HOUSEKEEPING NOTE: A few years ago, I briefly produced this site with a content management system that required each post to have a formal title, a practice I've never been particularly fond of. (Actually, I've always disliked it rather intensely, which is why the early, hand-crafted versions of The O'Toole File and its predecessor, Political Professional News, were blissfully title-free.) Ever since, I've felt obligated to use them in order to maintain design consistency.

Upon further reflection, though, I've decided that that's just silly. (After all, a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little blogging minds, right?) So, as of today, the titles are outta here.

This change will have the inevitable consequence of making some of the old stuff a little, well, cryptic, I suppose -- which is why I'm bringing all this to your attention; it gives me an opportunity to apologize in advance for any confusing posts that you may now find in the archives. (Over time, I'll make whatever changes are necessary to clarify their meaning.) So, uh, sorry for any inconvenience. And thanks, as always, for stopping by.