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Hello and welcome to the Slate Political Gap Fest for September 13, 2013. The Putin-X Machina edition. We're starting the show in the midst of an argument, which may be revived later in the show.

I am David Plotz. I plan to revive it. The editor of Slate. John Dickerson joins me. He is Slate's chief political correspondent. Hello, John. Hello, David. And then just off a plane,

let's safely New Haven is Slate's senior editor, Emily Bazelon. Hello, Emily. Hello, David.

Are you guys getting ready for your epic tennis match, annual tennis match at the Slate Retreat next week?

If by getting ready, you mean not playing tennis at all since the last time I played

Emily, then yes, I'm incredibly ready.

Emily?

It's raring to go.

I think you have turned it into a torture session by threatening to come and, like, talk to us while we're playing.

I can't think of anything that sounds worse to me than having you, the ultra-competitive person I know, standing right there.

Good. So it sounds like you're really looking forward to it.

So this week on the show,

our careening swerving Syria policy, which is an RV on a mountain road going 85 miles an hour.

...