He's a con man, not a lunatic.

He knows the audience who eats up every word of this nonsense and he knows to keep ahead of the pack, and keep other media interested in him (and providing free promotional push) he has to keep getting more and more outlandish and controversial. He a "character", the Marilyn Manson of political tv personalities.

Just like the WWE he has a staf that comes up with all of this crap. He doesn't just go out there spouting and raving and they point a camera at him. It's an act, and as soon as the media at large stops treating these performers (BEck, Limbaugh, Coulter, etc) like they're legitimate, the better off we'll all be. It's like the national agenda is being held hostage by circus clowns.

...but I place the bulk of the blame on the media. Countless hours and column space has been spent on the manufactured protests, the lies coming from the Republicans and their cohorts. Every outandish accusation a story has been give legitimacy and heft by a willing media. The lies and the contrived vaudeville passing as "protests" should have been acknowledged, dismissed and ignored immediately. There has been NO substantial discussion of healtchare reform, just a relentless obsession with the sideshow.

The Obama adminstration has handled this poorly. Turning the issue over to congress and standing on the sideline was a bad idae. Once they did get involved it was too late and they just became a pawn in the Republican's and media's theater of the absurd.

Beck losing his advertisers, now this. I have a feeling these people are becoming toxic. Between the repeated exposure of their lies and their stooges showing up to events where the President is present with guns...maybe their plan is backfiring.

Drag him back to rehab.

Remember during the primaries and general election everyone kept asking why he doesn't go on the attack? I think we're seeing the same thing now. He's not leaving the Republicans any wiggle room. Health care reform is desperatley needed, and I agree with Howard Dean that a bill with a public option will be signed. As soon as that pen touches down the Republicans will know they've been played.

Over all, however, I really do wish that Obama would have been much bolder in his policies. He had the road wide open and he squandered the chance. too cautious, I'm afraid.

I saw he's gone before the episode with a very special appearance by Barry Mannilow.

If he's going to start spouting that birther nonsense they'll get rid of him. That's the safest, most sanitized show on TV. They don;'t want bad publicity.

I'm sick and tired of excusing these cretins as being "scared." They're not "scared" and this has nothing to do with health care. It has everything to do with rancor and bitterness and resentment and yes racism and bigotry. The asshole who blew up the federal building in Oklahoma wasn't "scared" and this is his crowd.

The sooner people label these creeps for what they are instead of excusing them and giving them a veneer of homespun respectability the sooner this freak show will end.

we need alot more like him, that's for sure.

He didn't scream or shout. He sounded reasonable and for the circumstances, polite, and that horrible woman looked like a total fool.

He made it look easy.

The health care industry has them on a lease, and they're pulling the leash.

I have to be honest, you've got some serious, serious whacked out issues.

I think alot of people commenting on here are confusing "friends" with "fag hags." Its only natural that gay men and straight women would form easy and close friendships. There's no sexual tension or sense of competition. I have very close female friends. I've gone out with a group of my gay friends and one of my female friends has joined us. We've always had a great time. None of my gay friends would ever think she was a fag hag. I've gone out with groups of her straight friends and none of them would ever think I was her token gay. Either way, it was just a group of people socializing.

I have been around my share of fag hags though, and that's a different story. Its a parasitically dysfunctional relationship. Its not a friendship, and you often see an almost delusional quality that suggests the notion that the relationship is much deeper than it is (as though they're sexless lovers). I joked earlier, but often the behavior is inappropriate. If a woman brought a male friend out with a group of her girlfriends and he stuck his hands down their pants, pinched their nipples, tried to stick his tongue in their mouths, grabbed their asses...I can tell you none of those women would find it entertaining. Well that's not uncommon behavior from fag hags. They seem to think there's no limits. I'm sure there's some psychobable to explain it, but whatever the cause its not pleasnat.

As for the men who tend to keep fag hags around. I've found they're usually that odd combination of egotist and low self-esteem. They have an always ready jester to shield them from rejection.

Fag hag in recent years has softened to be an edgy term for friend, but in reality its a pretty creepy relationship.