Street Jazz

I have long suspected that the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette employs a team of writers who have but a single purpose in life: when a politician favored by the Dem-Gaz says something particularly stupid, their job is to somehow make it seem as though it just ain't so.

That's not stupidity, folks, it's pearls of wisdom.

As one might expect, they work overtime whenever George Bush or Mike Huckabee stray from their printed text.

Today's editorial - "Mike vs. Michael: Propogandist, heal thyself" - is a prime example.

Former governor Mike Huckabee used to put everything he could into his mouth. These days, it is just his feet. After answering a question on a conference call about whether or not he intended to see Michael Moore's fim, "Sicko," Huckabee responded first by saying no he had not, and probably wouldn't , he dropped this pearl:

"Frankly, Michael Moore is an example of why the health care system costs so much in this country. He is clearly one of the reasons that we have a very expensive system. I know that from my personal experience."

This insired a response by one of Moore's producers:

"No wonder the Republicans are in such trouble - their entire plan to fix the health care system in this country is to tell people to lose weight. Maybe if Mike Huckabee and his Republican friends stopped sucking up to health insurance campaign contributors they wouldn't feel the need to blame Americans for this crisis. Just because he stopped eating Twinkies by the bushel doesn't make that an outline for a national health care plan."

This gave the Dem-Gaz writers something to work with - Americans should lose weight!

It seems sort of rude at - right when they are having so much fun - to point out something like, I don't know - cancer.

I'm sure they'd have a flippant answer for that, too.

In the same editorial they tout Huckabee's fondness for health davings accounts.

Yeah - maybe the Dem-Gaz can do a follow-up, making fun of all those factory workers who spend all their money on food and bills and aren't shoveling money into those health savings accounts.

And maybe the editorial writer - not to mention the Huckster - could take some time out to watch "Sicko." They might discover why so many Americans are responding to it. 

But then they would actually know what they were talking about; it would take the fun out of reading their editorials.

rsdrake@nwark.com