Hey Joan, come on and choose your favorite "Mythical" Clinton Crime. Anyone can play!

Choose between:

Whitewater

Travelgate

Gennifer Flowersgate

Filegate

Vince Fostergate

Whitewater Billing Recordsgate

Paula Jonesgate

Lincoln Bedroomgate

Donations from Convicted Drug and Weapons Dealersgate

Lippogate

Chinagate

Lewinskygate

Perjury and Jobs for Lewinskygate

Kathleen Willeygate

Web Hubbell Prison Phone Callgate

Selling Military Technology to the Chinesegate

Jaunita Broaddrick Gate

Lootergate

Pardongate

Ah, yes -- William Jefferson Clinton -- Impeached by the House of Representatives over allegations of perjury and obstruction of justice. What great guy!

Blago is the ONLY corrupt politician in Illinois. I mean, besides three of his last seven predecessors -- Otto Kerner, Dan Walker and George Ryan. Oh, and then there was that Rostenkowski fellow -- the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, who was brought down by a corruption scandal and later pled guilty to charges of mail fraud. And, oh yeah, I nearly forgot Paul Powell, the former Illinois secretary of State who was found with $800,000 in shoe boxes in his hotel room when he died.

But other than Blago, Kerner, Walker, Ryan, Rostenkowski and Powell, there are NO other corrupt politicians in Illinois. Anywhere. Pay no attention to that Chicago Sun-Times article and their list of 79 Illinois elected officials who were convicted on federal corruption charges between 1972 and 2006. That CAN"T be true.

Just keep saying "Blago is crazy, Blago is crazy, Blago is crazy" -- and we'll all get through this. Obama is NOT part of the same political cesspool that the rest of those corrupt politicians are from. In fact, Obama is as pure as the wind-driven snow.

Got it, everybody?

But then again, Joan IS the type of person who loves kicking someone when they're down. I told her the current occupant of the White House isn't Bill Clinton anymore. And he's the only disgraced president I know. Sadly, you can count on Joan to always be predictably partisan and hopelessly lame.

Joan is always the first to take a cheap shot.

Yes they are. And so is lying under oath and getting disbarred.

In the rear view mirror. By historians. Many, many years from now. Not by guileless spectators before the man has even left office.

No, it's not. Until Bush's legacy is judged by historian's many years from now, your opinion remains completely speculative. Sorry, but that's how it works.

I'm sorry, too, debpet. Sorry that you're so full of Bush Derangement Syndrome that you're pretending you don't know how history has always been written here in America. Or perhaps you're NOT really pretending. Which, of course, would make you stupid. So I sure hope it's the former. Have a great weekend!

“If I weren't on vacation, I might be debating whether his action was appropriate.” – Joan

Perhaps the first thing a real reporter would do, Joan, is find out a thing or two about the assailant’s background before wondering whether his action was appropriate. This, you see, might determine his motive. Which doesn’t always magically coincide with what you think it must be.

As it turns out, the man who threw his shoes at Bush is Muntathar al Zaidi, who works for al-Baghdadia, an Iraqi television station based in Cairo. He and his station have a long history of backing the Sunni terrorist insurgents who tried in vain to restore the Saddam regime. His colleagues have said that Zaidi "detested America," fanatically supported Saddam and that Zaidi had been planning such an attack for months.

After Zaidi threw his shoes at the president, another Iraqi journalist yanked him to the ground before a number of bodyguards collapsed on him while he yelled "Killer of Iraqis, killer of children" at Bush. This, by the way, is really a strange statement to make when you consider the fact that Saddam specialized in killing women and children, particularly if they were Kurds, but many of whom were Shia. But what's even more interesting is the fact that the guy who is leading Zaidi’s defense team and who has organized a couple of hundred lawyers on his behalf is none other than Saddam's lawyer himself.

Needless to say, once you know the facts about Zaidi, contemplating the idea that his attack was somehow appropriate is really rather foolish. But when has Joan Walsh ever let the facts get in the way? How could she? She’s too lazy to go dig them up.

Happy holidays to you, too, Joan. I look forward to yet another year of healthy debate and lively discourse whenever necessary -- which never fails to be 90% of the time. Have a nice break.

Actually, Joan, it's REAL political courage.

What is it about Obama's promise to reach out to the other side don't you understand, Joan? Did you think it was just rhetoric? Did you think he was just going blah-blah-blah, but-I-don't-really-mean-it, so-vote-for-me-anyway, wink-wink?

No, Joan, this is what it looks and feels like when someone on the left actually follows through on a promise to be inclusive. I know that's very hard for someone like you to understand. You're used to only talking about tolerance, when in reality you simply want to talk to people exactly like yourself. This is why you're always so surprised that people with different points of view keep coming back to engage you here at Salon. You see, you don't really like inclusion, Joan. Why if it were up to you, I'm sure your blog would be a tidy little echo chamber.

That said, buckle your seatbelt, JW, because if Obama follows through on ending politics as usual, he's about to take you on a very long and bumpy ride.