New bio of Francis plots the lows and (then) highs of the man’s career. He seems not to be the man he once was.

R. Simon column today, Sun-Times (and elsewhere, for all I know), has lede for “folks,” as we say for anyone these days, dying to settle in with good ol’ Roger:

A few days go, I sat down with Dan Balz and interviewed him about his new book, Collision 2012: Obama vs. Romney and the Future of Elections in America, a searing look at presidential politics. Earlier this week, I presented the first part of our conversation, and this is the second:

Dan Balz? Good ol’ Dan?

Good for you, Rog. It must have been fun, and Dan must be a household word in houses coast to coast, or at least in Cook and the collar counties. Now tell us what you did on your vacation. Please.

(Reader, note: The copy desk supplied a hard head,

Obama campaign tracked TV viewing habits

which goes to show how literal and unimaginative those people are, sigh.)

Let it die, says LaZBoy.