We Were Going To Joke About America's Political Center Getting Eiffel-Towered By The Right And Left, But We Realized We Make That Joke Once A Week

We really liked what Peggy Noonan wrote in her journal column this weekend. At the beginning of a column where she talked about censorship, she laid out pretty simply what's been happening over the last couple of weeks with mouthy pundits:

Here is what has been said the past week or so that sparked argument: Bill Maher, on HBO, said a lot of lives would be saved if Vice President Cheney had died, and Ann Coulter, at a conservative political meeting, suggested John Edwards is a "faggot."

She was trying to be funny and get a laugh. He was trying to startle and get applause.

What followed was the predictable kabuki in which politically active groups and individuals feigned dismay as opposed to what many of them really felt, which was grim delight. Conservatives said they were chilled by Mr. Maher's comments, but I don't think they were. They were delighted he revealed what they believe is at the heart of modern liberalism, which is hate.

Liberals amused themselves making believe they were chilled by Ms. Coulter's remarks, but they were not. They were delighted she has revealed what they believe is at the heart of modern conservatism, which is hate.

She goes on to say something about your grandmother, which makes sense, because if your grandmother lived in DC, she'd probably hang out with Peggy Noonan. But that's beside the point. The point is, so much of punditry these days is dedicated to making the other side look evil rather than making one's own side look good.

We can't think of a funny way to end this post, so we'll leave you with another terrible joke from a co-worker:

"What's the leading cause of pedophilia in the United States?"


"Sexy kids."