Politics is a rough business

No doubt, politics is a contact sport. Those of us who foolishly sign up for this abuse know the price that is often extracted from our hides. Rather than speaking out, it would be a whole lot easier just to keep quiet, go about our lives and not rock the boat. But we love our country more than we love peaceful, comfortable lives, I guess.

Some, though, get involved in the arena purely by accident. Folks like Steve Gardner, one of the Swift Boat Veterans for the Truth. Because he spoke out against John Kerry, he has lost his job, been lied about mercilessly in the media, been threatened by political hacks and had his life basically turned upside down.

It is just plain wrong.