* where is this "reforming Republican" movement that Brooks speaks of? Did I miss it? Was it drowned out in the sea of vitriol and resentment that is contemporary Repub discourse?

* I'd caution against resting on our laurels. Most voters are still suspectible to culture wars, inflammatory rhetoric, etc. This time, they just happened to vote for their pocketbooks and against their conservatism and racism. I have been struck by the number of talk show callers who still self-identify with the Republican party but voted for Obama. Which suggests to me that, given half a chance, they will hop back onto that train.

I started reading you around '99-'00. I had no idea of your political leanings, or any other columnists in the Times, I just them all and decided you made the most sense. There some some ice cream truck metaphor you used to describe the Enron scandal which won me over for good.

In any case, congratulations on this distinguished honor, though IMHO your lifetime achievement will be explaining economics in undestandable language to left-brained folks like myself.

I started reading you around '99-'00. I had no idea of your political leanings, or any other columnists in the Times, I just them all and decided you made the most sense. There some some ice cream truck metaphor you used to describe the Enron scandal which won me over for good.

In any case, congratulations on this distinguished honor, though IMHO your lifetime achievement will be explaining economics in undestandable language to left-brained folks like myself.

I started reading you around '99-'00. I had no idea of your political leanings, or any other columnists in the Times, I just them all and decided you made the most sense. There some some ice cream truck metaphor you used to describe the Enron scandal which won me over for good.

In any case, congratulations on this distinguished honor, though IMHO your lifetime achievement will be explaining economics in undestandable language to left-brained folks like myself.