MARCH 15 - Not long ago the NYT would've unleashed one of its own seasoned political reporters to profile an up-and-coming GOP congressman. But times are different now. Under the heading "Opinion: Guest Essay" free lancer and Harper's contributor James Pogue crafted a perfectly reasonable take on a Kentucky congressman named Thomas Massie. The story posted on March 10. The 52-year-old Massie, a Rand Paul protege, apparently hasn't gotten much MSM attention in his 5+ terms in Congress, and Pogue fills the void. It's a good read, with lengthy analysis of the Republicans' ongoing identity problems - populist or globalist? - and where Massie, an MIT-educated back-to-the-earth libertarian, fits in all that. After reading it you may conclude most DC Republicans are less aware of their philosophical conflicts than Pogue is. Much of the piece too focuses on Massie's views on environmental policy, a subject that crosses ideological lines these days. Perhaps the NYT's editors chose to distance themselves from Pogue's "Guest Essay" - but it seems a little embarrassing that the NYT newsroom couldn't produce this kind of work itself. And...