Kos has the man from Utah nailed again: Orrin Hatch is protesting vehemently that rules he invented for blocking judicial nominations aren't fair when applied to Republicans.

One of the real problems I have with today's political situation is that in 1994-2000, the GOP set a lot of standards for how the rules should be implemented:

• One senator's objection blocks a judiical nomination for a region that includes the senator's state
• Criticizing the president, even and especially over politically-motivated military action, is a patriotic duty
• The president lying or trying to cover up a lie is grounds for impeachment

...but now that the GOP controls both executive and legislative branches of government, they want all those standards thrown out. I'm tempted to start a "Where's the impeachment?" category for these things, because let's face facts.

Imagine that Bill Clinton or Al Gore, as president, used a military jet to land on a US naval aircraft carrier when a helicopter would have done, had the carrier slow down to not reach its home port as fast as possible, had the carrier repositioned so the public would not see the nearby US coastline as backdrop for a speech, and done so to the tune of $1 million in taxpayer money? The impeachment hearings would be underway now. The TV and radio would be full of Chris Matthews and Sean Hannity shouting about this "abuse of power" and "dereliction of duty." The GOP would use everything it could about it to bring the President of the United States down.

They did spend eight years labeling Bill Clinton a "draft-dodger" for actually earning a Rhodes Scholarship and studying at Oxford during a potential term of military service. George W. Bush, who couldn't earn a "B" average in a school he couldn't have attended without rich alumni admission preferences, used family connections to enlist in the Texas Air National Guard, used family connections to jump ahead of hundreds of more qualified pilots after scoring the lowest possible passing grade on the flight exam, and then deserted the military by refusing even to show up for the privileged duty he was granted.

Do the same politicians like Jim Inhofe, who this year said Clinton was not "his" President for eight years, condemn Bush's obviously traitorous acts? No, they label anyone who criticizes Bush as a traitor. Has no one in today's political system read about how Nazi Germany came to be? The demonization of opponents, the wrapping of the party in "Christian" morals, the belief that only militarism can make a nation strong in the world?

The surprise about Orrin Hatch is not his obvious and undeniable hypocrisy in pursuit of his political goals - it's that our alleged watchdog media only cares if such hypocrisy comes from someone other than Republican. I say that if you set the standards for public service, you damn sure ought to be able to live by them yourself or you should resign your office, Mr. Hatch.

Update: Fox News has a story on judicial nominations, and the GOP's anger that their nominees aren't getting votes in the Senate. Guess how many times Faux News mentions six years of Republican obstruction of Clinton's nominees? Guess how often Faux News mentions that right now there are 50 federal court vacancies, when in 1994-2000 Orrin Hatch refused to allow 54 Clinton judicial nominees to come to a vote?

Guess "zero" and you understand the GOP's version of "fair and balanced."