Or was Rahm just happy to see Massa?

Early morning at the Roman Baths, Bath, England.

"Looks like you reduced Bill Whittle nearly to speechlessness on PJTV's 'Trifecta' today. Good job!" twittered blogpal Stoutcat this afternoon. Bill Whittle? He of the evocative, beautifully crafted essay "Imperishable" that brought tears of joy to our eyes just the other day? Yes. The one who decided to write out the entire Declaration of Independence in longhand as a gesture to "help recover this document":

And I would urge you now – I would urge each of you listening to this today, especially those of you with children – to help me recover this document. We can’t get that ink back on that paper. But we can do something better. We can put new ink to fresh paper, and copy down once again those words exactly as they were written. We can whisper them aloud as we write them – as I did – and through writing them anew on the page we will inevitably write them anew on our hearts, as fresh and as clear to our eyes and our souls as they were the day that ink dried in that hall in Philadelphia.

Yah. 'Think we'll try that ourselves. But back to the harsh reality of what passes for political discourse in the faltering light of what we used to call the Shining City Upon a Hill. First the good news: "Thank you, Sissy, you've just redeemed this show for us," said the "funniest family-friendly satirist on the internet," old buddy, old pal Scrappleface Editor-in-Chief Scott Ott, in Tweetfecta: MassaGate and the Naked Truth About Rahm Emanuel." Emcee Steven Green, the debonair Vodkapundit of our blogging youth, had sent out a provocative twitter invite early afternoon:

Go on and hit us up with your Rahm v Massa questions for today's LIVE Trifecta. Use that #PJTV tag so we can find them.

"We have something here that I think is unprecedented in American politics, a White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, destroyed a fellow democrat's career, forced him out of office, just to make it one vote easier to pass health care, at least if Eric Massa is to be believed … Is Emanuel guilty of something like sexual harassment, or was he just happy to see Massa?" taunted Steven, tormenting his fellow trifectors with our deliberately provocative question:

ENQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW: How close — shower-buddy close? — were Eric Massa & Gen. Wesley Clark?

"I thought we played hardball, but the people watching this stuff, they're meaner than we are," quipped Green, tossing the ball to Whittle:

There comes a point where politics becomes impossible to parody … really I don't know what to say about this. It's so appalling on so many levels …

This most ethical administration ever… he could have walked away with Scott Brown … this bulldog gnawing and chewing and trying to get this thing across the line has resulted now in this level of discourse. It's no longer ask not what your country can do for you, now it's like it's if you drop the soap in the shower, don't pick it up. That's where the level of national discourse has fallen under this administration.

"You have that moment of shock where you go WHAT?" added Ott:

And then you go oh. Oh. Congress. Oh. Washington. Oh. The White House. They have lowered the bar so far I don't know what kind of world these people live in. I can't imagine such a situation. This is so alien to the vast majority of Americans. It defies explanation.

As Bill Whittle gasped in horror upon first being assaulted with our stumper, "Sissy, I don't know."

Update:  Oh. Instalanche! Oh. Thank you, Professor Reynolds.

Update II: "This is the best circus Washington has ever seen. Enjoy it!" emails the big guy. Oh. Oh. Oh.

Update III: Ed Driscoll links. Thanks, old friend!

Comments

[Barry Dauphin]

Puts don't ask, don't tell into a new light.

[John Blake]

What's next, double-teaming White House thugs to administer political colonoscopies on D-rats' shrinking violets? Mayhap sponsoring soirees with Barney Frank in the Banana's deeply-hidden private sauna?

Does any dispassionate observer (sic) not wonder how much further this singularly feckless and stupid Administration has to fall-- where will these plug-uglies be a year from now? As Rasmussen polls -30+, our sad-sack polity may find itself without even the pretense of a functioning Executive.

[Ron Nord]

He's so exciting when he's all soaped up and naked.

[buddy larsen]

This story ought to get Mark Foley back into the game. Er, ah, I mean...to re-enter politics. Er, ah, I mean...

[Gayle Miller]

Speaking of Barney Frank - he's been quite silent for the past few days! Whassup homey?

[goomp]

How is this for a conspiracy this theory? Union employees from GM, the government-owned automaker, quit their jobs and go work for non-union Japanesse auto manufacturers so they can sabotage the cars and lead to huge recalls. Trust not those now in power, they will stop at nothing to rule.

[SenatorMark4]

Pretty darn funny...but...when did this happen? Were they sharing the soap and it was all ok until last week? Does this happen so often that they don't even think it's worth a mention until something REALLY bad happens? Nobody else in the Congressional gym noticed or cared? Roman bath. Our rulers are so lost. We need a total transformation of GOVERNMENT or we'll be living with soapy legislators to the end.

[Connecticut Yankee]

Quite the soap opera-- but when does the fat lady make her entrance and sing?

[Laura Lee Donoho]

Bill Whittle has given me a new idea for an art project for my sixth graders. I just ordered new calligraphy pens and paper.

OBJECTIVE: The students will recover, evaluate, analyze and create an artwork by writing in longhand, with calligraphy pens, the Declaration of Independence.

I have a large copy of the Declaration hanging in a place of honor in my art room.

As always, when I click on sisu, there is something that brings tears of joy or posts that inspire me to think.