Immoral Majority: What's the proper term for the GOP's moral malaise of late--moral relativism? Hipocrisy? Plain old bullshit? Whatever you call it, the Republicans seem to be full of it lately. A week ago, Bill Clinton lost his cool during a BBC interview, frustrated by questions about Monica Lewinsky. Rightwingers had a field day. Yet when Dick Cheney tells a respected senator to "Go fuck" himself, the GOP--not to mention the second highest officeholder in the land, who "felt better" having cussed out a colleague--says it's no big deal. And this on the day the Senate voted to toughen penalties for TV and radio stations who broadcast indecency. Likewise, a new commercial on George W. Bush's campaign site visually likens John Kerry and other Democrats with Hitler. Remember the hue and cry when one of a thousand citizen-made TV spots in MoveOn's Bush in 30 Seconds contest likened Bush's tactics--but not the man himself--to Hitler's? Responding to criticisms by the Democrats, the Bush commercial now features this explanation: "[John Kerry] has not denounced liberal supporters like Al Gore, George Soros, and many others who have made speeches comparing the president to Adolph Hitler." I could debunk the facts--neither Al Gore nor George Soros "compared the president to" Hitler; both made reference to our times as feeling like Nazi-era Germany, but compared only tactics and not leaders--but I'm more curious about their logic. Never the party to take the higher ground, they're saying: we can do it, because THE DEMOCRATS NEVER SAID IT'S WRONG. In an election between an incumbent who looks to his opponent's party for moral leadership, I know who I'll choose.

The Democrats are running an online petition drive to get the president to pull the offending spot from his site. (Aside from comparing passionate Democrats to "wild-eyed" Hitler, I don't think it's such a bad spot. Makes me like the few Democratic firebrands we've got even more. What do you think? Lemme know using the comment link below.)

OK, OK, I will challenge the facts: What Gore said:

The absence of enlightened nation-building after world war one led directly to the conditions which made Germany vulnerable to fascism and the rise of Adolf Hitler, and made all of Europe vulnerable to his evil designs.

What Soros said:

When I hear Bush say, 'You're either with us or against us,' it reminds me of the Germans. My experiences under Nazi and Soviet rule have sensitised me.

The C Word: Cheney brings political civility to an all-time low, say columnists.