William M. Daley is a former White House Chief of Staff and Commerce Secretary (and Mayor Dick Daley’s son and Mayor Richie Daley’s brother.) So when he talks politics, he deserves our attention.

On October 25, Secretary Daley wrote The GOP’s dysfunction all started with Sarah Palin for the Washington Post. I read it, and it resonated. Then, on October 27, I read Dr. Laura de la Torre’s two pithy paragraphs on Facebook. With permission, here’s what she wrote:

I respectfully disagree. Saying that Sarah Palin was the start of Republican dysfunction is like saying the amputation of the toe was the start of the diabetes. It’s true that it all got worse after that – now the