Three different times I’ve wished that a certain Republican were a Democrat. It usually happens when the person represents a view or displays some characteristic I hold dear. The people include Condoleeza Rice (The Early Years), Andrew Sullivan (recently), and David Brooks (when I watch him on PBS). In the case of Andrew Sullivan, I admire his writing and the apparent ease with which he produces spot-on commentary day after day. His essay for Time (May 15) entitled “My Problem with Christianism” at http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1191826,00.html was a real hey-that’s-what-I’ve-been-thinking revelation, and to see an avowed Conservative laying out the case so clearly and unassailably gave me hope. To know that values and the family have been appropriated by conservative religious folks, with the help of the shorthand media, and then politicized annoys me no end. Sullivan hit a nerve with many folks, judging from the volume of responses in his online current events blog, The Daily Dish ( http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/ ). Check it out.