Andrew Sullivan nominates Cory Booker for an Yglesias award.

The Yglesias Award is for writers, politicians, columnists or pundits who actually criticize their own side, make enemies among political allies, and generally risk something for the sake of saying what they believe.

The awar would be for this:

Cory Booker (May 21):

“This kind of stuff is nauseating to me on both sides. It’s nauseating to the American public. Enough is enough. Stop attacking private equity,” – Newark mayor Cory Booker(D), criticizing the anti-Bain ads launched by the Obama campaign against Romney. Booker kept up the pressure on Twitter.

source: 2012 Yglesias Award Nominees – The Dish | By Andrew Sullivan – The Daily Beast.

No objective analysis said that Obama was attacking private equity in general or that these attacks on Romney’s time at Bain were anything but a plus for the Obama Campaign.

Also, saying both sides do it isn’t saying what you believe. It’s trying to seem reasonable to villagers who run the traditional Sunday show panels where John McCain is and will always be bi-partisan Maverick in Chief of all reasonableness and defense. It’s a classic hedge from a politician prepping for higher office or leveraging more influence.

Kind of like Bloomberg vigorously and publicly endorsing Bush in 04 and Scott Brown in the MA election vs. Elizabeth Warren and then complaining that nothing was getting done about gun control and demanding action.