amaze me! Have you no sense of honor or honesty?

No wonder some on the right rail against the situational ethics of the left. You play right into this with your rationalization of misconduct when it's someone you support, or when you don't agree with the law, or because someone else has done something worse. You types (on either side of the political spectrum) are basically enablers of the arrogant and self-absorbed pols who consider themselves entitled to behave as they please.

Spitzer's case, as some have pointed out, is especially egregious, in that he has particularly made his name by putting himself forward as one who went went beyond the norm to force others to do what he viewed as the right thing, or punish them if they failed. Often this was based on the slimmest of legal footing.

Whatever your views of his actions, you can't forget that this is potentially worse in a governmen figure because it's just the sort of behavior that can put him in the pocket of organized crime or other special interests. In fact, as I understand it, this is essentially what brought his actions to light. The FBI was not "investigating prostitution" as some of you have whined. Apparently bank programs flag suspicious activity for review to ferret out money laundering, terrorist funding, etc. and pass on a small % of unexplained transaction patterns to law enforcement for further review. Public officials are especially scrutinized, as it is obviously in the general interest that they not be corrupt. This is what tripped up Spitzer. Deservedly so.

Quoth Barack: “But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations”

Relax, people.

It’s all good. All the enlightened folk from San Francisco (the center of all reason and moderation) have to do is explain to those poor rubes how Barry will bring in high-paying jobs at the new Gucci factories, open the secret government bins of fairy gold to pay for universal, top-notch health care and research, & etc. Once that message is spread, trailer park Joes will accept him as their personal savior, lose their bitterness, put aside their antiquated belief in God, their plebian concern for more than amendment one, and their naïve expectations of a secure border. Then they join our legions of the rational! Hooray!

You're right, Carters12; those poor rednecks have been carefully taught. They can't possibly have opinions of their own (especially not to the extent that they would vote convictions over financial interests).... not like real people, anyway.

"I'm bitter. I can no longer afford to buy lemons. I can't drive my car to go to the library because I can no longer afford to buy books or gas to run my car. I can't afford the tests my doctor orders because medicare only pays 60% of the costs. I'm bitter because my country is torturing people in my name. I'm bitter because I've lost my right to privacy, among other civil rights. I'm bitter because the dollar doesn't buy squat anymore. I'm bitter because the rest of the world thinks we're thugs and idiots. I'm damn bitter. How about you? Are you bitter too?"

-- Utah Savage

I'm not bitter, Utah...do you need to borrow a gun to cling to?

Considering your presumed location, you better go easy on the religion-clinging. If not, say "Hi" to Jeffs for me!

From this point forward I'll try to devote my life to impressing you!

I think it's more of a snicker than a giggle.

Oops, that didn't last as long as I thought it might.

Carters12; I'm all for anything that helps you cope. (I read your "Ciao Bella" in my Berlusconi voice!)

Thanks, David S. .....just don't be too sure which side I'm on. It's not a static thing.

enjoy satire, even sarcasm; they understand that it can have a point.

Others puff up like disturbed toads……

Not that there’s anything wrong with that…..

That's what I heard, too, but if you believe HRC has horns, then no, she's not as bad as you think. She does, however, have furry legs and knees that bend the wrong way...hence the pants-suits. Barry is merely one of her former imps who has struck out on his own. He doesn't have her resume of lies and thievery yet, but he's working on it, dammit!

When asked about the relative failings of these two, I plan on using the only irrefutable response, a Cheneyesque ...."S0?"

..."Correct me if I’m wrong, but Michelle Obama isn’t running for anything. What is she supposed to be “vetted” on, the color of china she’ll pick for the White House?"....

The press DID try to vet Michelle, but when they got to the house, she had just snagged a copy of "Hate-Whitey, San Andreas Version" for the kiddies and pawpaw Wright had invited them over to play it on the PS3 in his new media room. Timing is everything; they said they'd come back later.

but if I did, and Obama got it, I'd be bitter.

Michael Moore has now endorsed Obama. In his words "Oink Obama oink oink oink, oink twinkie, oink oink oink oink!"

Tranlators are unsure if "twinkie" was a direct reference to Barry, or a request for a feeding.