I don't usually take on Charles Krauthammer's idiocy, but I really don't think today's column should get a pass, especially from liberals. In The World According To Krauthammer, liberals are anti-constitutional, revisionist idiots, because nothing pleases Krauthammer more than attributing his own behavior to others. It's the conservative way.

The theme of Krauthammer's today crazy is "Constitutionalism", which he lauds as enlightenment ascendant. Reviewing events which have taken place since Wednesday, when most, but not all, of the new Congress with the New Conservative Majority was sworn into office, we have the following:

• A selective reading of the Constitution on the floor of the House of Representatives, after which...
• It was discovered that Pete Sessions (R-TX) and newbie Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA) missed the swearing-in because they were attending a fundraiser elsewhere in the Capitol, and oops! they cast votes without being duly sworn. After that discovery...
• The Rules Committee meeting was then interrupted so that Rep. David Dreier could find a way around the problem of their votes counting when they had not been duly sworn, after which...
• Drier finally arrives at a half-baked solution via Thomas Jefferson's congressional manual, settling on the explanation that Fitzpatrick and Sessions were "within proximity of the Speaker of the House" when taking the oath of office.

If this is Constitutionalism, I've got six feet pointing in all directions.

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UPDATE: Sarah Palin is stepping down as Governor of Alaska. Details here.

Quick! Someone alert the Red State Army Strike Force! Republican backstabber on Aisle 26 of Fox News!

We mentioned the other day that, if nothing else, the recent Vanity Fair profile of Sarah Palin made clear that the Beltway Villagers' view of Sarah Palin is "road kill in the rear-view mirror".

Charles Krauthammer on Fox the other day drove that point home by completely dismissing her as a potential candidate:

Krauthammer: Now, as to Palin, I agree entirely with what Mara [Liasson] said -- she is, she has star power without any doubt, she has an extremely devoted following, but she is not a serious candidate for the presidency.

She had to go home and study and spend a lot of the time on issues with which she was not adept last year. And she hasn't.

She has to stop speaking in cliches and platitudes. It won't work. It could work for eight weeks if you're the No. 2 candidate, as she was last year. But even so, she got singed a lot in that campaign. You cannot sustain a campaign of platitudes and clichés over a year and a half if you’re running for the presidency.

Interestingly, even Allahpundit at HotAir was inclined to agree.

Surely the RedState Strike Force, as the action wing of "Operation Leper", will be descending upon these hapless backstabbers in short order.

Hey, whatever happened to "Operation Leper" anyway?

The Washington Post is dead to me:

(T)he Washington Post has terminated its relationship with liberal columnist/blogger Dan Froomkin. Froomkin authored the "White House Watch" blog and was told today that the blog had essentially run its course.

Washington Post Media Communications Director Kris Coratti tells POLITICO that "our editors and research teams are constantly reviewing our columns, blogs and other content to make sure we're giving readers the most value when they are on our site while balancing the need to make the most of our resources. Unfortunately, this means that sometimes features must be eliminated, and this time it was the blog that Dan Froomkin freelanced for washingtonpost.com."

"Run its course"???? WTF? But David Broder, who has been at WaPo since God was a little boy and whose never been in a coffeeshop he couldn't find some colorful local to confirm his preconceived (and generally wrong) notions, is still relevant? Bill Kristol, for whom the Washington Post had to issue not one or two, but THREE retractions for direct misinformation he tried to squeeze into his typical hack op-ed, is still worth holding on to. Charles farkin' Krauthammer, who has no business opining anywhere he has gotten so much wrong, is still collecting a WaPo paycheck.

But Dan Froomkin, whom Andrew Sullivan calls the "best blogger" at the paper and who is the author of 3 of the 10 most linked to articles at WaPo, is not someone worth keeping on staff?

Glenn Greenwald suspects that Froomkin was on the losing end of some internal power struggles:

Notably, Froomkin just recently had a somewhat acrimonious exchange with the oh-so-oppressed Krauthammer over torture, after Froomkin criticized Krauthammer's explicit endorsement of torture and Krauthammer responded by calling Froomkin's criticisms "stupid." And now -- weeks later -- Froomkin is fired by the Post while the persecuted Krauthammer, comparing himself to endangered journalists in Venezuela, remains at the Post, along with countless others there who think and write just like he does: i.e., standard neoconservative pablum. Froomkin was previously criticized for being "highly opinionated and liberal" by Post ombudsman Deborah Howell (even as she refused to criticize blatant right-wing journalists).

Seriously? Does the Washington Post not realize that all these neo-cons they give endless column inches to are what's ruining this country? Steven Benen:

If Froomkin is leaving the Post, it’s a real loss. Froomkin has been a great writer with keen instincts, often picking up on a burgeoning story before it’s gained traction elsewhere. Froomkin was one of the media’s most important critics of the Bush White House, and conservative bashing notwithstanding, was poised to be just as valuable holding the Obama White House accountable for its decisions.

