Day’s End and Night Watch

by Ed Kilgore
Politics

Well, thank God for Republican self-evaluations, such as they are, or I would have struggled to find much to write about today. Here are some final bites from the bottom of the cookie jar:

* Politico‘s David Rogers looks into why John McCain so decisively turned against Hagel, and confirms it’s all about Lindsey!

* Jonathan Bernstein mulls Senate retirement patterns.

* Mississippi gets around to ratifying the 13th Amendment!

* At Ten Miles Square, Harold Pollack talks to Jonathan Cohn about health reform.

* At College Guide, Naomi Schaefer Riley argues today’s college admissions essays help make kids “stupid and selfish.”

And in non-political news:

* Average U.S. gasoline prices have risen for 32 consecutive days.

To close this Presidents’ Day/Washington’s Birthday, here are the Presidents of the United States of America again performing “Volcano.”

Selah.

Support Nonprofit Journalism

If you enjoyed this article, consider making a donation to help us produce more like it. The Washington Monthly was founded in 1969 to tell the stories of how government really works—and how to make it work better. Fifty years later, the need for incisive analysis and new, progressive policy ideas is clearer than ever. As a nonprofit, we rely on support from readers like you.

Yes, I’ll make a donation

Ed Kilgore

Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York and managing editor at the Democratic Strategist website. He was a contributing writer at the Washington Monthly from January 2012 until November 2015, and was the principal contributor to the Political Animal blog.