Politics, like sports, is a subject whose barrier to entry is nonexistent. That is to say, it takes virtually no knowledge of any sort in order to have an opinion on the topic. That is why politics, like sports, is such a popular thing to talk about. It is also why the vast majority of the political talk by professional political talkers is worthless.

Both Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan and Washington Post columnist Gene Robinson had special dates with Barack Obama this week. Do their columns today reflect this new intimacy with the president-elect?