Today on the Dish, Andrew assessed Ron Paul's scrambling effect on America's left/right binary, heaved at extended exposure to Santorum, worried that the Christianist par excellence would blunt Paul's impact on the GOP, and was sure that he would almost certainly take America to war with Iran. We kept up on the latest Iowa polls (a state that matters, though South Carolina might not), foresaw some negativity from the Gingrich campaign, noted the end of ethanol pandering in Iowa, and exposed the deep-seated desires of the political press corps. Romney seemed inevitable, Gingrich embarrased himself, Santorum appeared to hit trouble beyond Iowa, and the winner of the election would not end America. Joe Klein thought negative attack ads worked better this year than in the past, but some research suggested ads in general turn off some undecided voters.
Syria greeted the new year with protests, Andrew Exum considered how his background helped him get through war, and the TSA sucked. Bees taught us about democracy, the world isn't ending this year, and Roger Ebert sparked a discussion over whether movies were fading away. We defended British cuisine, tried to keep kids from getting fat, and mapped out what we know about taste.
Roger Scruton developed a green conservatism, McArdle called us out on infographics, and Reagan's actual policies confused Eric Cantor. Robin Hanson pushed the debate on working hours forward, the religious got autoerotic, an economist revamped parking, pot helped people through the Great Recession, and science explained both snow and "tit for tat."
The Dish aired your responses to Andrew's year-end reflections and celebrated many new readers – who, along with our old readers, should enjoy some regular features. So without further ado, Quotes For The Day here and here, MHB here, Map of the Day here, AAA here, Faces of the Day here, and VYFW here.
– Z.B.
The Dish 
