I'm sorry, but when I read

"He's got himself into this wicket now where he can't extricate himself because not every one of these people can be Republican liars,'' said Mr. Dole, whose right arm was left limp by a war injury. "There's got to be some truth to the charges," he said.

…my first reaction was, "I've seen that line of reasoning before…"

It was from people defending The Bell Curve. In particular, it came from people who hadn't read the book, people who liked what they heard it said. The argument was, "well, even if THAT'S wrong, there's just so much there it can't all be wrong." The Bell Curve was, in fact, the first of a spate of cornerstones and doorstops published by the Right Wing Think Tank Industry, including The End of Racism…books whose most impressive aspect was their appearance of weightiness.

The fact is, they can, indeed, all be Republican liars. They have the discipline and cash to pull it off. Find yourself an honest Republican and ask him, not if he thinks Bush is behind it but if he thinks Bush's people have the cash and discipline to run such a campaign.

Dole was such a gentleman before his Rational Republican wing was plowed under by Newt and the Neocons. I miss that gentle old man…

"I mean, one day he's saying that we were shooting civilians, cutting off their ears, cutting off their heads, throwing away his medals or his ribbons,'' Mr. Dole said. "The next day he's standing there, 'I want to be president because I'm a Vietnam veteran.' "

One day? Next day?

TRY THIRTY YEARS.

The loss of the ability to distinguish the different time frames involved is what convinces me Bob is still a gentleman at heart, he's just being manipulated by Evil Neocons. And that could only happen to a man of his stature if he's gone senile. Ipso facto…

(I hear a certain plasticity of morals is a common side effect of Viagra toxicity)