How do you get better than the Best?

Jame Taranto's column today outdoes itself by skewering Josh Marshall and then slowly roasts him over the twin flames of law professors Ann Althouse and Glenn Reynolds.

It must be 6 years or more since Marshall was a weekly guest on the Hugh Hewitt's radio show where they debated hammer and tong. I always thought Hugh made mincemeat of Josh and Josh must have thought so to because after a while he declined to appear on the show anymore.

I'm not a debater, nor a law review editor or professor. I can't remember cases to save my soul, but I do have a BS detector and lines like this set it off: "A year ago, no one took seriously the idea that a federal health care mandate was unconstitutional. And the idea that buying health care coverage does not amount to 'economic activity' seems preposterous on its face." First, of all, who does he mean when he says "no one?" Most certainly none of his 'enlightened' fellow scribes. Quite a few state governors and Attorneys General took it seriously enough to sue to strike down the legislation, and yesterday Judge Henry Hudson of the Federal Court of the Eastern District of Virginia, ruled that the individual mandate was unconstitutional.

Another case on the same issue is due to be argued on Thursday in Florida. Perhaps the Supreme Court will bring it up for review soon, or wait until there has been a ruling in each of the other cases that have been filed. Well, it turns out that there are a good number of smart people who don't take Josh Marshall too seriously themselves.