Sorry Pundits, That Was a Smart Move by NRA

Paranoid. Unhinged. Stunning. Delusional. Those were some of the words thrown around yesterday to describe the NRA's news conference. At the Week, Jeb Golinkin has another: smart. There's a reason Wayne LaPierre waited until the Friday before Christmas to give the group's response to Sandy Hook. "He could speak directly to its hardline members while simultaneously limiting the amount of press coverage the substance of its message might otherwise have received."

The NRA probably doesn't much care whether its plan to have an armed guard in every school actually happens. LaPierre's real message was to the group's "most ardent" members that it would not give ground on any kind of gun legislation. If it did, they would probably bolt to a more "absolutist" group, and the NRA as we know it would cease to exist. Mission accomplished. "Pro-gun absolutists have been comforted. And most everyone else will have forgotten about (yesterday's) event by New Year's." Read the full post here. (More Wayne LaPierre stories.)