In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times.

Gail Collins/McCain’s Compassion Tour

The Short Version: The Maverick is a major asshole.

In her words: “[H]is reaction does suggest that on his list of presidential priorities, the problems of working women come in somewhere behind the rising price of after-dinner mints.”

Score: A (Awesome)
Gail Collins comes out swinging in this column and never lets up as she dissects the Maverick’s refusal to support the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which was proposed after the Supreme Court refused to hear the case of Lilly Ledbetter, the woman who filed a discrimination case against Goodyear after discovering that she was being paid less than every single man in the equivalent position, even though she had loads of seniority, and the Supreme Court said that the statute of limitations kicked in 6 months after she received her first discriminatory paycheck (even though she didn’t find out it was discriminatory until like 15 years later, thanks to an anonymous tipster at her workplace). (Sorry about the run-on sentence, but you get the idea.) The point is, Collins rages here and we like it! Also! We like the implication that any “blue-class” worker who switches to McCain as a result of the Clinton/Obama scuffle deserves to get shit on (yet again).

Bob Herbert/Heading Toward the Danger Zone

The Short Version: Fuck! Obama’s blowing it.

In his words: “But she is now widely seen as the tougher of the two candidates, the one who is more resolute, who will fight harder and longer (and, yes, more unscrupulously) to achieve her desired ends.”

The Score: C- (Calm down)
This column encapsulates a lot of hysteria on the Democratic side of the coin at the moment, so if you’re looking for more of that, Bob Herbert’s for you! What’s odd about this is that Herbert — an Obama supporter — only adds fuel to the fire by recapping all the dumb irrelevant shit that’s already been used against Obama, and thus keeps it front and center, exactly where it shouldn’t be.