In the RNC’s quest to set new levels of ridiculousness, they have compiled a three-minute web video that is, apparently, intended to be a scathing indictment of Barack Obama because he (gasp!) knows Rod Blagojevich.  

How unseemly!  A Democratic United States Senator from Illinois has met and spoken with the Democratic Governor of the state he represented!  

Actually, the video is most likely the piece de resistance of RNC chair Mike Duncan’s bid to keep his gig, and to do so he has some pretty stiff competition to out-wingnut.  The field of candidates seeking the chairmanship is a bumper-crop of utterly ludicrous frothing f*ckwittery.  

This morning on This Week with George Stephanopolous, John McCain seemed to roll his eyes at the inanity of the RNCs rally toward ridiculousness and permanent minority status.  

STEPHANOPOULOS: The chairman of the Republican National Committee, Mike Duncan, has been highly critical of the way President- elect Obama has dealt with this. He’s had a statement every single day, saying that the Obama team should reveal all contacts they’ve had with Governor Blagojevich. He says that Obama’s promise of transparency to the American people is now being tested. Do you agree with that?

MCCAIN: I think that the Obama campaign should and will give all information necessary. You know, in all due respect to the Republican National Committee and anybody — right now, I think we should try to be working constructively together, not only on an issue such as this, but on the economy stimulus package, reforms that are necessary. And so, I don’t know all the details of the relationship between President-elect Obama’s campaign or his people and the governor of Illinois, but I have some confidence that all the information will come out. It always does, it seems to me.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me pick up on what you’re just saying there, because I remember well back after Bill Clinton won in 1992, Senator Bob Dole said it was his job in the Senate to represent the 57 percent of the country who didn’t vote for Bill Clinton. How do you define your role now as President-elect Obama heads to the White House and you’re in the Senate?

MCCAIN: I think my job is, of course, to be a part of and hopefully exert some leadership in the loyal opposition. But I emphasize the word loyal. We haven’t seen economic times like this in my lifetime. We haven’t seen challenges abroad at the level that we are experiencing, certainly since the end of the Cold War, and you could argue in some respects that they’re certainly more complex, many of these challenges. So let’s have our first priority where we can work together, where we can — I don’t think the average citizen, who has either lost their home or is in danger of losing their home, lost their job or in danger of losing their job, cares much about party labels right now. What they care about, I think — I know, I know, because I spent too much time on the campaign trail — for us to sit down and work together. Will there be areas of disagreement? Of course. We are different parties and different philosophy. But the nation wants us to unite and work together.  

He sounded a lot like the John McCain I used to respect and have more than a little admiration for in that exchange, and he pointed out that corruption doesn’t follow party lines.  We’ll see your Abramoff and raise you a “Dollar Bill” Jefferson.  Likewise, you can counter our Blagojevich with a Duke Cunningham.  Plenty of perfidy to go around in both parties.   Neither party owns purity and integrity, but neither does either party get to lay claim to every last crook.  As long as human beings are involved their will be instances of shocking, infuriating, contemptible wrongdoing.  People will be shocked and outraged, jail sentences will be handed down, vows of never again will be made, laws will be passed…and then the cycle will start all over again.  Until our robot overlords show up and take over administering the government for us, that is how it is going to be.  

So can we please put a cork in it and stop feigning outrage and fabricating tenuous connections and get our collective act together and start pulling together to get out of this frickin’ ditch we’re in?  (I know – I must be hopped up on sugar or something to even let myself think such a thing. )  I learned a long time ago that saving the life of the patient  is paramount, and it doesn’t matter what political philosophy the various members of the triage and trauma teams subscribe to, we work together with a mission in mind.  Well, the patient in the bay right now is the republic itself, and any worthless f*cking resident who impedes the mission needs to be removed from the room.