If you like to share your opinion of the Washington Post's hiring choices, you can contact Ombudsman Andrew Alexander at ombudsman@washpost.com. Me, personally? I'm just deleting the bookmark. If I wanted neo-con and fact free tripe from Will, Kagan, Kristol and Broder, I'll just watch Fox News.

It may be storming outside, but I'm definitely feeling sunshine breaking through some neo-con clouds..

Two conservative Time magazine columnists are on their way out the door: Neither William Kristol nor longtime contributor Charles Krauthammer will be on contract with the magazine starting next month. Mr. Krauthammer confirmed the news to Off the Record, and a spokeswoman for Time said Mr. Kristol's contract would not be renewed.

The exact reasons for the departures of Mr. Krauthammer and Mr. Kristol, both high-profile backers of the Iraq war, are not entirely clear.

But sadly, we're not completely rid of rightwing hackery at Time:

And according to two sources familiar with the discussions, Time is in negotiations with National Review editor Ramesh Ponnuru to sign him to a contributor contract. Mr. Ponnuru, who in 2006 published The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts, and the Disregard for Human Life, has written twice for the magazine over the past month.

The Carpetbagger Report: The 'un-explainer-in-chief'

Media in Trouble: Looks like Krauthammer needs a psychiatrist. He and plenty of other whining wingers have been wringing their hands over the movies, while claiming to speak for Joe Public.

Raven's View: More on the Colorado teacher suspended for liberal commentary

The Saturday Cartoons

How Appealing: Is Chertoff toast? The guy who oughta be fired is being defended by the usual cultish groupies.

News Hounds: Is Cavuto running a Christian Family hour or a business show?How Appealing: Is Chertoff toast? The guy who oughta be fired is being defended by the usual cultish groupies.

News Hounds: Is Cavuto running a Christian Family hour or a business show?

On Special Report with Brit Hume 2/10, Hume and his panel got around to discussing the Guckert/Gannon flap.

Bill Sammon from the Moonie/ Washington Times said:

Sammon:...his real name first of all is James Guckert, but he changed his name to, sort of a nom de plume(pen name) I guess...

Hume: It's an honorable tradition you know(unintelligble)..Mark Twain

Video

Sammon called it a plot from the liberal bloggers and press to supress a conservative voice; which will be the new republican talking point on the issue.

Jeff Birnbaum hinted at the truth, while Krauthammer laughably compared Talon News to Slate, and the Nation.

Krauthammer was missing from his usual appearance with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday in their round table discussion group during the second half of the show. The panel is usually comprised of Mara Liasson of National Public Radio; Bill Kristol of The Weekly Standard, and Juan Williams of National Public Radio. This week Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard was sitting in. Was it due to his reported contribution to President Bush's Inaugural speech? We aren't sure, but it did have us wondering and we are planning to call FOX News about it. Also, will it disqualify him from being a member in future panel discussions about the administration's policies, since obviously he is working to promote the President's agenda.

The Social Security system will take in more money annually than it pays out in benefits until 2020, two years later than earlier estimated, the Congressional Budget Office reported Monday in a modest change unlikely to alter the growing political debate over the program. Congress' budget analysts also estimated the program's trust funds will be depleted in 2052, "meaning that beneficiaries will be able to count on receiving only 78 percent of their scheduled benefits beginning then.

So the figures of impending doom by 2018 were false, and the figures of certain doom by 2042 were false. You've gotta hand it to the White House. They certainly know how to cry wolf to push along the agenda. The problem is now that their think tanks will be working overtime to filter in this information for his speech on Wednesday. I'm sure "owner society "and "personal accounts" will be the cornertone of this part of the address. The other big question I have is will Charles Krauthammer be part of the speechwriting team this time?

Krauthammer was on "Special Report" on Faux News Tuesday night (no link, LexisNexis). He's responding to U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland's assertion that the US is "stingy" with its foreign aid:

KRAUTHAMMER: But that is a complete distortion of the truth of how America helps the world, because we give in other ways that are not measured. First of all, we have the largest private giving in the world. Bill Gates alone is doing more to help Africans than Mr. Egeland and all of Norway and Sweden put together.

Hacktackular. Look how generous we as a country are. The richest person in the world gives money, so we're awesome... Now enjoy how Krauthammer distorts the situation to make it sound like we're sacrificing ourselves nobly for the people of Asia:

... by opening our trade up as we have and destroying a lot of domestic industries, like textiles and others, we have raised the level of income of poor countries, particularly in Asia. The largest lifting of people out of hunger and poverty in history.