If it's Tuesday, it must be "Columnist Smackdown"

Thanks be to Paul Krugman, who detects a curious timeliness to Ashcrofts fevered announcements, this time regarding vague threats to (shudder) a Columbus shopping mall.

An embarassing memo comes to light? Declare at a news conference that you've single-handedly saved the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of suburban teenagers. Oh, and isn't Ohio a swing state?

Meanwhile, across the page, David Brooks sputters with...well...just sputters.

This year the Democrats will nominate the perfect embodiment of an educated-class professional. John Kerry graduated from law school and plays classical guitar. President Bush, however, went to business school and drives a pickup around his ranch. So we can watch the conflict between these two rival elites play itself out in almost crystalline form.

The classical guitar, huh? What an elitist. The script has surely been written -- a French-speaking, classical-guitar playing snob, who's "not like us," versus good ol' boy George, driving his pick-up and attending NASCAR races. What a guy.

David Brooks has worn out his tired welcome.