all-encompassingly

eric snider, whose columns were the only thing worth reading in the daily universe my freshman year at BYU, has written a great piece titled the current state of american political discourse: a tragedy in one act. here is an excerpt, on the easy-to-poke-fun-at mark foley scandal. it’s in the format of a debate:

MODERATOR: Social Security. Some say the program is in trouble, others say it’s doing OK. What do you say, Liberal?

LIBERAL: Conservatives are supposed to be the moral watchdogs, yet Republican congressman Mark Foley sexually harassed teenage boys.

CONSERVATIVE: But Clinton had sex in the Oval Office.

LIBERAL: Yes, with a consenting adult, not a teenage boy.

CONSERVATIVE: Yes, but Clinton was president, while Foley was merely a congressman.

LIBERAL: Yes, but Foley’s sins involved teenagers while Clinton’s involved adults.

CONSERVATIVE: Yes, but Foley never actually touched anyone, whereas Clinton did.

LIBERAL: Yes, but Foley is unappealing while Clinton is charismatic.

CONSERVATIVE: Yes, but Clinton is chubby while Foley is slender.

LIBERAL: Touché.

MODERATOR: Thank you, gentlemen. This has been a stimulating debate.

read the whole thing. while you’re at it, compare snider’s caricature to all-encompassingly’s treatment of the foley scandal: on democrats’ reaction to mark foley.