Given the (presumably) verbal nature of the interview, it is unfair (in an anti-Scotsman direction) to claim that the "that's off the record" statement was midsentence, as the author claims. The quote in the article is "She's a monster, too--that's off the record--she is stopping to anything," which, unless we assume that the Harvard professor is grammatically challenged, is two sentences separated by the request.

Well, it should be "stooping," not "stopping."

I suppose one could argue that the request that the previous clause be off the record <it> may </it> be taking the place of a colon, and in that sense the request would be midsentence. But I think that it would be, er, overly charitable to ascribe the more convoluted locution to the speaker when a more direct one was available. Plus, as anyone who's read <it> Eats, Shoots, and Leaves </it> can attest, the colon is totally going out of style.

I do not think that she must be part of Obama's team. While she is a good writer, she does not have the maturity for a balanced view. The first thing a diplomat must have is an ability to judge a situation and make a careful comment, not shoot off the mouth. She can never make such a remark about any respected person, even if she feels this way. That is acceptable for common people, not for someone who wishes to be in the government. I do not think that the paper was wrong in publishing it, if you make the mistake, you pay for it.