"[W]e must also assess Mr. Edwards on his own and by the grave question that has to be asked of any vice presidential nominee: Is he ready to assume the presidency? This is a question that, since Sept. 11, 2001, has become both more thinkable and more important -- and it is one that, when it comes to Mr. Edwards, we can't answer with a resounding affirmative."That's the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32542-2004Jul6.html), delivering the sobering news to the Democratic Party establishment that while it may yet come around to the Kerry-Senator Lightweight ticket, the editors know the score on John Edwards. Winning judgments against doctors isn't a qualifier to run the world.Bill Safire in the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/07/opinion/07SAFI.html) pours water on the idea that Edwards helps in the south --not with the National Journal's rating as the fourth most liberal member of the Senate. And the Washington Times Bill Sammon provides a nice summary of yesterday's GOP response (http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20040707-122623-1954r.htm). Sammon uses the term "gravitas gap" which was bandied about, even as other writers up the stakes for Edwards by allowing as to how this smooth, telegenic plaintiffs' lawyer ought to clean Dick Cheney's clock in their fall debate. I suspect Edwards will score some fancy points, but an audience will see an experienced, sober war-time leader opposite the smartest kid in the high school class who has announced that he wants to run for president someday.The plaintiffs' lawyers have invested heavily in Edwards, so expect the business community to invest heavily in beating Edwards. The Washington Post's Jonathan Weisman (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32421-2004Jul6.html) provides the details on why business hates the tort bar's pickpockets, and the Wall Street Journal runs a story today on a conservative 527 group that has put together a pretty impressive package of ads blasting Kerry in recent weeks. The businesses of America that fear having a plaintiffs' lawyer overseeing regulatory operations and the U.S. Senate should invest heavily in Progress for America Voter Fund (http://www.pfavoterfund.com/).In fact, if you like to play hardball, you should scrape a few bucks together for Progress for America Voter Fund --a 527 you can love and which can go nose-to-nose with the MoveOn crazies.And there is this report (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,124835,00.html) that Iranian intelligence agents carrying explosives have been arrested in Baghdad --which I haven't found anywhere in the big papers.Not surprising, given that the bigs have big headaches. Mickey Kaus (http://slate.msn.com/id/2103418/) blisters the Los Angeles Times today for a run of high-profile, serious errors, the most obvious of which Powerline (http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/007099.php) caught yesterday. John Carroll's arrogance is coming home to haunt him as Mickey, and many others, mock Carroll's own criticisms of pseudo journalist at Fox even as his own paper's reputation burns up in a wave of ideology driven pratfalls in Iraq.Here's a fun way to start your day. Go to www.latimes.com (http://www.latimes.com/) and hit the "Print Edition" icon, followed by the "Inside 'A'" icon on the sidebar menu. This is a scroll of the features in the front section of the paper. Every day I scan the "For the Records" --the corrections the paper is running. Today, for example, there are dozen "oops," ranging from messing up the terms of a proposition on California's ballot, to quoting Shakespeare incorrectly in a Brando obit to Paul Anka's songwriting credits. These are the small signals of a sloppy paper that under Carroll's leadership has gone from hyper-partisan but accurate tip sheet for the Dems to hyper-partisan, sloppily edited and never fact-checked tip sheet for the Michael Moore left. All the while the suits at the tribune Company keep wondering how a monopoly newspaper can loose circulation and adverting revenue.Memo to Dennis FitzSimmons (http://www.tribune.com/about/bios/fitzsimons.html), Chairman, President, and CEO of the Tribune Company: There's an old Irish saying. "When everyone says you're drunk, you'd better sit down." Mr. Madigan, John Carroll and his staff are drunk. Mickey's a Dem, for goodness sake, and I am with the GOP. All we and other readers want is a paper that reports, not distorts. A fair newspaper with professional standards would zoom in circulation and advertising. Don't your shareholders deserve as much?