The Dowd Diary - Cont'd

Commentary-diva Maureen Dowd opens her latest NYT piece thusly: "So I was chatting with Chris Coons, the new Democratic senator from Delaware who had a rare win over the Tea Party when he beat loony Christine 'I’ve Dabbled in Witchcraft but I Am Not a Witch' O’Donnell in the midterms. Coons is a smart guy who’s alarmed at finding himself in a vicious combat zone that makes 'Shark Week' look like a guppy party." Yes, folks, that's another effortless long ball over the middle. Here's one more sample of her piquant wit: "Like gargoyles on the Capitol, the adamantine nihilists are determined to blow up the country’s prestige, their party and even their own re-election chances if that’s what it takes." Another tight literary dinger. Too bad Dowd's game often gets called on account of rain. Her columned "analysis" routinely leaves me (and a lot of folks) slack-jawed in its superficiality. Today's piece too is a swing and a miss, though lovely written. (Essentially, she argues that the GOP "wolfen" in Congress are winning because - wait for it - Obama is not beating his chest hard enough. If only he'd use the magic powers she imagines he has. Sigh.) But as a wordsmith, Dowd continues to blow away the competition. A hat tip, madam.