This column by David Broder is just otherworldly. It’s a lavishly supportive defense of Janet Napolitano that makes no serious effort to defend her. He just thinks she’s super peachy. For instance, here’s the most substantive defense:
I watched as she made the rounds of the morning interview programs on Sunday, laying out what she knew about the would-be terrorist and carefully refusing to speculate about the many matters that were still being investigated. She is being criticized for saying “the system worked,” but her part of the response system did work.
It must have been a frantic time for her. She was in San Francisco, far from her Washington office, and she must have had a sleepless night. But her eyes were bright, and her voice was calm. Everything appeared to be completely normal, except that her usual sense of humor was absent, as it should have been, given the circumstances.
He concludes:
The Obama Cabinet is filled with talents, but many of the stars are of an age or temperament unlikely to turn them into successor candidates. Napolitano will face many substantive tests — not just in dealing with terrorism but in playing an important role in immigration reform — before she is a candidate for anything. But her potential is almost unlimited.