John Tierney throws some red meat to the mythical red states in his (relatively) new NYT column. Today’s is titled “Laura Bush Talks Naughty,” and man, is it bold — Tierney fearlessly reports that Republicans tell off-color jokes! Woh! See, us non-Republicans thought all Republican elites were like the town elders in Footloose, and it turns out they’re like — people who tell not very funny jokes about horse dick, as did the First Lady. We think Tierney means to Teach Us A Lesson, but we think he should start over — his summary of Tom Frank’s easy-to-grasp book, What’s the Matter With Kansas, misses Frank’s point. And his new Fanfare-for-the-Common-Man routine rings hollow. Tierney’s a great reporter and a fine thinker. We hope this column doesn’t kill his good qualities.