SOMEONE GETS TO PICK UP THE PIECES:

Showing up on schmoozy, talky media platforms? Check: Sununu just hit network Sunday talk shows an impressive three weeks in a row last month. If you don't count the shows on conservative networks, that's three more times than fellow Republican not-quite-candidates Ron DeSantis, Mike Pompeo and Tim Scott managed in the entire previous year. For those who like to witness their high-minded gabbing in the flesh, the Atlantic announced yesterday that Sununu will appear, along with a roster of notables including Nancy Pelosi and Brad Raffensberger, at a "Future of Democracy" session the venerable publication is organizing at this month's South by Southwest festival.

Punching right against Republican ultras? No doubt: In media appearances, Sununu reliably distances himself from culture warriors, election deniers and anyone who would wink at political violence like last year's attack on Paul Pelosi. Book the New Hampshire governor on a Beltway interview show or make him the subject of a lengthy profile in an elite publication and you'll hear him deride Trumpism as an electoral "loser" or denounce the Republican "echo chamber." But he's also apt to make somewhat less familiar critiques -- decrying the failures of the 2017-2018 GOP political trifecta, say, or taking a "Face the Nation" shot at Ron DeSantis, whose battle with Disney over the firm's allegedly woke priorities he described as "the worst precedent in the world" (because it violates free-market principles).

Paeans to bipartisanship? Naturally -- and, better yet, they come couched in reflections on the can-do culture demanded by being governor of a small state, working in the sort of cooperative political milieu permanent Washington's media brass tends to fetishize. Sununu speaks in Lincolnesque terms about the workings of New Hampshire's Executive Council, the bipartisan body that governors must consult about all but the smallest contracts and requires people to debate in close proximity. In one recent interview, he said the job of leaders right now is to "take down the heat" inflaming American politics.

Given this record, you might be thinking it's just about time for Sununu to get himself invited to give remarks at one of those backslappy Washington galas that draw members of the elite media and their insider guests. In fact, Sununu, overachiever that he is, touched that station of the cross an entire year ago. Donning white tie and tails, he brought down the house at the annual dinner of the Gridiron Club with a routine that included calling Trump "fucking crazy," to the delight of an audience that included Anthony Fauci, Merrick Garland, Adam Schiff and a paltry two GOP legislators.

Tweet   @brothersjudd