Bob Franken

Why would anyone think it was a big deal when scientists announced a few weeks ago they had determined that humans carry genes of Neanderthals? Was there really any question? The evidence is everywhere. It's certainly obvious when we observe the hunter-gatherer predators who run roughshod over each other in the political world.

It would be a mistake to stereotype Neanderthals as grunting lunklumps. In fact, some of them appear quite suave. Mike Huckabee, for example, was outfitted in knuckle-drag recently when, before a Republican audience, he derided women who needed "Uncle Sugar coming in an...