THE NYT'S* Tim Golden examines the question of how a junior Justice Department aide like John Yoo "came to wield the remarkable influence he had after Sept. 11 on issues related to terrorism." And the answer basically is that he had three big things going for him: (a) he was a well-connected member of the conservative legal establishment; (b) he was "the only deputy with much expertise on foreign policy and war powers" in the Bush Justice Department; and (c) he was telling the White House exactly what it wanted to hear.

In other words, it all boils down once again to the famed Bush Triad: cronyism, a shortage of real expertise, and an intellectually corrupt policy-making process.

Somewhere, John DiIulio must be smiling.

* This post originally referred to the "WaPo's Tim Golden." My apologies to Mr. Golden and the Times.