In my more compassionate moments, I entertain the idea that perhaps people on the hard right aren't nearly as nutty or scary or evil as we might believe. Then reports like this jerk that fairytale right out of my head.

Bush is revered so intensely among CPACers that all successes seem to issue from him, while failures are the fault of others unworthy of the great man. Jason Crawford, a 23-year-old who works in business development in New York, formed his group Patriots for the Defense of America right after Sept. 11 to promote "moral clarity" in the war on terror. Now, convinced that moral clarity requires attacking North Korea and fomenting revolution in Iran, he's disappointed in the administration. Yet speaking along with Oliver North (who ranted against the "brie-eating, foie gras-sucking French") at the "What Are We Fighting For?" panel, he put the blame not on Bush, but on some amorphous "us" who failed to rise to Bush's challenge. "Today we can see from our actions that we lack moral clarity," he told the crowd. "We are betraying the principles of the Bush doctrine!"

Dear, sweet, pale, trembling Lord!

I don't know what's funnier; the idea the Tom Daschle is a communist, or the outraged victimization of these people. If they weren't so completely beneath contempt I'd pity them. The fact is they're fighting a losing battle and they know it.