POOR MARK HALPERIN

...and John Harris. Last year they published a book called The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008. Remember the premise?

...Our conclusions all return to the same place. The long reigns of the Bushes and the Clintons are not a curiosity. They are more than a historical accident. These families have dominated American politics because, over years in the business, they have learned specific principles and practices. We call these the "Trade Secrets" of modern politics. The race for the presidency in 2008 will be framed by the examples of the past two people to hold the job. Cumulatively, their Trade Secrets are a formula: The Way to Win.

...Clinton and [Karl] Rove understand how to win elections better than anyone of their generation.

...This is an effort to identify and explain the strategies and techniques of those who have won presidential elections and policy battles over the past generation, and identify their singular skills....

Well, Rove is gone and, on the morning after the Iowa caucuses, Barack Obama rather than Hillary Clinton is the Democratic front-runner, and the front-runner over in the GOP is a guy whose campaign has been, until recently, essentially devoid of seasoned political slicksters. Who knows The Way to Win now?

Oh, and how's that "Matt Drudge Rules Our World" thing going? Well, on December 11, The New York Observer noted this about Halperin and Harris's good pal Drudge:

...Drudge has an unusually close relationship with a senior Romney strategist, Matt Rhodes....

A year ago, Rhodes signed on to Romney's campaign. Since then, Drudge-watchers have noted Drudge's consistent refusal to hype--and in many cases to even mention--negative stories about Romney.... Since last week, Drudge has unleashed a torrent of screaming, anti-Huckabee headlines, culminating in today's "exclusive" (which cites one unnamed Democrat) about the Democrats' supposed hope that Huckabee will emerge as the G.O.P. nominee.

At least on the GOP side, their cozy little world has been blown apart. Golly, I'm so sad for them. Aren't you?