News of the Tautological

The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal’s “Best of the Web” at WSJ written by the editor, James Taranto.

News of the Tautological
“Major Parties Stuck in Partisan System”—headline, Columbus Dispatch, Jan. 25

Or Is It Because Your Mother Didn’t?
“I’m a Successful Lawyer and Mother, Because I Had an Abortion”—headline, Washington Post, Jan. 24

Unenthusiastic Endorsement Watch
Here’s the first paragraph of a Des Moines Register editorial: “If there’s one thing Democrats and Republicans agree on this year, it’s the fact that the next president will face enormous challenges.”

Well, that’s almost as much of an evergreen as this, from New York Times columnist Ross Douthat: “This, of course, is a pointless column.” Anyway, the topic of the Register’s editorial is Hillary Clinton. Here are some excerpts:

She is not a perfect candidate, as evidenced [by] the way she has handled the furor over her private email server. In our endorsement of her 2008 campaign for president, we wrote that “when she makes a mistake, she should just say so.” That appears to be a lesson she has yet to fully embrace. . . .

Her changing stance on gay marriage, immigration and other issues has invited accusations that she is guided less by personal conviction than by political calculations. . . .

[In an editorial meeting] we’d have liked to hear more from her on the debt and the future of Social Security. She was somewhat prickly and defensive when discussing her emails. . . .

Her chief opponent for the nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, has proven to be an honorable and formidable campaigner. . . . He has shown himself to be a man of courage and principle who has the ability to rally others to his cause.

This, of course, is an endorsement of Mrs. Clinton in 2016. So much for making a mistake and just saying so.

For more “Best of the Web” click here and look for the “Best of the Web Today” link in the middle column below “Today’s Columnists.”