With increasing and annoying frequency, I’m seeing lazy pieces like this.

The decision by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee not to seek the Republican nomination is a good sign for President Obama’s re-election prospects, and not simply because it removes one proven politician from the field.

Three countries–one gets 29 percent of its electricity from nuclear power, one gets 26 percent from nuclear, and one gets 20 percent. Guess which one is winning the future. . . or, more to point, guess which one is not.

The reality is that only a few of Affordable Care Act specifics have popular support, like guaranteed issue, Medicaid expansion, subsidies to buy insurance, and allowing children up to 26 to stay on their parents’ plan. But equally important is that some parts of the law are extremely unpopular, such as the individual mandate and the excise tax on employer-provided insurance.

Here’s Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on “Meet the GOP” this morning.

Serious question, though: when was the last time the Republican nominee refused to endorse anyone (including his veep pick) the next time around?

Jeff Merkley is a new Senator for me, although I was proud to be a supporter-from-afar when he ran for the Senate from Oregon in 2008. I like his taking-questions-from-constituents YouTubes and was happy to see Atrios featured one of them on today’s Eschaton front page.

I keep seeing all of this chatter out of the White House about letting “the dust settle” and “slowing down” on health care. I could be wrong, but I can’t help but interpret this as capitulation.

Shutting down Democratic and progressive structures that do not toe his line is exactly what Obama and his right hand man, Rahm Emanuel, have done since the election. This modus operandi was apparent even before the 2008 general election to those paying attention. Only a strong voice and accumulated power by progressive interests will be able to make headway in the face of it now.

President Obama could have saved us all a great deal of trouble if he had just said from the outset, “No public option, no way”. Instead, he decided to play a shell game of “Now you see it, now you don’t”.