Subtle Media Message of the Day

This is the image that accompanies the latest screed from jocksniffer turned political analyst Mike Lupica. A tired regurgitation of all the fabrications of the past couple of weeks, along with the requisite cheapshots against Sarah Palin and his usual harangues about "the idiots" on talk radio. Not quite as insane as Frank Rich, but still uninformed and filled with distortions.

At least here it is only vandalism about this President and the country's new health care bill, not phone threats left for some members of Congress. It is not an honorable old hero of the civil rights movement like Rep. John Lewis hearing the kind of racial insults he heard nearly 50 years ago in America. Or other congressmen being spat upon, all in the name of democracy at work.

At least here it is not Rep. Bart Stupak, a Democrat from Michigan, being called a "baby killer," or a brick through a lawmaker's window. It is not Sarah Palin on her Twitter page - this woman who officially puts the twit in Twitter - posting the following message:

"Commonsense Conservatives & lovers of America: Don't Retreat, Instead - RELOAD."

As always, you wonder where this patriotism and righteousness and Tea Party activism was during Bush-Cheney. You wonder if all the people who want to take to the streets - and to the television cameras now - decided they weren't needed for eight years because they thought the country was going so good. Or maybe they have just convinced themselves that the Obama who must now be stopped didn't just inherit this America, he created it.

This is no longer about political dissent. It is about storm trooper sound bites, and hate. This isn't the kind of honest debate on which our system of government has been built. It is vile, back-alley fighting, getting worse by the day, with no end in sight. People say that opposition to all Presidents, even the most unpopular white ones, sounds like this. No, it doesn't.

Apparently Lupica was too busy during the Bush years that he missed the nonstop protests du jour filling the streets. But now when the roles are reversed, well, this is just too much hate for the little guy to handle.

Really, it's amazing how much Sarah Palin frightens these media twerps. Maybe they're just used to their political heroes looking like Helen Thomas or Barbara Mikulski and just can't handle a good-looking woman who disagrees with them. Psychiatrists can probably make a killing for years analyzing these guys.