Here's the chase: Gordon Wood published a characteristically thoughtful review essay "Slaves in the Family," in the NYT Book Reviews, which placed the problem of slavery at the heart of the politics of America's founding fathers. Michael Knox Beran attacked Wood's essay and the whole enterprise of the authors being reviewed in a piece for National Review Online. Citing Beran, Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit took it as a sign of the declining reputation of academics, rather than the founding fathers, but Jacob Levy at The Volokh Conspiracy pointed out how"bizarre" and"misleading" Beran's essay is.
Here's the cut: Read Gordon Wood's original essay.

Pennsylvania Republicans are seeking to recruit a candidate for the state legislature via newspaper want ads."I've never seen that," said Political Science Professor G. Terry Madonna at Millersville University,"but nothing surprises me anymore." Madonna should have checked with his colleagues in the History Department. In 1946, Richard Nixon got his start in politics by responding to a want ad for a Republican candidate for a seat from California in the House of Representatives.

Over at Billmon's"Whiskey Bar," there's a fascinating piece, "Twilight of the Neocons?". Thanks to Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo for the tip.

Michael Bywater writes that ‘tis the season to be phony in a review for the Independent of William Ian Miller's Faking It. By all accounts, it's a learned and perceptive study of authenticity and inauthenticity, an issue to ponder when you're making out that list of New Year's Resolutions.

In a piece for USA Today, Kathy Kiely writes about blogging as a major new force addressing an elite audience in partisan politics. Bruce Bartlett at National Review Onlinesurveys the significant increase of blogging among economists in the past year and argues that academics in other fields will increasingly take up their keyboards and blog as a means of communicating with a broader public.

Happy New Year to All from Cliopatria!