ALLEGED KRISTOL ERRORS:

Kristol’s earlier punditry for The Post was also controversial. In July 2007, he wrote in the paper’s Outlook section that “George W. Bush’s presidency will probably be a successful one.” He also said the Iraq war could be won and that “military progress on the ground in Iraq in the past few months has been greater than even surge proponents like me expected.”

And didn’t that turn out to be, you know, right? Pretty much everybody admits we’ve won in Iraq now. Kristol’s only sin was in timing. You can say the surge worked brilliantly now — you can even say it “succeeded beyond our wildest dreams” — and back in 2003, even John Kerry could say that “the only exit strategy is victory.” So Kristol’s sin was in saying the surge was working when it might affect the Democrats’ chances. As is so often with these things, it’s not the position that matters, but when it was taken. Kristol said it in 2007. Unforgivable!

Some related thoughts on timing, here.

D.I.Y. GENETIC ENGINEERING: What happens when it’s easy?

GRISSOM, WHITE AND CHAFEE ON A ROCKET RIDE TO HEAVEN: It’s the anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire.

IS BARACK OBAMA sounding like Bush again?

RON BAILEY ON “FUEL ECONOMY FOLLIES:” Politicians want you to pay more when you drive. They just won’t admit it.

JAMES PETHOKOUKIS: 10 Reasons to Whack Obama’s Stimulus Plan.

Plus, a fresh new bipartisan compromise. Kumbaya!

NATIONALIZING workplace law?

I THOUGHT OBAMA WASN’T GOING TO HAVE THIS KIND OF CONFLICT IN HIS ADMINISTRATION? “George Mitchell, President Barack Obama’s special Middle East troubleshooter, was chairman of a law firm that was paid about $8 million representing Dubai’s ruler in connection with a child-trafficking lawsuit. . . . Mitchell, who is traveling in the Middle East this week, may need a waiver from Obama’s new policy on ethics and lobbying, which says government officials must wait two years before working on matters ‘directly and substantially’ related to pre-government employers or clients even if they weren’t registered lobbyists”

Well, it’s probably nothing — but it would be a big deal if Mitchell were a Republican. Meanwhile, here’s some recommended reading for the Obama age. It’s Lanny Davis-approved!

WELL, COOL: Nanotechnology provides a possible route to a space elevator. Faster, please.

RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH: PERSPECTIVE: Gun show sales not big source of problems.

GRAND ROUNDS is up!

THE FIVE GEEKIEST SCIENCE FICTION MOVIES at Sundance 2009.

NANOTECHNOLOGY UPDATE: Insurance industry looking for more data on nanotechnology risks.

IN THE MAIL: Who Owns the Moon?: Extraterrestrial Aspects of Land and Mineral Resources Ownership.

FARMIN’ THE GOVERNMENT: Reason TV on Ag Subsidies.

Hear also the Nebraska Guitar Militia on the topic. “Welfare for white folks / keeps us buyin’ machines.”

WE’D ALL LOVE TO SEE THE PLAN: Gates faces Congress eager for Obama’s war plans.

MICKEY KAUS: Reid: Card Check by Summer? Plus, freeing Marc Ambinder from an evil spell!

DAN WALTERS: Pension fund setbacks will hit California hard. In the short run, the states will try to get federal bailout money, but in the long run, that will only compound the problem by putting off action. But if these guys cared about anything beyond the short term, we wouldn’t have the problem.

HMM: Boehner to GOP: Vote Against Stimulus. Are the Republicans actually showing some backbone?

UPDATE: it’s not a “stimulus” — it’s the Pelosi-Obama-Reid Debt Plan. Well, that’s probably more honest: there’s some question about whether it will stimulate anything, but no doubt that it will run up a gigantic debt.

RADLEY BALKO HAS THE LATEST on the Ryan Frederick trial.

HOPE AND CHANGE? New, Transparent WhiteHouse.gov Forgoes Press Briefing Transcripts? The obvious explanation: Bush wanted transcripts online because he expected the press to filter what he said. Obama doesn’t want transcripts online . . . because he expects the press to filter what he says.

UPDATE: From “accountability journalism” to “pliability journalism:”

More than 144 hours into Barack Obama’s presidency, the economy is still in recession, the country is still at war, and in many parts of the country it’s still cold outside. Citizens are growing impatient: Wasn’t President Obama supposed to bring change?

Yet one institution has changed dramatically, and in a very short time: the press. After spending the Bush years as a voice of opposition, American journalists have by and large turned on a dime and become cheerleaders for the man in power.

Read the whole thing.

THE GROWTH OF grind-oriented academics. Guess I’d better schedule another faculty happy hour!

ILYA SOMIN HAS THOUGHTS on that University of Iowa Law School discrimination lawsuit. I wonder how this relates to party-affiliation patronage cases like Rutan, Branti, and Elrod, though. The question is whether hiring people based on ideology is analogous to patronage hiring. Not exactly the same, maybe, but . . . . I’m not aware of a case on precisely on point, but anybody who thinks there’s no patronage in the academic world is out of touch.

JAN TYLER ON CHRIS DODD: Christopher Dodd wasted taxpayer millions on voting technology:

He wasted taxpayer dollars on voting technology the blind will never use. Many of those million dollar machines were scrapped immediately. Dodd had no idea who was going to pay for his noble dream.

Of course, Dodd didn’t even pay market rates for his mortgage, so mundane issues like forcing someone else to pay for what you want is second nature to him.

Ouch. Also, it’s now been 186 days since he promised to release those mortgage documents.

IOWAHAWK: Ten Things You Can Do To Save The Planet: A Go-Green Guide for the Hollywood Community.