Download the Politics Daily Toolbar
Our new toolbar integrates the latest news and analysis into your Web browser and installs in seconds. Download it now!

Politics DailyPolitics Daily

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • COLUMNISTS
  • TOPICS
  • THE CAPITOLIST
  • WOMAN UP
  • DAILY FLOTUS
  • JUST IN
  • THE CRAM
  • CONTACT
  • Inside Politics Daily

    Obama Must Be Thanking the Lord for Joe Wilson

    Posted:
    09/10/09
    Filed Under:Woman Up
    So do you think Obama is thanking the universe for a certain off-his-meds South Carolinian this morning? I mean, it's one thing for the president to stand up there and yack about all he's up against, but Joe Wilson proved his point and then some, behaving like a raving lunatic and screaming, "You lie!'' during a presidential address to a joint session of Congress -- unable even to keep a sock in it through a speech that repeatedly invoked the need for civility.
    Get the new
    PD toolbar!

    And the conservative excuse – whoops, argument -- that Wilson's outburst was justified because Obama had just driven a stake through the heart of the "death panels'' fiction – yes, Sarah Palin, he was lookin' at you -- is more of the same old "he started it!'' kid stuff.

    (Though it wasn't widely noticed, Palin shrewdly got out in front of the death of death panels yesterday, admitting in her Wednesday op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that there isn't going to be any such thing -- and even taking credit for that fact.)

    In the conservative blogosphere today, Wilson is being hailed as a hero, receiving such charming bouquets as "Send Joe Wilson an email thanking him.'' Some even fault him for not going far enough: "Why didn't Joe Wilson throw a shoe at Obama?''

    Would I feel similarly outraged if a Democrat had become delirious during a Bush address? Without question, yes; there is never any excuse for such a lapse, and I give Wilson zero points for immediately apologizing. If he wants to keep his job and the respect of voters who may not agree with the president but were taught better by their mamas, he had no choice at all.

    Speaking of which, what about that killer mama-bear look Nancy Pelosi shot to the chamber after Wilson's eruption? But as others have said, not even Wilson's bad manners could eclipse the true focal point of the evening: The letter from the Great Beyond, where Ted Kennedy, who orchestrated the whole thing, was doubtless thundering, "Of course milk my death for all it's worth; are you kidding me?" And more softly, "Psst, Orrin, it's me. Hellllo, old buddy, old friend.'' I can't wait to see how many more of these notes he's left around Washington.


    Follow PoliticsDaily On Facebook and Twitter,
    and download the new Politics Daily toolbar!

    Melinda Henneberger

    Melinda Henneberger is the editor-in-chief of PoliticsDaily.com. She spent 10 years as a reporter for the New York Times, in the paper’s Washington and Rome bureaus... more

    Contact Melinda Henneberger

    subscribe to: RSS email: Melinda Henneberger

    Related Articles

    Related Articles

    Add your comments

    Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

    When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

    To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

    Avoid hate speech, foul language or a disrespectful tone in your comments. Unwanted comments will be deleted at the discretion of the moderator.

    • Happening Right Now

       
    Woman Up on Facebook

    Other News