When my mother graduated from high school in 1945 she went to Washington, DC to work as a clerk typist at the Navy Department. World War II was still going on, so she was housed in a dormitory along with dozens of other young women from around the country also working for the department. She remembers that when she told the other girls she was from Massachusetts, they would say, "Oh, Massachusetts. The most corrupt state in the nation." Well, it's always nice to know that some things never change.

Brian McGrory has that same feeling.

Rich Lowry writes about Eric Holder's fiasco. Attorney General Holder, and President Obama, are either blinded by their ideological belief that terrorism should be dealt with as a criminal justice matter, rather than as a matter of war fighting, or they are politically beholden to those that hold those beliefs, which prevents them from embracing the Bush strategy regarding captured terrorists. I actually think the latter may be closer to the truth, as the President seems likely to keep the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay open, and Holder has already said we will keep holding these terrorists regardless of how their criminal proceedings turn out.

Arthur Herman is critical of the decision to allow the Russians back into Afghanistan. The decision is driven by the desire to get out of this war which is held by most, if not all, of the political leaders of the NATO countries currently participating in the action.

Meanwhile, General Petraeus has authorized the Marines to use tanks against the Taliban. This is a long overdue decision, and should help in the short term, but for a lasting victory we still need the political will to stay as long as it takes.

Paul Krugman thinks the critics of the Federal Reserve quantitative easing program represent an axis of depression. He believes the Chinese and the Germans want to protect their export driven economies, which I think is right, and the GOP wants to keep the economy down in the short term to help defeat Obama in 2012. Some Republicans may want that, but if they do then they are misguided. A poor economy in 2012 might simply switch independents against the GOP, as they went against the Democrats earlier this month.

Three Democratic U.S. Senators face daunting reelection prospects in 2012. If the Republicans have a good candidate at the top of the ticket, and the President's job approval remains weak, it will be a tough election for Democrats all around.

Pat Buchanan says the Tea Party folks are just as much social conservatives as they are fiscal conservatives. Partly true, I think, but Tea party folks should continue to concentrate on economic and fiscal issues if they want to assure themselves of the widest possible base of support.

Fred Barnes writes about how Alabama has thoroughly repudiated the Democratic party.