Maureen Dowd...

starts off this morning aptly summarizing John Ford -- the plots change slightly, but the man pretty much was working one basic theme in all his films, with an eye for outdoor photography and filming, which pretty much defined(s) the American West story, no?; how much the Irishman through his Westerns helped shape our idea of American history... -- then sums up the current state of the right wing of the Republican party.

Spot on, without one false or offensive note.

That's harder to achieve than you might think -- being honestly critical.

Something tells me though, were I to bet? The "overintellectualized professor" (print the legend, indeed) has nothing on the moral man with an honest track record of getting things done, making the compromises in local state and business situations, that give meaningful results to people whose feet are planted firmly on the ground.

Promises vs. results.
Talk vs. action.
Promises (of bipartisanship) vs. actually getting the job done.
Past popularity (and the clinging to it) vs. moving forward, even if half the crowd doesn't much like you.

There are many differences between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Here's hopin' we'll get a chance to see an honest showdown between the best candidates the country currently has to offer up. Nevermind Rahm, Daley, Geithner, Lindsey Clinton, the boobie speechwriters or whomever else might still make up the current president's men.

I'd love to see Mitt get the primary nodd, and then promise results -- what it might take, short term, to get the economy running again, and to put America's needs first in attempting to remake the world. (Change yourself, and be an honest example for the rest to follow. Strong leaders gain more followers, can do more good, than weak ones.) Wonder if Krugman, say, would swallow hard and sign up, if asked, to advise on economic matters for a fresh president, of either party, honestly intent on listening and making changes to the mistakes of these past almost 4 years...

What we're doing now isn't working.
"Overintellectualized professor" hasn't been able to connect, outside of the exhibition games.

And it doesn't exactly take a genius 4.0 to observe that:
Print the Facts.