My Left-Leaning friends are very excited about two long essays in The Atlantic: Why America Is Moving Left by Peter Beinart, and The Great Republican Revolt by David Frum. (The Frum piece led the Wednesday Curator post a couple of days ago.) Me? Not so much! Messrs. Beinart and Frum are smart guys, fine writers, and professionals. (I am not a professional commentator, and that’s all I have to say.) At best, though, their theses have been oversold.

The cover page for Mr. Beinart’s essay carries this subtitle: “Republicans may have a lock on Congress and the nation’s statehouses—and could well win the presidency—but the liberal era ushered in by Barack Obama is only just beginning.” Alas, amongst about 7000