Today on the Dish, Andrew live-blogged the Nevada debate and we collected reax here. Herman Cain and his 9-9-9 plan faced serious scrutiny, Cain blurred the line between comedy and actual policy proposals, and he worshipped "the perfect conservative." Rick Perry's campaign ads reflect an impressively high production value, Harry Schliefer anticipated that Perry would recapture Cain's support as the Hermanator embarked on book tour, and the Texas governor contemplated his own rise and fall. Gingrich rode a fake following to frontrunner-status in the Twitter primary, and the "giant, gaseous asshole" won an award for faux intellectualism. The indignant anti-Romney right tried to suppress the inevitability narrative, and Andrew took on the Mormon question. In our video feature, he explained that he doesn't have a filter (except for the rotoscoping).
Friedersdorf infiltrated OWS as the protests took hold in countries with high youth unemployment, Calvin and Hobbes illustrated Wall Street's baffling business model, and we recognized the demonstrators in South Park. OWS doesn't need the NYT, Beinart admired the movement's powerful populist instincts, and we assessed its marginal anti-Semitism.
Tunisia readied for democratic elections, the Israeli police and military condoned terrorism, and a victim of the LRA confronted Limbaugh's brazen storytelling. Montag put forth an enterprising solution to our futile war against Afghanistan's drug trade, Jeremy Salt made excuses for Syria's unforgivable mukhabarat state, and Rachel Abrams celebrated Gilad Shalit's freedom with a sickening diatribe.
Bruce Bartlett joined the Dish in championing Reagan-style tax reform, Peter Frase witnessed the unhealthy convergence of partisanship and ideology, and Douthat noted that Pinker's thesis on violence neglects the brutal history of the "civilizing process." Joel Kotkin predicted that China's growth would fizzle, criminals harnessed the social ingenuity of "flash mobs" for ill, and Bryan Caplan explained why a bad husband is incapable of being a good father. Andrew defended David Brooks against the Straussian charge, marijuana legalization achieved record public support, and Sam Harris pondered the evolving reality of consciousness. Readers invoked Felix Feneon's "Novels in Three Lines," we delved into the tricky morality of pheasant killing, and sociology students were tested on Jay-Z. Uzbekistan was forced to assert its geopolitical relevance, housing prices affect birth rates, and a baby was introduced to the world of Angry Birds.
Dissent of the day here, app of the day here, MHB here, FOTD here, VFYW here, and VFYW contest winner #72 here.
— M.A.
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images.)
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