In today’s Impromptus, I comment on the two presidential debates we have just had. And I noticed something as I was writing: For a couple of months, when I wrote debate Impromptus, I sometimes referred to the governor of Texas as “Rick”; when I referred to the former senator from Pennsylvania, I had to be careful to include the last name as well. These days, Santorum seems the more natural “Rick.” You know? Such is the up-and-downness — the often cruel up-and-downness — of a campaign.
I had a memory, of one of the most charming things the first Bush ever said. Shortly after W.’s first inauguration, Bush “41,” as we came to know him, said, “I used to be the president, I used to be George Bush — I don’t know who the hell I am anymore.”