The Fallout Over Rahm Emanuel's Comment: David Loftus

No. Rahm Emanuel didn’t even owe anybody an apology in the first place for comments he made in the privacy of a closed-door meeting. What the heck is anybody doing, passing along comments in a private meeting to the media and making a mountain out of an indoor molehill? I suppose the jerk who thought to make political hay out of this for somebody -- who knows who it was? I can find no mention of that in the news stories -- must be pretty proud of himself. But of course he isn’t proud enough to get his name attached to the “news” in the press.

Emanuel wasn’t talking about special needs children, and he wasn’t discussing future policy with regard to special needs constituencies, except only very indirectly as part of larger proposed health care reforms. He was just crudely insulting political enemies of the moment behind closed doors to political allies of the moment. Oddly enough, the usually despicable Rush Limbaugh in effect defended Emanuel’s use of the term by referring in last Wednesday’s broadcast to liberal “retards” … though Limbaugh didn’t specifically address Palin’s critique of the White House chief of staff. Palin was initially quoted by her spokesperson Meghan Stapleton as denouncing any “crude and demeaning name-calling,” but later she took Limbaugh’s hint that he was engaging in satire and said he needn’t apologize for using the word “retard” because he was making fun of Emanuel.

Sarah Palin has a lot of nerve asking someone to step down for making a disparaging remark in private. If she can verify that she has never used a disparaging, bigoted, obscene, or disrespectful term for any individual, ethnic group, disabled child, or person of distinct race/gender/sexual preference, then I suppose she might be said to have a leg to stand on (so to speak). But I bet she doesn’t. And -- what do you know? -- there was also news last week that two cabins Palin and her husband own out in the Alaska backwoods have never been reported on their tax returns, and thus have never had property taxes paid on them. These are not just simple one-room log cabins; they’re two-story, house-sized structures with workshop and sauna! Hadn’t heard about this? The story is here.

You tell me. Which is more reprehensible: Rahm making a reckless remark in private or the Palin family allegedly making repeated and official lies in writing to the IRS and the federal government? The woman is a class A-1 buffoon.