It’s not easy being a pundit. Jon Stewart made the case at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear that the real problem today lies not with donkeys or elephants, but with the talking heads who constantly weigh in on the trivial ephemera that currently passes for “news.” True enough. But be fair, Stewart: Commentators have to eat, too, and feasting on a buffet of righteous indignation is nice work if you can get it. As one of Keith Olbermann’s levelheaded foils, Richard Wolffe rescues Countdown from becoming an endless parade of histrionic final comments with his incisive commentary. Wolffe, a former White House correspondent for Newsweek, has released two books on the Obama presidency. His first, Renegade: The Making of a President, chronicled Obama’s historic candidacy and triumphant rise, while the title of his latest, Revival: The Struggle for Survival Inside the Obama White House, says it all.

WOLFFE SPEAKS AT 7 P.M. AT POLITICS AND PROSE, 5015 CONNECTICUT AVE. NW. FREE. (202) 364-1919.