Your Abbreviated Pundit Round-up

Hugh Bailey: We get letters. But can I make a few points? Here's one:

It comes down to one word -- Iraq. There's a reason many Democrats never got excited about John Kerry, and the 2002 war vote was the No. 1 factor behind Barack Obama beating the supposedly unstoppable Hillary Clinton. What do Obama, Howard Dean, Al Gore and Ned Lamont have that other members of their party lack? The answer -- a near-bottomless supply of good will from fellow Democrats, dating back to their early, vocal opposition to the disaster that is Iraq.

So anyone who writes in assuming any Democrat or Republican supports that party no matter the situation, maybe reconsider that notion.

Rich Lowry: Look, Henry Paulson is so bad, even we don't like him. So we don't lock-step Republican moves, either. Not, at least, when they're losing.

John McCain, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham: we were right about Iraq. Now get off our case.

People of Connecticut: No way, Joe. You suck.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman appears to be paying a high price for his embrace of Sen. John McCain in the presidential race. This is the highest disapproval rating in any Quinnipiac University poll in any state for a sitting U.S. Senator - except for New Jersey's Robert Torricelli, just before he resigned in 2002. Among those who say they voted for Sen. Lieberman in 2006, 30 percent now say they would vote for someone else if they could.

Warren Brown: The UAW downsizes.

Bob Herbert: So as we get to the holidays, can we just acknowledge that the war against Christmas working people is past its "sell by" date?

LA Times editorial: What do Dick Cheney and Darth Vader have in common? Hint: it ain't the Force.

History and Nostalgia section:

Ben Schott: Public Opinion 1968 – 2008 (graphic: a small portion below).

Ruth Marcus: Mark Felt (aka Deep Throat) was also a convicted felon. It was a sign of the times that draft dodgers and FBI officials breaking into people's homes all needed pardons.

Leonard Downie, Jr.: Could we uncover Watergate today? Sure, but not the same way. These days, we have the internet and people like Josh Marshall.

Tim Rutten: Paul Weyrich and Conor Cruise O'Brien: Dueling legacies on church and state