The Republican establishment is no longer terrified of the Tea Party, The New York Times' Matt Bai reports. It's now figured out how to absorb them like a slow-moving but powerful star that's swelling into a red giant. [snip] Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol tells Bai that the Republican presidential nominee merely has to be conservative enough. Kristol told me just after Perry entered the race, a development that essentially ended [the more radical Michele] Bachmann’s brief ascent. Establishment Republicans may prefer Romney to Perry, but their assumption is that either man can be counted on to steer the party...