Short Takes

- In the WaPo, Jeff Birnbaum takes a look at all the currently-boiling pots of scandal soup on the political stove and suggests that voters may respond unfavorably. I certainly hope so!

- Governor Mark Warner of VA, widely touted (and rightly so, I think) as a potential presidential candidate, gave a speech yesterday in which he rejected a set timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, suggesting that the president establish "milestones" instead. I think this "thread the needle approach" that we've started to hear from folks like Biden, Obama, John Warner, now Mark Warner, and others is just about right - I hope they'll keep talking.

- Linda Greenhouse in the NYTimes examines the New Hampshire parental notification case that will go before the Supreme Court tomorrow. As she writes, this case could have broad implications for all sorts of privacy jurisprudence, and it will certainly be interesting to watch as it moves forward. I don't know if it's one of those cases where they'll release the audio of the arguments right after the fact or not, but if they do I'll try and post a link.