Maureen's New Age Exorcism

Is America ready to be led by a New Age pundit? There's been much scrutiny of the respective religions of Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. But do we need to reconsider Maureen Dowd's fitness for op-ed office in light of her revelation that she has apparently embraced New Age spirituality, even undergoing a New Age "exorcism" complete with swinging crystal?

I kept waiting for Dowd to say it was all a joke -- but she never did. Her column of today, "Am I a Karma Karma Karma Karma Karma Chameleon?", describes her experience, conducted by one Faith Green: "a pretty, curvy 31-year-old green-eyed blonde, [who] says she has studied tribal shamanism, rolfing, Pilates, tango, movement and stretching."

While Dowd evinces a modicum of doubt about the process, she also makes clear that this wasn't something she undertook as part of an expose of charlatans or simply as a goof. She writes [emphasis added]:

I’m having my house and body “cleared” for 2008, whatever that means. I’m more of a believer in mystery than mysticism. But I know for sure that New Year’s resolutions require too much discipline. An exorcism seems much easier.

She adds that rather than resort to other alternatives, it was "simpler to do a spiritual detox."

Dowd describes the daffy goings-on, from Faith "twirling a crystal over my green couch," to asking the shaman whether she, Maureen, had ever been a nun in a previous life [she hadn't].

So, is a pundit's New Ageism irrelevant, or . . . is it time for Dowd to address America and explain how her New Ageism affects her exercise of power on the pages of the New York Times?

Bonus Coverage: The Cackle Lives

Just for the heck of it, view the video here. From George Stephanopoulos's interview of Hillary broadcast on today's This Week. Hillary tries to laugh off Peggy Noonan's unflattering comparison of her to . . . Richard Nixon.