Demagogue

I usually find USA Today columnist DeWayne Wickham to be a cogent and compelling writer, but I was disappointed with the column he wrote today as he urged President Bush to nominate Alberto Gonzales for the SCOTUS vacancy.

Among the arguments that Wickham uses is this lame one:

With U.S. forces bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan and the nuclear standoff with Iran and North Korea at a critical stage, this nation's attention shouldn't be distracted by a bruising confirmation battle over a Supreme Court nominee.

This dubious argument can easily be flipped the other way. Indeed, from time to time since the 9/11 tragedies, we have heard the GOP and other Bush loyalists declare that Democrats should essentially comply with his policy wishes in order to project an image of unity on the home front.

There are a few legitimate arguments that could be used to advance Gonzales' nomination (not that I personally would find them compelling), but this was not one of them. Believe it or not, the United States of America can walk and chew gum at the same time.

Wickham should know better than to advance this ridiculous argument. The words of Samuel Johnson ring as true today as ever: "Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels."