re: #108 Varek Raith

Yeah, yeah.
It fine if a R does it, bad if a D does it.
;)

That’s not what he’s saying, though. He’s actually saying Obama didn’t do anything wrong on this one. But just as Democrats a few years who needed to defend George W. Bush on a point felt the need to attack him on something else, so too does McCarthy need to open with vituperation aimed at the president.

The basic reason for the initial attack is to keep readers who are angry with the president from going after the writer for defending him. It’s an ODS (and pre-2009 BDS) mandated inclusion.