Defying the Nation

Democrats planning to assign corrupt Congressman William Jefferson to the Homeland Security Committee, less than a year after Republicans lost control of the House partly over their indifference to scandal, promote the idea that both parties are either in the business of intentionally promoting cynicism or are simply so far out of touch with the average American as to defy description.

One Democratic staffer defended the assignment, saying, "Republicans who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." To a Washington insider, that sounds like a defense. To the rest of the country, it simply sounds like everyone is doing it, which is indefensible.