Pundit Boxscore for Thursday 6 January 2005

DECIPHERING THE IVINS FORMULA: My wife and daughter and I enjoyed watching the excellent PBS program Do You Speak American? last night. In a segment on Texas, Robert MacNeil introduced our own Molly Ivins this way:

Though Texans are far from formal, this is the only place in my travels where I have to wear a jacket and tie. I'm here to meet an old friend -- that redoubtable writer, columnist, commentator and scourge of all politicians -- particularly male ones -- Molly Ivins. Because no one talks better about Texas language than Molly.

Of course that made me straighten right up in my plastic $5 Wal-Mart chair, because the analysis of the last two years of Molly Ivins columns leaves absolutely no doubt that she is not a scourge of all politicians, nor of male politicians. She was the fifth most postive columnist toward John Kerry in 2004, and the 3rd most negative toward George W. Bush. I don't see a single negative reference in 2004 to a Democratic woman, but there are positive references to Ann Richards, Hillary Clinton, Teresa Kerry and Dianne Feinstein. There has not been a single positive reference to a Republican woman, but there are negative references to Wendy Gramm, Condoleezza Rice, Elaine Chao, and Phyllis Schafly. As the fourth most partisan pundit in the rankings, Ms. Ivins' writing actually follows a very simple pattern -- Republican politicians are bad and Democratic politicians are good.