Hal O'Brien

Thank god for Donna Brazile.

You need to see this. Seriously. (Well... She's funny, too. Much funnier and more loose than I've ever seen her on CNN. Still.)

The link above is for Ms. Brazile's 4 minutes of closing remarks. Full video of the session here.

Those following the Valerie Plame CIA-agent-who-was-outed story may recall that Bob Novak was the one who exposed her covert role in his opinion column.

Not content with being a real threat to national security, get these comments from Novak on the Tue., 6 Jan broadcast of CNN's Crossfire (the dialog is with James Carville):

*^*^*

NOVAK: Not a happy week... (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) ...for Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle. He won't have a free run for reelection in South Dakota this year.

The state's most popular Republican, former Congressman John Thune, announced he will run against Daschle. That promises a tough race for the Democratic leader, with the Republican ticket topped by George W. Bush, who collected 60 percent of the state's vote last time against Al Gore's 38 percent. Actually, Daschle should have been saved the trouble of opposing Thune.

In 2002, Thune would have been elected to the state's other Senate seat, but the election was stolen by stuffing ballot boxes on the Indian reservations. Now Tom Daschle may have to pay for that theft.

CARVILLE: That's pretty... (APPLAUSE) That's -- that's pretty out there. Has Thune said that the Native Americans are election thieves?

NOVAK: No, I -- I said it.

CARVILLE: Well, no. Is that the Republican -- is that the party line here?

NOVAK: No, it's my line.

CARVILLE: That Native Americans are election thieves, that they can't be trusted to vote? You hear that, my friends out in South Carolina? Tim Johnson won that race.

(CROSSTALK)

CARVILLE: They're Native Americans, Bob.

NOVAK: I call them Indians.

CARVILLE: They're people that have been here a long time. And they are very, very, very good Americans.

(CROSSTALK)

CARVILLE: And very patriotic Americans.

(BELL RINGING)

(CROSSTALK)

CARVILLE: And they get to vote who they want. Just because you don't like the vote, don't call them thieves.

*^*^*

That's right. Native Americans are thieves because they dared to vote.

Did you realize Native Americans weren't granted full citizenship -- including the right to vote -- until 1924?!

I hope Bob Novak gets the shit kicked out of him by Sherman Alexie, Graham Greene, and Billy Frank, Jr., in a dark alley somewhere, I really do...