Well, no matter what damage he eventually causes (and I suspect it will be quite a lot), President-to-be Barack Obama has done the country a great service by administering the coup de grace to public financing of presidential campaigns with his decision to forgo public funding and spending caps on his campaign. Bravo. Now, if we could only get rid of the rest of this insane system, we just might get the best politicians money can buy.

This latest move leads David Brooks to re-examine Obama, and he concludes that the Illinois Senator is no Adlai Stevenson. That is not good news for Republicans.

Michael Gerson also has some thoughts on Obama as a false moderate. I think Gerson (and others) should look to the Brooks analysis, which I believe is closer to the truth which is that Obama is not a transcendent figure who will change America, but rather an ambitious Chicago politician who will throw anyone under the bus whenever necessary (but, like Brooks, I can also see that as an advantage in dealing with certain situations).

E.J. Dionne examines how the presidential race is playing here in New Hampshire. It's a pretty good analysis. There is no question that this state has flipped from the GOP to the Democrats at all levels, and there is no question that John McCain is the only Republican who could possibly win the state for the GOP this year.

Are the Israelis practicing for a possible military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities? I believe that they are, and I believe that they let this story leak to send a message to the Iranians (and everybody else).