William Saletan at Slate.com admires South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford in one narrow way: in comparison to other notable politicians who've cheated on their wives -- namely Bill Clinton, John Edwards and John Ensign.

Those three, Mr. Saletan points out, have honed the obligatory mea culpa to a fine point: "The only woman you love is your wife. The mistress is -- er, was -- just a 'lapse in judgment.'" Etc.

Mr. Sanford, on the other hand, talked of "a remarkable friendship" with the other woman "that sparked into something more than that."

In Mr. Saletan's view, this "beats the hell out of seducing somebody, kicking her to the curb and pretending she was nothing to you -- or really meaning it."

Andrew Sullivan at his Daily Dish blog has this to say about l'affaire Sanford:

"... The karma in all this is pretty profound. The party that has gone on and on and on to prevent me getting married, and prevent my own marriage from being recognized by the federal government is the party of David Vitter, Mark Sanford, Rush Limbaugh and Larry Craig. It's like taking lessons on sexual maturity from the Vatican. And, yes, Sanford was a dedicated opponent of gay couples being allowed to marry. He deserves forgiveness and compassion for his human failings, but he deserves censure for his public double standards. But here's what you learn: Those GOP stalwarts who survive these affairs never change their positions on marriage equality. They never learn or evolve."

Sari Nusseibeh of Dissent Magazine suggests a new approach to negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. President Barack Obama, he says, should have Mideast envoy George Mitchell talk to everybody and cobble together a proposed settlement. Then he should ask both sides to put it up to a simultaneous vote, on the condition that neither side would be bound by the agreement unless both sides approved it.

Mr. Nusseibeh points out that despite recent years of violence, polls of both Israelis and Palestinians show continuing support for a two-state settlement even though their leaders can't seem to make it happen. He figures the international community could exercise enough leverage to force a vote, offering both sides a future of international support, peace and economic development if they approve.

Christopher Deis at Alternet.org pities the poor white man:

"In the maelstrom that has followed President Barack Obama's nomination of [Sonia] Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, the right-wing media have crafted a political narrative of white male oppression, exclusion and victimization."

For example, Columnist Patrick Buchanan writes, "To salve their consciences for past societal sins, the Ivy League is deep into discrimination again, this time with white males as victims rather than as beneficiaries. One prefers the old bigotry. At least it was honest ..."

Mr. Deis says conservative commentators are "crying about Jim Crow 2.0 -- the idea that the white man is treated unfairly -- and absurdly claiming for themselves a 21st century 'civil rights movement' to 'free' white men from so-called oppression. They see this as a moment when America's moral conscience should be aroused in the defense of white men as victims of racism and prejudice."

Chris Briem notes on his Null Space blog:

"Over on Pittsblog I mentioned recently how [former Pittsburgh Mayor] Tom Murphy is getting nary a mention in the positive press the convention center is getting of late. Good or bad, he built it. It's the fact that he is being written out of history that is curious. The unhistory of the former mayor has reached the point where he isn't even controversial enough to rant at anymore, and that post only drew a few remarks. I'm waiting for someone to actually say to me: Tom who?"

Mr. Briem also notices that Mr. Murphy is rarely recognized in articles about Pittsburgh's new bike-ability, and he calls for the Hot Metal Bridge (at least the bike/pedestrian part of it) to be renamed for the former mayor. (By the way, he acknowledges Mr. Murphy's fiscal ineptness, too.)