The constraints that come along with writing for an excellent newspaper, like The New York Times, often cut down on the wry jokes reporters, like Elizabeth Bumiller, can make. But this juxtaposition has got to be intentional, no?

“The next president won’t have time to get used to the office,” Mr. McCain said, with his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, at his side at the Virginia appearance. “He won’t have the luxury of studying up on the issues before he acts. He will have to act immediately. And to do that, he will need experience, courage, judgment and a bold plan of action to take this country in a new direction.”

Someone mentioned in that graf has been spending a lot of recent time “studying up”…