In debating President Obama's "latte salute" that had the political right in emotional knots last week, Bill Maher has this exchange with Gen. Anthony Zinni:
"Let me just say, if this offends you that much, you should marry your teddy bear," [said Maher to the general population].
"It offends me," Zinni responded.
"You know that Bush did it with a dog, right?" Maher countered.
"That offends me, too," Zinni said.
"Is this more important than like anything else in the world?" Maher asked.
"It is a gesture of respect," Zinni shot back.
What's offensive is that crap like this is seriously discussed in the media, and especially by the right. One would think that after forcing pointless government shutdowns, threatening to derail the global economy in exorbitant hissy fits and obstructing every intelligent proposal to reinvigorate the economy, the American right would abstain--at least for a while--from sounding like the taunting, adolescent schoolyarders they are.
(By the way, after Bill Maher pointed out--correctly--that President Eisenhower never saluted his Marines when de-helicoptering, so to speak, Gen. Zinni remarked that there were no presidential helicopters then. Wrong. Eisenhower used one to travel to Camp David.)