JABbering Stooge

I know I’m not the first to ask this. But still, the question must be asked as many times as necessary to get it through your thick skulls, wingnuts:

WHY is THIS okay:

And WHY is THIS okay:

But not THIS?

Inquiring minds want to know.

R.I.P - Arthur C. Clarke (12/17/1917 — 03/18/2008)

I want to take you back to the 2004 Iowa primary. Howard Dean went into the primary the presumptive front-runner. He finished a dismal third place.

But the primary result wasn’t the story. It’s what happened afterwards — the infamous “Dean Scream.” The former Vermont governor’s exuberant speech to disappointed supporters, intended to boost flagging morale, got twisted into the ranting of a raving lunatic. And then the scream got more airtime than Jerry Falwell’s “America is to blame for 9/11″ remarks. The 24-hour cable news channels played it over and over on an endless loop, because it perfectly fit the narrative that they were already spinning that Howard Dean was a deranged nutjob.

Never mind that the crowd was so loud that Dean had to yell to be heard. Never mind that Dean was using a unidirectional mic, meaning that only his words would be picked up. It fit the tall tale the “liberal” media was selling, so they ran with it. And it proved to be the final nail in the proverbial coffin of Dean’s presidential bid.

And now Obama is having his “Dean Scream” moment in the media. On Friday, the media picked up on several video clips of the Illinois senator’s pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, making controversial, if not inflammatory comments on racial issues. And they ran with it, just like they ran with the “Dean Scream.” Just like they ran with the Obama’s a super double-secret Muslim smear. Just like they ran with the Rezko story (never mind that Obama had absolutely no connection to the crimes for which Rezko is being charged). Just like when Tim Russert played “Six Degrees of Louis Farrakhan” with Obama during the Ohio debate a few weeks ago.

While Wright’s comments are indeed unconscionable and mean-spirited, Obama is not the only one with “crazy pastor” skeletons in his closet. Just look at Sen. John McCain’s supporters. McCain actively sought, and received, the endorsement of one Rev. John Hagee, who has called the Catholic Church “The Whore of Babylon.” Hagee is also a big time Rapture cheerleader, and like most conservative Christians, only supports Israel as a means to hasten Armageddon, where Jews will be converted by the Sword of God™. Naturally, Hagee’s comments on Catholicism drew the ire of professional outrage maven Bill Donohue — the only time the “liberal” media mentioned them.

In addition to Hagee, McCain’s “spiritual adviser” is televangelist Rod Parsley. (Insert Simon and Garfunkel joke here.) Parsley has claimed that the sole purpose of the founding of America is not to serve as a beacon of democracy and freedom, but to “destroy Islam.”

Will the comments of McCain supporters get any press coverage in the wake of the Rev. Wright scandal? When pigs fly. After all, the Arizona senator treated the press to barbecue at his ranch, so anything he or his supporters do is a-OK with them.

Bottom line: Nothing Obama can say on the Rev. Wright issue will appease the right wing and their media enablers. They’ve already decided that this effectively makes Obama radioactive. But then again, they’d decided that long ago, hadn’t they?