god bites

yesterday, e.j. dionne was all over (e.g. npr and msnbc) calling paul ryan a 'radical'. (as i've said a hundred times, if you're an op-ed columnist and you're simply appropriating the soundbit rhetoric of someone's political campaign - simply mirroring this week's 'talking points' - you should just slink off in disgrace and find another career.) today dana milbank calls ryan a 'fanatic.' look if this is your approach, surely you oughtn't to object if allen west calls you a commie. milbank enthusiastically endorses catholic bishops' condemnation of ryan's budget ("The rebuke of Ryan is a credit to the Catholic leaders"). from that, he draws this bizarre conclusion: "However much Ryan may wish it, God does not take sides in politics." er, i haven't heard ryan wishing along those lines, but the bishops surely do, and milbank praises them for doing so in the surrounding sentences. well, applying our own most deeply-held beliefs to ourselves is not one of the great strengths of our species.