New Year, new posts, new Speaker of the House?

You've probably noticed that it's been a while since I posted an article here on Thurber's Thoughts. The truth is, I've been working - more than I would like - and it definitely cut into my time for commenting on things, especially things that really don't pay.

That whole "need to earn a living" thing really gets in the way of the fun stuff I like to do.

But it's a new year and I really don't want to end my Thurber's Thoughts blog, so I'm going to be posting here on a more regular basis.

In between my own posts, which are usually well-researched in order to give you information and/or perspectives on local issues that you're not getting elsewhere, I'll link to the posts being done on Ohio Watchdog, which is where I'm covering state and local issues.

I'll also do some mini commentaries - longer than the 140 characters allowed on Twitter, but less than what I'd normally do in a blog post.

I may even have some guest commentaries.

For today, here is something that my friend and National Review columnist Jim Geraghty included in his morning email about the upcoming vote for Speaker of the House.

"The outlook for Boehner would be a lot cloudier if there was an alternative who was well-liked by about 218 or so of his colleagues and who seemed genuinely interested in the job. This person would have to enjoy the trust and faith of the conservatives, while also reassuring less conservative members that his agenda for floor votes wouldn’t be endangering them. He would have to have a good feel for the political instincts and worldviews of just about every member, and know their passions and idiosyncrasies. And on just about every issue under the sun, he would have to know exactly what kind of a deal a majority of his members could live with, and what they couldn’t.

"It’s a tall order. And if Boehner wins today, it may very well be that for all of his flaws, a majority of his colleagues aren’t yet convinced that any other member can handle that task any better than Boehner can right now."

Prediction:  John Boehner will still be Speaker of the House at the end of the day.