To Brooks, the big question is whether Obama possesses "the trait that is more important than intellectual sophistication and, in fact, stands in tension with it." That is, whether the president is "a very manly, virile, manful person, and a firm believer in strict discipline, corporal punishment, and nude apartment wrestling."

Oops, never mind. That last bit was Captain Ned. But it does get old hearing this cohort of Ivy League toughs -- most of whom one suspects haven't had even a fistfight since third grade -- describe every U.S. foreign policy issue as a testosterone test. One suspects it may not be Obama's virility they're worried about.

Next came Cheney's devoted daughter. After President Obama paid a 4 a.m. visit to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to salute the flag-draped caskets of 18 American servicemen arriving home from Afghanistan, and to console their families, Liz Cheney appeared on -- where else? -- Fox News radio to suggest a cheap political stunt.