My apologizes, Bernie. This is worse.

From the Today Show, April 25.

ANN CURRY: Do you know the American people are suffering… watching [Iraq]?

LAURA BUSH: Oh, I know that very much, and, believe me, no suffers more than their president and I do when we watch this. And certainly the commander-in-chief who has asked our military to go into harm's way.

ANN CURRY: What do you think the American people need to know…

LAURA BUSH: Well, I hope they do know the burden of worry that's on his shoulders every single day for our troops. And I think they do. I think if they don't, they're not seeing what the real responsibilities of our president are.

Whoa! So those silly Goldstar mothers can't touch your pain, Laura? Those veterans who lived among the mold and the rats at Walter Reed have nothing on GWB, eh?

Senator Kerry made an admittedly very bad joke and was pilloried. This woman trips over her tongue in the most offensive of ways and we're all just supposed to love her to bits.

Yeah, whatever.

Don't this just beat all?

Bernard McGuirk, the producer of Imus' erstwhile radio show, has lost his job. My first response was, "Good!" He'd always been more toxic than Imus and, worse by my lights, no where near as funny. Imagine my surprise then when I learned that he and Imus had been victimized in this whole ugly, media-sodden episode. And not only that, they had been victimized in a truly historic way that should stand as a sober warning to us all.

He appeared on Fox last week and here's a transcript of what he said: "I mean, it's like the off-quoted anti-Nazi German pastor who said, you know, first, they came for the Communists, but I wasn't a Communist, so I didn't say anything. Then they came for the Jews, but I'm not a Jew, I didn't say anything. Then they came for the Catholics, but I'm a Protestant. Then when they came from me, there was nobody to speak."

No, really. I'm not making this up. Imus' producer likens himself to those who suffered in the camps during WWII.

I work in advertising, an industry almost as volatile as broadcasting. McGuirk had a cushy gig for a long time and he lost it. When you work in advertising or broadcasting, THIS HAPPENS!!! We all know we're not going to earn a gold watch for service to one company. McGuirk was going to lose this job eventually. It might have been over ratings. It might have been over a contract dispute. It might have been because some new conglomerate bought CBS radio and wanted to cut costs. I promise you, it was going to happen eventually. And when it happens, you should blow a kiss to the heavens and say, "Thanks for the ride." You should be grateful that you have six months' expenses in the bank and start looking for another job. You should not liken yourself to a prisoner in a concentration camp.

Shame on you, McGuirk.


www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,268970,00.html

A tale of two famous men

Two men I've never met are on my mind a lot these days.

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow is back at work. His cancer has returned, but he's working hard to maintain his strength and normalcy. Yes, I'm still a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat. But I admire how well Snow has responded, first to his boss' plummeting polls, now to his health crisis. He is a gracious gentleman with good manners and a respect for the English language, and it's safe to say I find all those attributes sorely lacking in this Bush Administration. Welcome back, Mr. Snow. I wish you nothing but the best.

Only 29 years old, Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock was killed in a car crash last weekend. The information reached me in dribs and drabs. First I heard on Sunday morning that the Cubs/Cardinals game was postponed. No reason given. I was pissed because I love this rivalry, and because it was sunny and clear here in Chicago with no rain in the forecast. How could the weather be so bad in St. Louis that the game was postponed? Then I heard. So sad, and so eerie. Josh Hancock is the second Cardinals pitcher to die during a Cubs/Cards series this millennium! What are the odds? The Cardinal players will wear their fallen comrades' number on their arms all season in tribute. So very sad.