Love This

Just a brief note, and one that's making the rounds on the web anyway, so you've probably seen it already, but what the hell, just in case. Paul Hackett is a U.S. Marine who served in Iraq and then, upon returning home, ran as a Democrat in a special election for a congressional seat in Ohio--I think it was the 3rd district, but don't quote me on that because I'm too lazy to fact check. Anyway, he lost, but it was in some respects a moral victory because the district is heavily Republican, he entered the race at the last minute, his challenger started out many double-digit points ahead, and in the election, he lost by much less than 10% of the vote, which stunned most pundits.


Anyway, because he was a returning Iraqi combatant, and because he dared to run as a Democrat, the race got more national attention than might otherwise have been the case, so much so that Rush Limbaugh felt obliged to comment on Maj. Hackett, whom he repeatedly referred to as "a staff puke" (Maj. Hackett was a civil affairs officer, but had, in fact, led several combat missions while over there), and who he claimed had gone to Iraq to "pad his resume" in anticipation of a Congressional run. Such comments are beneath my contempt, but not that of Maj. Hackett, who, when confronted with them, responded with breaktaking candor and concision:


That's typical for that fatass drug addict to come up with something like that.


And so, I now love Maj. Paul Hackett. Love him. And I hear Limbaugh's catching serious heat for bad-mouthing a veteran with an honorable service record. But to be fair to Limbaugh, he was probably high when he said all that. Heh.