"Even allies backpedal from Walker's extremism" says a headline in the Madison newspaper The Capital Times.

This is a political analysis piece written by the newspaper's editor Paul Fanlund, and I just can't figure out how the headline is justified. The piece begins with a cite to the NYT Magazine's profile of Chris Christie, which got me running over there to find out what Christie said about Walker. The author of that piece — Matt Bai — discusses Walker:

Now a new class of governors from both parties is promising to revisit union contracts in order to put their states on firmer fiscal ground. In Wisconsin, Scott Walker, an aggressive new Republican governor, just proposed legislation that would limit the rights of public workers to collectively bargain. “You can’t have one group who are the haves,” Walker told me recently, meaning government workers, “and one group, the private-sector workers, who are the have-nots.” Walker’s move led to protests in Madison, drawing President Obama into the debate and raising the prospect of French-style labor uprisings among public workers across America.

In part, the viral movement against public-sector unions is a result of political necessity. In states all over the country, balancing the budget has become an annual exercise in Copperfield-like illusion...

I don't see Christie backing away from Walker.

(And as for Matt Bai's "drawing President Obama into the debate" — I think Obama is keeping his distance!)

"With just one impressive speech, Chris Christie put three full days of CPAC speakers to shame."

Says Politico, summarizing what its "a bipartisan panel of experts" thought:

And all agreed he certainly appeared ready for the Oval Office, despite his protests to the contrary.

“He looked presidential in the kind of Hollywood sense,” [Democratic strategist Jamal] Simmons said. “The 'Bulworth,' straight-talking politician. John Goodman on 'The West Wing.' Republican guy from the heartland. He looked that part but it’s a long way to go from there to the White House.”

Eh. Okay. You're a Democratic strategist. What's your game?

[GOP strategist Chris] Henick said he was impressed by Christie’s “willingness step out on the ice without worrying about falling through or not” – by taking on the powerful teachers’ unions and seeking to reform costly public employee pension programs.

“Today was about complete command, focus on the immediacy of our problems,” Henick said.

Righty bloggers pick their Conservative Of The Year: Chris Christie.

Second Place: Sarah Palin. Third: Mark Rubio.

Here's why I wish Sarah Palin wasn't so damned good at grabbing everyone's attention.

This is the time when we need other Republicans to develop their fan base. For example, look at Chris Christie:



A great communicator. (Via Instapundit and Hot Air.)

I hope Sarah Palin uses her clout to draw attention to other Republicans, to bring them to the fore where they can show their stuff to Americans, who tend not to pay attention to the presidential race until it's too late.

Another Democratic Senate seat threatens to turn Republican.

Senator Frank Lautenberg is 86 years old and diagnosed with stomach cancer:

"We expect a full and complete recovery for Senator Lautenberg. The senator will be treated with chemotherapy administered approximately every three weeks. We anticipate that he will receive between six and eight treatments, and in between treatments, the senator is expected to be back at work in the Senate."...

If Lautenberg's health forces him to resign, it could hurt the Democratic Party. Under New Jersey law, Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, would be able to appoint a replacement if a senator left office.