Sunday Post

David Broder plugs what sounds like interesting little book, The Anti-Intellectual Presidency, by Wesleyan University's Elvin Lim. The author bases his thesis on scores of interviews with White House insiders and a careful reading of presidential texts from George Washington to George W. Bush. This may be evidence of the enduring utility of one specific buzzword rather than a dumber presidency, but it's striking in any event:

Whereas all of the presidents through Woodrow Wilson appealed to 'common sense' just 11 times in their recorded papers, presidents since Wilson have done so more than 1,600 times.

Also, David Ignatius uses an evocative phrase that should appear in opinion pieces more often:

The 2006 congressional attack on Dubai Ports World, and its bid to manage some American ports, was sheer poppycock.