The XX Factor: What women really think.

"I Find Her Kind of Endearing"

You're right, Jessica, that Kirsten Gillibrand—while proudly conservative—isn't totally orthodox. A smart progressive friend writes me with another example:

Despite the fact as a hard lefty I shouldn't, I kind of find her endearing. ... She voted for the Employee Free Choice Act and was a co-sponsor. Phew!

He adds:

I think that Paterson did not have a killer option and this is not a particularly bad pick. If Jerry Nadler was transformed into a 45-year-old woman from Buffalo with a "z" at the end of her name, great, but you go to war with the army you have.

I only beg the Slate art department not to get on the task of producing an image of Jerry Nadler transformed into a 45-year-old woman from Buffalo.