosi,' 'Foley,' 'cut and run' or 'macaca'?" John Tierney asked on Election Day, underscoring the onslaught of scandals that plagued this year's midterm election season -- and fueled some of the most entertaining punditry of the year. (Subscription Required)

The CIA leak case, better known as the Scandal That Wouldn't Go Away, finally died down when Robert Novak broke over two years of silence and gave his side of the story.

Meanwhile, some of the year's most colorful shenanigans came from the hallowed halls of Congress. John Mercurio found an unlikely parallel in "representatives gone wild" Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga. And in the relatively quiet month of August, Sen. George Allen, R-Va., and his infamous "macaca" gaffe gave the Washington Post editorial page the gift that kept on giving (and giving and giving…). Allen was rescued, temporarily, by former punching-bag-of-choice John Kerry's "botched joke," which prompted the Philadelphia Inquirer to drop any pretense of decorum and fume, "Few Democrats still believe such crap."

But the two figures whose downfalls were chronicled with the highest degree of schadenfreude were Florida Rep. Mark Foley (R) and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. "They've been getting by on spin and raw power for so long that House Republican leaders apparently don't know how to handle a truly damaging scandal," Clarence Page wrote of Foley's "October surprise." Meanwhile, Maureen Dowd parlayed her patented Oedipal analysis of the Bush clan to dub the Defense secretary's resignation a "come-to-daddy moment" for the president. (Subscription Required)

Comic Relief: It Wasn't All Election Results & Exit Strategies
In a year marked by a tumultuous election, a scandal-plagued Congress and a frustrating war, kudos to Michael Kinsley for lightening the mood with a bitingly sarcastic jab at the New York Times' all-too-serious "Win A Trip With Nick Kristof" contest. "Gosh. Me? On a trip with Nick Kristof?? Wowie," Kinsley wrote, poking fun at the globe-trotting Times columnist. Kinsley went on to pen a column called "Win a Date With E.J. Dionne" and imagine what a "Win a Trip With George Will" contest might entail:

"Finally admitting his uncanny resemblance to Mr. Peabody, the scholarly time-traveling dog on the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon show, George takes a lucky companion back to the 18th century, where they will explain the original meaning of the Declaration of Independence to its signers."

The Washington Post hasn't seized on that idea yet, but perhaps it's something to look forward to in 2007.

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