Newsweek's latest issue toasts Beltway insider, and Politico writer, Mike Allen for his tireless work on the campaign trail this year. We're sure Allen works hard and we're all for media accolades. But we were struck by the passage where Allen's editor at the Politico explained the appeal of Allen's Beltway diary at Politico [emphasis added]:

“He knows everyone's family, interests, favorite sports teams, big events, alma mater, color,” says [Jim] VandeHei. “This sounds corny, but it is a big reason so many people open up to the man.” Allen puts it all into his Playbook, he says, “because we all know each other.”

Like we said, that's why they call it The Village.