WHY, ONE COULD HAVE AN AFTER LUNCH ASSIGNATION IN DC AND BE BACK IN THE BIG APPLE BY COCKTAIL HOUR, FOR INSTANCE

Second, why not take an amount equal to the AIG bailout (more than $180 billion) and invest in a product that would be truly worthwhile: high-speed rail along our major economic corridors? If we transform the L.A.-San Francisco corridor with high-speed rail, and D.C.-Boston similarly, the savings and technological advances would be enormous.

Eliot Spitzer in Slate

PETER PRINCIPLED

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose mere name once stirred calls for lifting the constitutional ban on foreign-born presidents, is facing the most difficult period of his political career.

His approval rating is in the 30s, his state is broke and the policy celebrations of the past have been replaced with scenes like one recently in Los Angeles in which Mr. Schwarzenegger stood on a sweltering patio at a senior housing center trying to persuade a small group of voters to back a slate of budget-related ballot measures needed to keep California solvent.

...

If any of this pains Mr. Schwarzenegger or makes him fret about the future, he has not indicated it. But he seems cured of his desire to be in public office.

nyt

JUST ANOTHER REPUBLICAN HYPOCRITE

Bristol Palin, the daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, is hitting the road as a teen ambassador for a group that aims to prevent teen pregnancy - and first stop is in New York Wednesday.

Abstinence is "realistic," she said on "Good Morning America" in her first live interview,

nydn

Because no matter what the age or circumstance, Republicans do whatever they please, then run around trying to stop other people from doing it.

CARAMBA!

Rep. Michele Bachmann came up with another doozy during her interview Monday with Pajamas TV.

Here's the quote: "I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out then under another Democrat president Jimmy Carter. And I'm not blaming this on President Obama, I just think it's an interesting coincidence."

washingtonmonthly

CIVICS LESSON

Gun buffs are buying lock, stock and barrel

A presidential portrait adorns the corridor between the gun shop and firing range at the Bullet Hole, a Belleville landmark.

Out front, rifles line the wall, muzzles pointed skyward. Revolvers sit in locked glass cases, some basic black, others fashion pink. Old Glory is everywhere, along with military flags, eagle murals and other patriotic decor.

Robert Sciarrino/The Star-LedgerSteve Elber, from Montclair, fires a 357 Smith & Wesson, while target shooting at the Bullet Hole, a gun shop and indoor range in Belleville. Gun sales have been up since the election, as firearm owners stock up in fear of federal bans on weapons.

Owner Manny Cerca says the country is facing an identity crisis and he's weary of change. That's why President Obama isn't the leader in the picture atop the doorway.

Cerca still looks up to a photo of George W. Bush.

"I'm fed up with the new administration," says Cerca, 64, and especially concerned about his Second Amendment right to own a gun. "Obama is a European socialist."

here

I HOPE GOVERNOR HORSE'S ASS STATES' RIGHTS REBEL FOOL DOESN'T EXPECT ANY TAINTED FEDERAL MONEY TO HELP RECOVER FROM THE STATE OF EMERGENCY

Wildfires swept through a coastal region of South Carolina on Thursday and headed for North Myrtle Beach, destroying more than 40 homes and forcing more than 2,500 people to evacuate, state officials said.

Gov. Mark Sanford declared a state of emergency in Horry County, which includes the Myrtle Beach area, and officials of North Myrtle Beach were scrambling to get residents to pack up and flee.

nyt

THE FIRST CLUE

Clean-cut 'Craigslist Killer' suspect Philip Markoff gave off 'creepy vibe'

A high-achieving dentist's son from upstate New York, Philip Markoff is described in various ways, but everyone, even those who didn't like him, is shocked at the charges against him.

At college, he was a member of the College Republicans....

nydn

ALTHOUGH THEY MAY THINK THEY'RE PRETTY SLY

I USED MY SECRET DECODER RING TO FIGURE OUT THAT:

When a bunch or raving idiots call the president a fascist, or a communist, or a socialist, or a......

What they're really saying is: "Look everybody!" He's a Negro!. He's a black fellow!"

FACTS ARE SUCH BOTHERSOME THINGS

THAT WAS THEN (A WHOLE WEEK AGO):

Guest hosting Bill Bennett's radio show, the always-good-for-a-laugh Michael Steele concurs with a caller who doubts we're in an economic crisis because "I look around and I don't see people spending any less money."

"I've heard a number of people say that, across the country," says Steele. Chuckling, he adds, "The malls are just as packed on Saturday."

tnr

THIS IS NOW:

General Growth Properties, one of the largest mall operators in the nation, filed for bankruptcy early Thursday morning in one of the biggest commercial real estate collapses in United States history.

Despite bargaining for months with its creditors, General Growth faced dwindling options for handling its more than $25 billion in debt, largely in the form of short-term mortgages that will come due by next year. The company has been severely wounded by the recession, which has wreaked havoc upon the retailers who inhabit its more than 200 malls in 44 states. Many stores have shuttered, depriving mall operators like General Growth of revenue.

nyt