Michelle Malkin has a terrific commentary up comparing the media’s reactions to Obama’s rippling physique and rigorous gym routines with comments made about Bush recently, which were hardly as glowing.

Tale of two presidential workout fanatics

Chris Matthews won the Media Research Center’s quote of the year with his Obamedia-topping Leg O’ Thrill and Tingle remark. But Matthews only took first honors because Washington Post reporter Eli Saslow waited until Christmas to file his tribute to Obama’s sun-kissed pectorals. Have they no shame? No, they do not.

The gushing reminded me of a blog post I did three years ago on how Bush-deranged journalist Jonathan Chait reacted to President Bush’s workout regimen. It’s the subject of my syndicated column today. More liberal double standards: It’s just how they roll.

…

Ah, the perks of media affection. On Christmas Day, the Washington Post delivered a front-page paean to Barack Obama’s workout habits. The 1,233-word ode to O’s physical fitness read more like a Harlequin romance novel than an A-1 news article.

I have a large pile of issues where I disagree with our President, and I make no secret of those. 

But when it comes to him performing the (in my opinion) most important aspect of his office, that of Commander in Chief, he has never let me down in my expectations, and this Washington Times article demonstrates clearly why I feel that way.

Bush, Cheney comforted troops privately

For much of the past seven years, President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have waged a clandestine operation inside the White House. It has involved thousands of military personnel, private presidential letters and meetings that were kept off their public calendars or sometimes left the news media in the dark.

Their mission: to comfort the families of soldiers who died fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and to lift the spirits of those wounded in the service of their country.

…

Douglas J. Feith recaps the reasons we went to war in Iraq.

It won’t be popular as he avoids rhetoric and accusations, and instead lays out the real timeline and thoughts behind the decision to go to war from an insider’s perspective.

Agree or disagree with the reasons all you want, but it is important to stop the BDS and the Bush lied accusations and see the big picture.

A lot of poor commentary has framed the Iraq war as a conflict of “choice” rather than of “necessity.” In fact, President George W. Bush chose to remove Saddam Hussein from power because he concluded that doing so was necessary.

President Bush inherited a worrisome Iraq problem from Bill Clinton and from his own father. Saddam had systematically undermined the measures the U.N. Security Council put in place after the Gulf War to contain his regime. In the first months of the Bush presidency, officials debated what to do next.

As a participant in the confidential, top-level administration meetings about Iraq, it was clear to me at the time that, had there been a realistic alternative to war to counter the threat from Saddam, Mr. Bush would have chosen it.

Once again, Bush shows he has a good sense of humor.

I blogged this yesterday, and I expected some negative reaction, but not this soon.  The story and reactions have come from around the world, thanks to the power of the internet.  Of note is the Tehran Times in Iran which parroted the original article.

Hmm, what kind of message about unity in America is Brattleboro giving, and what impact could that have on foreign policy?

The Boston Globe has also noticed the story.

The blowback on the story involves something I personally find distasteful: Harassment and threats.

In my original post I chose not to treat the matter in such fashion, I went with scorn, ridicule and derision.  Harassment makes martyrs of the people whose hatred drives them to such ideological foolishness, ridicule and exposure merely shows it as the foolishness it is.

LSU condemns any threats against the officials.  A lot of them are only doing their jobs.

I will post some highlights from several articles

WCAX TV:

Tonight was the Presidents final SOTUA.  Some good things, some so so.  I won’t overly editorialize it, I will let you make your own call.  Read the text here.

The absolute best line:

Some in Washington argue that letting tax relief expire is not a tax increase. Try explaining that to 116 million American taxpayers who would see their taxes rise by an average of $1,800. Others have said they would personally be happy to pay higher taxes. I welcome their enthusiasm, and I am pleased to report that the IRS accepts both checks and money orders.

Love it.

OK, the highlights:

• Make tax cuts permanent
• Cut spending
• Make earmarks fewer and more transparent
• Help homeowners
• Make health care better with more choices
• No Child Left Behind works, keep it alive
• More free trade
• More entitlements for the jobs lost because of free trade
• Less oil consumption
• More clean energy
• More adult stem cell research
• No cloning

He may be a lame duck, but never think that stops people from letting their irrational hatred lead them into gross stupidity.

Bush Derangement lives, in Vermont:

Brattleboro to vote on arresting Bush, Cheney

Brattleboro residents will vote at town meeting on whether President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney should be indicted and arrested for war crimes, perjury or obstruction of justice if they ever step foot in Vermont.

Sigh.  The same old lie.  The liberals have been preaching this BS Bush lied mantra ceaselessly despite never having shown one single lie.  The rest of it shows they know little of how prisoners of war are actually supposed to be treated.

The Brattleboro Select Board voted 3-2 Friday to put the controversial item on the Town Meeting Day warning.

According to Town Clerk Annette Cappy, organizers of the Bush-Cheney issue gathered enough signatures, and it was up to the Select Board whether Brattleboro voters would consider the issue in March.

Cappy said residents will get to vote on the matter by paper balloting March 4.

One of my all time favorite TV shows is the 80’s and 90’s sitcom Roseanne.

Roseanne when it came out could have been a portrait of my life.  At the time I was not well off financially, and was dealing with a lot of stress and unhappiness with laughter and sarcasm.

It was one of the first sitcoms to portray what life for most working class people was like:  A struggle with highs and lows. It also, as Roseanne Barr notes in her DVD commentary, clearly showcases the disconnect in class in America.

But.  One of the things I do struggle with is Roseanne herself, the actress, the comedienne and the activist.

I perused her blog and was shocked at how she can flip from crazy to wacky in no time at all.

Here are some examples from Roseanne World.   WARNING:  EXTREME LANGUAGE AHEAD

On Anne Coulter:

Get a friggin life people.

Here is the scene.  Bush comes to town to attend a fund raiser.  The Seahawk’s decided to present him with a Jersey with his name and the number 43, as he is the 43rd president.

And the president was thrilled, and Matt Hasselbeck and Mack Strong were thrilled.  The crowd was thrilled.  Everyone was thrilled.  Except the liberal Seattle fans.

Seahawks duo blitzed by Bush backlash

Are you still fans of Matt Hasselbeck and Mack Strong after they visited President Bush last week in Bellevue? Or have their political leanings turned you against them?

The Seahawks quarterback and fullback gave the 43rd president a No. 43 jersey with his name on it at a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser for Rep. Dave Reichert at the Hyatt.

At the time, Hasselbeck called it a thrill and said it was a win-win, this opportunity to meet the president and get out of a team meeting.

But as soon as he saw the picture of the two players with Bush, Gary Wright, the team’s vice president of administration, said he was concerned about negative reaction.

I cannot recall when I have seen a story make such a wave in the blogsphere.  Memeorandum has almost the entire page dedicated to tracking the various takes on this.

For those living on the moon, President Bush has granted Clemency to “Scooter” Libby, the staffer convicted of lying in the Plame leak investigation.  This means that his conviction stands, as does his fine and probation, but his prison sentence is commuted.

Just when things looked darkest for I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, when prison seemed all but certain, President Bush wiped away the former White House aide’s 2 1/2-year sentence in the CIA leak case.

Bush’s move came Monday, just five hours after a federal appeals panel ruled that Libby could not delay his prison term. His prospects for an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court seemed bleak. The former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, Libby was just waiting for a date to surrender.

I admit my feelings are mixed.  First of all, the trial of Scooter was a sham and a joke.  Period. As I said at the time: