Who is Mitt Romney and A Constitution Rewrite

My favorite day of the week for PBS Newshour is Friday, when Mark Shields and David Brooks discuss the political topics of the week. They are coming from opposite sides but know how to have a civil discussion, occasionally agree, and kindly agree to disagree. They model very good behavior that we should all aspire to. Of course, David Brooks is known as a moderate Republican, a threatened species in the country today.

This morning's Oregonian carried David Brooks' column The Real Romney. I began reading what seemed to be a compilation of Mitt Romney jokes, waiting for the tone to switch to one condemning media for their treatment of Mitt. It didn't. I don't think David Brooks is a fan. But the comedy writers at Daily Show and Colbert Report don't have to worry about him bumping them out of a job.


Speaking of comedy writers, I'm reading a book called "Me, The People: One Man's Selfless Quest to REWRITE the CONSTITUTION of the United States of America" by Kevin Bleyer, who writes for The Daily Show. With certain factions waving The Constitution in our faces, it's a timely read. And by Kevin's reckoning, a rewrite is long overdue.

 "By Thomas Jefferson's math, the Constitution of the United States should have been rewritten eleven times by now."

Apparently, Thomas Jefferson, one of the Founders so often referred to, thought the Constitution should "naturally expire at the end of nineteen years" so that each generation could keep it relevant. I've got a ways to go in the book, reading the section about the Legislative Branch right now, but there are some very humorous historical notes in the beginning about how our Constitution came to be. Maybe I'll get further during my upcoming plane rides. Thanks for the birthday book, Edie. I'll look for Kevin at the Convention!